run into him.
David was in the back of her mind all the time. She’d fall asleep kissing her pillow, pretending she was kissing him, and it felt real except for the cat hair. She was so ready to lose her kiss-virginity to him, and she felt excited just walking close to him.
They headed toward the site, and Allie wished they had left the gun buried. She wouldn’t have come today except that David had called her last night and asked. She’d felt such a charge hearing his voice. She hadn’t heard anything from him before that. They had exchanged screen names so they could message each other. David had liked hers, which was AllieOop918. It had been Jill’s idea.
“Watch your step, Sash.” Julian pointed at the deep ruts in the mud.
“If I get hurt, can I sue you?”
“Good luck.” Julian gave her a playful shove, and they passed yellow and red construction vehicles that read CASE and TAKEUCHI.
Sasha asked him, “Are those tractors or what?”
“A trackhoe, a backhoe, and a skid steer.”
“How about this?” Sasha pointed to long green tubes that ran along the muddy ground like fabric snakes.
“Silt fencing to control the runoff. This section is going to be called Vicmead Hunt. It’s only ‘carriage houses,’ which means twins. Marketing is everything.”
Allie could tell that Julian felt proud, and David looked over at her with a sly smile. “Guess what, I’m reading that book you recommended. Infinite Jest.”
“Really?” David smiled wider.
“Yes, and it’s so thick!”
“I know, I love it.” David chuckled, his eyes lighting up.
“I started reading it, and it’s amazing.” Allie warmed inside, happy that her trip to the library had paid off. Of course she wasn’t the one who liked thick books, Jill was. Allie had just told David that to match him. She liked reading, but she was a slow reader compared to Jill, and Infinite Jest made her feel dumb because it had so many SAT vocab words.
“How far along are you?”
“I’m in the beginning. I just got it yesterday.” Allie had gone to the library the day after David had told her about the book. She didn’t want to say she was only at page fifteen because that sounded pathetic.
“I love the beginning.” David grinned. “Hal Incandenza in the job interview.”
“Right, yes.” Allie remembered that Hal Incandenza was the character, but she couldn’t tell if it was a joke name or a real name. She hadn’t even known it was about a job interview until David just said.
“What do you think of his writing?”
“The writing is so good, and he seems so smart.” Allie thrilled to see David nod, and a lock of hair fell into his eye, which made him look gorgeous.
“He’s a genius, officially. The year after he wrote Infinite Jest, he got a MacArthur genius grant.”
“Wow.” Allie hadn’t even known there was such a thing as an official genius.
“He’s won other prizes, too, like the Whiting Award. He published his first book when he was only twenty-four.”
“Really?” Allie asked, though she remembered that David had told her that already, but she didn’t mind. She could listen to him talk about David Foster Wallace all day.
“His father taught philosophy in college, and his mother taught English.”
“Wow.” Allie wished she could think of something to say other than wow, but she was starting to get nervous. She was walking right behind Julian’s backpack, and inside were the gun and bullets. They were getting closer to the entrance of the construction site, and soon they’d be shooting the gun.
Julian led them to a double-wide gate in the fence, locked with a heavy chain and a combination padlock. He examined the padlock and thumbed the dials. “Gimme a minute.”
Sasha stood next to him. “How do you know the combination?”
“They keep it the same on all the sites. It’s 911 with a 0 in front, because you need four numbers.” Julian unlocked the gate and opened one side with a flourish. “Entrez, milady.”
“Awesome!” Sasha popped through the gate. “Where now?”
“We’re going past the houses to the end of the site, by the woods. The turnpike’s on the other side, and the traffic will drown out the gunshots. That’s why these lots suck. Turnpike noise.”
“Race me!” Sasha took off, sprinting away in her tank and shorts from cross-country. Julian bolted after her, his backpack bumping along, a sight that made Allie cringe.
“I wish he wouldn’t run with the gun and the bullets.”
“Nothing’s going to happen.” David chuckled, and Allie looked around, as they walked along a gravel