Swipe

since the A.U.’s rapid environmental decline, and that vegetarian alternatives had become increasingly popular in its place, but that didn’t make Logan a sucker. “I’ll stick with my peanut butter, thanks.”
    The two of them sat on the sports lawn with the rest of the eighth graders, who made small clumps around the field and picnicked with their lunch bags, despite the sweltering midday heat.
    “Whatever,” Dane said, throwing his sandwich back in its bag.
    “I hear she’s from Beacon.” Logan shrugged, talking again about the new girl. He always seemed to have interesting gossip; being paranoid had its advantages.
    “Oh yeah? I bet she hates Spokie.”
    “Apparently her dad’s a government guy.”
    “Anything interesting?”
    Logan frowned. “Standard. Government work. Who knows? Her mom’s a big-shot financial something-or-other, though, on Barrier Street.”
    Dane frowned. “Well-bred.”
    “Looks like it,” Logan agreed.
    “Hey, guys . . . happy, uh, lunch break,” Hailey said, creeping up behind them out of nowhere.
    “ Man , Hailey, do you have to do that, always? Act so weird all the time?” Dane turned around, pretending to be annoyed. Hailey laughed but didn’t look up from the ground.
    “Hi, Hailey,” Logan said, and Hailey waved. She still didn’t look up. “You have a good summer?”
    “Yes, you?” Hailey kicked idly at a clump of plasti-grass.
    “Fine. Hey, we should have hung out more.”
    Hailey paused. “What’d you do, Dane?” She eyed his outfit. “Find any time to wash those clothes?”
    Dane sneered at her. “Mostly rehearsed with the Boxing Gloves, actually, when I wasn’t in New Chicago.”
    Hailey shrugged.
    “You know, my band ?” Dane said. “We’re playing a concert at the end of the month. Man , you’re weird. Why are you so weird, Hailey?” Hailey shrugged again. Dane kept talking. “Rode around on my new rollerstick some too. Oh, hey, Logan, did I tell you I got a rollerstick?”
    “No. Don’t you need a Mark for that?”
    “Well . . . fine, it’s my dad’s, technically. But it’ll be mine soon enough! Just four weeks ’til—”
    “Your Pledge. We know.” Logan rolled his eyes, and Dane made as if he were going to hit him, playfully.
    “Guess that’s the other thing I did this summer,” Dane said. “Studied. Quick, ask me anything! Ask me about the Inclusion!”
    “Let’s not talk about it,” Logan said.
    “Mm-hm.” Hailey nodded. No one had anything more to say. “Well, I’ll see you, then.” Was it possible Logan saw her wink at him before she walked away? But that was too weird to be true.
    As late as fifth grade, Dane, Logan, and Hailey Phoenix had been inseparable. They spent weekends together, they studied together, they played sports together . . . Two years in a row they’d been champions in the Spokie Elementary hover-dodge league, and Logan had been pretty sure it was mainly due to the fact that the three of them had such good communication. A wave of the hand or a nod of the head was all he ever needed from either of them to know exactly what they were going to do next. At night, the three of them would often message one another on their tablets at exactly the same time. On holidays, they’d send identical electronic greeting cards. It was just that kind of friendship.
    They’d spent summers together too, at that hippy-dippy sleep-away camp, Underbrush Woods, up north. This was before Lily died, before Logan became afraid he was being followed. Back when he never worried about anything.
    They had all liked it there, because the rules were loose, and the three of them could spend their days halfway into the small, thin patches of what remained of A.U.’s northern forest, looking up at the leaves and clouds and talking about how they’d be friends long after each of them was Marked and married and raising grandchildren . . .
    Then between fifth and sixth grade, biology played a mean trick. Gradually, Dane realized, much to his alarm, that he might someday like to be more than just friends with Hailey. And that would have been fine—a manageable emotion, at least—except for the twist that came one week later, when Hailey approached Dane to admit that she’d fallen for Logan , and wasn’t it funny, and what she really needed to know now was what Dane thought she should do about it.
    Logan never did hear about the epic argument that erupted between Dane and Hailey that day. Neither of them told him about