them referred to him as a Quinn. He knew his name was DeLauter still. He
had to put it at the top of every stupid paper he did for school, didn't
he? But hearing Ethan call him a Quinn made that little beam of hope
that Ray had first ignited in him months before shine just a little
brighter.
He was going to stay. He was going to be one of them. He was never going
back into hell again.
It made it worth being called down to Moorefield's office that day. The
vice principal had reeled him in an hour before freedom. It had made his
stomach jitter, as it always did. But she'd sat him down and told him
she was proud of his progress.
Man, how mortifying.
Okay, so maybe he hadn't punched anybody in the face in the last couple
months. And he'd been handing in his stupid homework assignments every
dumb day because somebody was always nagging him about them. Phillip was
the worst nag in that particular area. It was like the guy was a
homework cop or something, Seth thought now. And yeah, he'd been raising
his hand in class now and then, just for the hell of it.
But to have Moorefield single him out that way had been soa bleech, he
decided. He'd almost wished she'd hauled his butt in to give him another
dose of In-School Suspension.
But if a bunch of dopey A's made a guy like Ethan happy, it was okay.
Ethan was absolutely cool in Seth's estimation. He worked outside all
day, and his hands had scars and really thick calluses. Seth figured you
could practically pound nails into Ethan's hands without him even
feeling it, they were so hard and tough. He owned two boats--that he'd
built himself--and he knew everything about the Bay and sailing. And
didn't make a big deal about it.
A couple of months back Seth had watched High Noon on TV, even though it
had been in lame black and white and there hadn't even been any blood or
explosions. He'd thought then that Ethan was just like that Gary Cooper
guy. He didn't say a lot, so you mostly listened when he did. And he
just did what needed to be done without a lot of show.
Ethan would have faced down the bad guys, too. Because it was right.
Seth had mulled it over for a while and had decided that's what a hero
was. Somebody who just did what was right.
ethan would have been stunned and mortally embarrassed, if he'd been
able to read Seth's thoughts. But the boy was an expert at keeping them
to himself. On that level, he and Ethan were as close as twins.
It might have crossed Ethan's mind that Village Pizza was only a short
block from Shiney's Pub, where Grace would be starting her shift, but he
didn't mention it.
Couldn't take the boy into a bar anyway, Ethan mused as they headed into
the bright lights and noise of the local restaurant. And Seth was bound
to complain, loudly, if Ethan asked him to wait in the car for just a
couple minutes while he poked his head in. Likely Grace would complain,
too, if she caught on that he was checking on her.
It was best to let it go and concentrate on the matters at hand. He
tucked his hands into his back pockets and studied the menu posted on
the wall behind the counter. "What do you want on it?"