The ELI Event B007R5LTNS

each other, they had never shaken hands, never exchanged a pat on the back; in fact, never touched at all, except with their eyes. At first, it had hurt the old man’s feelings; now, he just accepted it as part of the boy’s complex, singular makeup.
    Another quick glance over the shoulder, and the bag was hidden again in the boy’s pocket. “Um, I gotta go. Mrs. Faraday, she’ll be lookin’ for me. Thanks.” The fleeting but sincere smile appeared again, giving the old man all the thanks he needed. The boy raised his hand and waved as he coaxed his voice to speak. “So long.”
    “Sure, sure! Any time,” the old man said cheerily. “Glad to do it. Say now, you’ll let me know how those parts work out, hey?” he called, but the boy was already off, heading toward the play area at an awkward trot. The old man looked after him until he had crossed the lot and disappeared around the corner of the orphanage. “So long, Robin,” he whispered.
    “Hey, Bird!” Mike called to Robin as he trotted up to the group of boys. “Hey, where you been? I been lookin’ for you—somebody I want you to meet!” A small, dark, tough boy of fourteen, Mike was a natural bully, the group’s leader by default. He grabbed Robin by the arm and ushered him roughly through the group, positioning him next to a boy Robin had never seen.
    “This is Tom Butler, the new kid,” Mike said to Robin. “He just came in from Nebraska, and I’m showing him around. Tom, this is our resident bozo, Robin.” He chuckled and raised his voice so all the boys could hear. “We just call him ‘Bird’, don’t we, guys?”
    The boys laughed their agreement as Tom, a blond, freckled fifteen-year-old, extended his hand to Robin. Before Robin had time to respond, Mike slapped a half-empty pack of cigarettes into Tom’s outstretched hand.
    “Here, hold these a minute. I gotta show you something.” He reached into his jeans and withdrew some coins; selecting a dime and a nickel, he stuffed the others back into his pocket. Robin immediately drew back, but was roughly returned to his place by a tall boy called Iggy and Mike’s main hanger-on, Rance, a nasty little piece of work who liked to burn ants with a magnifying glass.
    “Aw, come on, Bird,” Mike coaxed sarcastically. “Ain’t nothin’ to be scared of. We just want to show Tom here how smart you are!” More laughter. “You do it all the time for us.” He leaned over close to Robin and stage-whispered, “Besides, you want Tom to like you, don’t you? Well, don’t you?” Robin nodded shyly.
    “Great! I knew you wouldn’t let me down! Now then…” He looked toward the house, made sure they were out of sight of Mrs. Faraday’s office. Holding out his hands, one coin in each palm, he winked at the new boy. “This is about one funny-ass gag, Tom—check it out!”
    Turning back to Robin, he delivered his set-up as skillfully as ever. “Now Bird, I want you to pay real close attention. In this hand I got a dime, and in this hand I got a nickel. Now you can have either one of ’em, whichever one you like, but you can’t have ’em both. Okay, which one you want?” He winked again at Tom, who watched, wide-eyed.
    Robin’s eyes moved slowly from one hand to the other, then back to meet Mike’s. “C’mon, Bird, you can have whichever one you want. Go ahead—pick one!” Robin reached out and pointed to the hand holding the nickel. Hesitantly, he spoke.
    “I want that one.” Immediately, all the boys except Tom burst into hysterical laughter, as though they had never seen the joke before, when in fact they had seen it dozens of times. Before Robin could take the coin, Mike closed his hands and withdrew them.
    “All right, Bird, you got it!” He shouted. “Now tell Tom here why you picked the nickel.”
    Robin turned to Tom, who seemed flustered, embarrassed for him. “Well,” he looked at Mike, then back at Tom, “I picked it because it’s bigger.” Again the boys fell about themselves with laughter, except for Tom. Mike quickly put his arm around Tom, guiding him away. Most of the boys drifted off in small groups, still chuckling.
    “That was great, Bird, just great!” Mike called over his shoulder. “Oh, I almost forgot—here’s your nickel. You picked it fair and square!” Laughing, he tossed the nickel backwards over his head, where it landed with a small thud in the dirt at Robin’s feet. Robin carefully retrieved it, blew off the dust and clenched