By Friday, Amanda had given up being mad at Erica over the "interesting smell" comment. Erica followed her out to her locker after class and even down to the front steps of the school. Jay and Courtney were waiting for Amanda there.

Amanda turned to say good bye to Erica who was "waiting for some friends," when she heard a familiar voice.

"Hey, Amanda, Jay, Courtney," Connor said as he came down the steps two at a time. To Erica, he said, "You seen the others yet?"

"What are you guys doing?" Jay asked.

"Just walking home," Connor said. "Brianna can't stand to be in one of those tin boxes with that many kids." He nodded casually at the school bus as he said it.

"Don't peg it all on me," Brianna said sourly as she came down the stairs with a boy in tow. The boy had dark hair, almost pitch-black eyes, and a brooding look about him. "None of you all can stand it any better."

"I tend to agree," Amanda said, "Jay and I haven't ridden the bus, ever. Even in elementary, and even in the middle of winter, we always walked."

"Together?" Connor asked. "Do you live close by?"

"I am just on the edge where I could take the bus, but I hate waiting, and it doesn't take me that much longer to walk than to wait," she explained.

"Where do you live?" Connor asked. She told him the address. "I thought the street dead-ended there?" he said.

"It does," Jay told him. "Her uncle's cabin is just on the edge of town, right past the dead end. You know how there's that alley and the hedgerow? It's tucked up in there."

"You can't say much," Amanda said. "You live where the sidewalk ends."

Erica snorted at Amanda's joke. "I loved that poem as a kid," she said.

Tanner approached the group and clapped the dark-haired boy on the shoulder. "Jonathan, baby," he said, "that was some awesome dodge ball in PE." The boy rolled his eyes. "What are we waiting for?" he asked.

"You," Brianna told him.

"We are all headed that way," Connor said pointing. "Mind if we walk with you guys a while?"

Courtney shrugged and said, "Suit yourself." Amanda nodded too, to be polite. She wasn't exactly sure what was up with Connor and his new group of friends, but she was still a little leery of them. Maybe they were looking for another excuse to smell her and then talk about it behind her back. Why would they do that? the rational part of her mind demanded. She shrugged it off.

"Mom says I might be able to use the Quest for school, if I do well enough and the insurance isn't too bad." Connor said.

"Awesomely cool," Tanner said.

"It would beat walking," Brianna said.

"I don't know, I like the fresh air," Erica said.

"What's the Quest?" Jay asked.

"It's a Nissan Quest," Connor explained. "It's my parent's second car. Seats eight, so I can haul a lot of friends."

"It's nice that you think of your friends." Courtney commented. The entire group walked down the road toward the middle school, where they would all presumably go their separate ways. They talked about school. Erica complimented Courtney on her fall hair colors, and Tanner pestered Jay about math, which he was struggling with.

This is how it should be, Amanda thought. No one commented on her weight or her odor. No one was giving her looks, if you discounted the occasional cold glance from Brianna. And they were all interacting with Jay and Courtney like that was no big deal either. No blunt or veiled slurs about their sexual orientation, or how it was a sinful life.

Exactly how it should be, she thought suspiciously, but rarely how it actually is. Could she really trust that Connor and his new friends weren't like that?

As they were coming up to an intersection Connor froze suddenly. His face turned intense and hostile. Amanda followed his gaze. Diagonally across the street was the homeless man she had seen the other day. He was staring at Amanda with the same hostility and malevolence he had shown then.

They all froze. Brianna's nose flared as she inhaled deeply. Erica appeared suddenly at Amanda's side, her face dark and inscrutable. Amanda glanced back. Even Tanner had lost his usual good-natured expression and was staring at the man.

"Connor, should I-," Jonathan began.

"No," Connor interrupted him. He continued to stare at the man.

"Who is that?" Jay asked hesitantly.

"Some homeless man, I think," Amanda said. "I keep forgetting to warn you. I think he's taken up camping in that park, you know in that clearing where we used to play?"

"What park?" Connor asked without taking his eyes off the man.

"The one on Crocker," Amanda said.

The man slowly, defiantly, looked away. He began to walk slowly down the street in the opposite direction.

"Do you want me to-" Jonathan began again.

"No," Connor said sharply. He turned back and gave Jonathan a dark, penetrating look. "We walk Amanda home. Then we walk Jay and Courtney home. Then we go tell Dad."

"Shouldn't we explore?" Jonathan asked.

"In time," Connor replied. "First we tell Dad."

He looked at Amanda. His expression changed suddenly, as if he was aware that he had been speaking cryptically. "My Dad is a police officer," he said. "He'll want to know about this."

"It's just some homeless guy," Amanda said.

A look passed between Connor and the others, but he nodded, "Still, it's not legal to camp there. Come on, let's go." He turned and strode off.

Who died and made you the boss of everything? Amanda thought as she watched the back of his shoulders as he walked away.

They all relaxed but stayed alert and attentive the entire way to Amanda's house. They insisted on walking her all the way to her yard, under the vague pretense of wanting to see where she lived. She didn't fully buy it. Connor even asked if she was going to be around that weekend, in case his dad had any questions.

"It's Labor Day," she said. She thought about how to explain the whole pagan festival thing and then gave up. "We are going out of town for the weekend."

"So are we," Jay volunteered.

"Good," Connor said, "it's probably best if you stay away from that park until my dad has had a chance to check things out."

"Yeah," Jay agreed, "that guy looked like a rough character."

After saying their goodbyes to Amanda, the group disappeared down the back alleyway with Jay and Courtney leading the way.

Amanda virtually forgot about the homeless guy between the long weekend and the next week. What she did recall was Connor and his friends' easy acceptance of her, Jay, and Courtney.

The first two days back to school slid by, and Amanda was starting to think that it wasn't just Connor and his friends that had changed, but everyone. Maybe all the kids at school were finally reaching an age where they outgrowing the tired old insults and teasing. Maybe they were ready to stop judging each other so shallowly and start treating each other with respect.

Then on Thursday afternoon, she walked into the girl's bathroom to find Rebecca Huff, one of the cheerleaders and her cohort of friends lined up at the sink. "Hurry up girls!" Rebecca called to her posse. "I want to get finished and out of here before Smelly Girl starts to stink up the place."

Amanda flushed. She put her head down and tried to barrel past to one of the stalls, but she found Rebecca blocking her way. She looked up and stared defiantly into the girl's eyes.

"Though I have to say," Rebecca said acidly, "that this new floral stench is marginally, and I do mean marginally, better than that BO you've been wafting around the last few years."

"Like everyone loves your cheap perfume," Amanda shot back.

"Cheap?" Rebecca said archly, "you wish. This stuff costs more per bottle than that shack you and your uncle live in. Why do you live with your uncle anyway? Did DHS have an intervention on your parents?"

"They're dead," Amanda said through clenched teeth.

If she thought that the knowledge that she was an orphan might engender some compassion from Rebecca, she soon found out otherwise. "Let me guess, did their trailer get uprooted in a tornado?"

"We never lived in a trailer," Amanda said tightly.

"Oh well," Rebecca said dismissively, "that only proves that you don't have to live in a trailer to be trailer trash."

"We lived in the country," Amanda growled. "There was a fire."

"Why are you talking?" Rebecca interrupted. "You are fat, you smell bad, and no one cares. Come on, girls."

"Lived in the country?" another girl said as she strode past. "Guess that explains the smell." A couple of girls snickered.

Hannah, a heavyset girl with blond hair in pigtails, gave Amanda a sympathetic look as the cheerleaders strode out. Her look conveyed, Why did you try talking back? You know how she is.

Amanda darted into one of the stalls. There she broke down and cried.

She remained irritable and defensive the rest of the day and into Friday. It wasn't until the next-to-last class that she found an outlet for her pent-up aggression.

Coming out of class, she spied two older boys, one of whom already had a record with the law and a reputation around school for being a troublemaker, cornering Jay in a back hallway of the school. Despite the fact that there were many students at their lockers and passing by, no one made a move to help him.

"Sicko Freak!" one of the boys spat out. "We don't like your kind at our school. You got that?"

"Faggot," the second boy yelled.

"I have just as much right to be here as anyone," Jay answered, his face a mixture of fear and defiance. "Just as much right!"

"No, you don't got any fucking right," the first boy said. "Unless we say so, ain't that right?" This last was aimed at the second boy.

Amanda's ears were ringing as she stormed down the hall after the three of them. They had Jay backed down the hall, with no escape.

"You leave him alone!" she yelled as she came up to them. The first boy turned and stepped up in front of her. He was tall, broad, and heavy. He towered over her. He intimidated most of the kids and was used to having everyone back down from him, but Amanda was in no mood to be intimidated. "You listen here!" she shouted. "You can't bully my friend anymore."

"What are you going to do about it?" he asked with a smirk. Amanda glared at him, not sure what she was going to do.

"She's right," a calm voice said, cutting through the scene. "And he's right."

Connor was leaning up against a locker, watching the first boy placidly.

"What do you mean?" the boy asked.

"You are done bullying him." Connor said simply. "It needs to stop."

"Have you gone all soft and gay now too?" the boy sneered.

"If by soft you mean have I realized that bullying is wrong and we shouldn't tease each other?" Connor replied with a shrug. "Then I guess I have gone soft. Doesn't matter, he's right. He's got just as much right to go to this school as you do. More even-he at least wants to get an education. Near as I can tell, you only show up to cause problems."

The boy pushed past Amanda and made for Connor now. Amanda used the distraction to pull Jay away from the second boy, who was watching the new confrontation shrewdly. She positioned herself in front of Jay, just in case a fight broke out for real.

"So Connor is going to be the big hero now, is that it?" the boy said. "Maybe I should put you in your place instead."

Out of the corner of her eye, Amanda saw Tanner arrive with the canny precision Connor's new friends had of just showing up together. She saw Connor give him the barest of hand signals, and Tanner held back, watching closely.

Connor straightened up and stepped out into the middle of the hall. "Yeah, I guess that's how it's going to be from now on," he said calmly. "So I guess you have no choice but to put me in my place."

The boy's hands came up into a boxing pose. "I'll do it, so help me, God. I'll do it."

Connor didn't raise his arms. Instead he stared calmly but deliberately into the boy's eyes and began to approach him slowly. "Then do it," he said quietly. "Let's see what happens. Haul off and hit me one. You are almost twice my size. It shouldn't be much of a contest."

The boy started to back away slowly, his hands shaking. "I'll do it," he maintained. "I'll do it."

Corey pushed through the crowd of onlookers, and Amanda spotted Brianna nearby as well. Corey came and stood beside Jay, putting one arm on his shoulder. A teacher showed up too, but even he hung back, watching the confrontation unfold.

Connor continued his relentless advance, never raising a fist. "What's wrong? You said you were going to put me in my place."

A wild look was in the boy's eyes. He was cornered and he knew it. Then suddenly he said, "Your dad is a cop! If I hit you, I'll go to jail for sure."

Connor merely shrugged again.

The bell rang. "Everyone get to class!" the teacher yelled and most of the onlookers began to head reluctantly for their next class.

"If you aren't going to hit me," Connor said pointing up at the bell, "maybe you should get to class, huh?" The boy and his friend pushed past and fled down the hall. Connor turned. The crowd had dwindled to a handful. Amanda, Jay, and Courtney stood to one side. Brianna, Tanner, and Jonathan were there too. "It's a minor deal," Connor told them. "You can go on to class." They all nodded and disappeared.

"I don't think they will bother you again," he told Jay.

"Thanks," Jay said. He dashed off toward his next class with Corey in tow.

"Thanks," Amanda said quietly when she and Connor were alone in the hall. "I am glad you showed up when you did."

"Can I walk you to class?" Connor asked.

"Umm, sure," she said.

"Actually it wasn't entirely coincidence that I showed up. I was sort of looking for you," Connor said. He seemed nervous suddenly, a huge change from the incredible calm he had shown facing down the bullies.

"Oh really?" Amanda said.

"Yeah I've been wanting to talk to you about something, and I'm kind of having trouble working up the nerve," he admitted suddenly.

"What's that?"

"Umm, well, would you . . . do me the honor . . . of coming to dinner?"

Do me the honor? she thought. "Dinner?" she said out loud.

"Yeah, at my place. Maybe Saturday?"

Was he asking her on a date? It kind of felt that way, but meeting his family, having dinner with them seemed more serious than a typical first date. 'Umm," she said, "yeah, I guess. This Saturday?"

"Yeah," he seemed relieved and eager. "I will make sure you have the address. We eat at six, but you can come over anytime you want."