I bend down and follow a trail of quarters from the patio. It ends in a small pile two stories below my window.

“Is this what woke me up?” I ask.

He nods and doesn’t look one bit embarrassed. This kid can literally throw money away.

I hold up my phone. “Why didn’t you just call?”

He grins. “I saw it in a movie once.”

We sit next to each other on the lounge chair. I make sure there’s enough room that we aren’t touching. I think back to this morning. Andrea. The SPD. It sounds fake. I glance at Well, his hair almost blue in this light. I will never tell him. I’ve never had a friend like Well, or any friend, really. I could blame it on moving so much, but it’s not just that. Getting close to someone is hard when you can’t get… close. If he knows there’s something wrong with me, he’ll act different, and I always want him to be exactly like this.

He catches me looking at him. “So?” he asks.

“So, what?”

“Are you going to try out for Into the Woods?”

I snort. I can’t help it. The idea is snortable. “Um, no.”

“Why not? It’s a musical. You can sing better than miss priss Mary Katherine, who you know is going to get one of the leads.”

Mary Katherine is an eighth grader in our class. Sometimes she rolls her uniform skirt so short you can actually see her shirttail hanging out underneath.

“Never will I ever get onstage.” Not again.

“That’s just great.” He stands up and starts marching around the fire pit. This is new, I think. Mad Well. “You can sing me and Geneva under the table, and we’re still trying out. Tucker is helping to build the set, which is one almighty set, because he basically has to hammer together a forest for Little Red Riding Hood, a castle for Cinderella, Rapunzel’s tower, the beanstalk… I can’t even remember what else now.” He stops. “Anyway, Jacob’s helping with sound and lights. And what are you going to do? Sit and knit?”

“No. I’m assistant director.” I hadn’t told anyone this part yet, because I wasn’t sure I was going to do it.

“Oh.” He stops and sits down again.

“I talked to Mrs. Nicky about it yesterday. She told me that everybody in class has to do something. So, I could either help with the costumes, be a stagehand, or, and I quote, ‘assist me in directing this musical so it does not turn into a monstrosity.’ When I asked her what an assistant director actually did, she said, ‘Keep the menagerie in line.’ Whatever that means.”