Chain Letter Read Free Page B

off. Of course if that were true, why did
     he collect them at all? When he was honest with himself, he had to admit a good chunk
     of his self-image was built on his athletic successes. Grant High had wonthe league title in football last fall, and it had been his passing arm that had been
     hugely to thank, a fact that was often mentioned but never debated at school. At present,
     running in the quarter mile and half mile, he was leading the track team to a similar
     championship. What made him slightly ashamed of his accomplishments, he supposed,
     was his being a hero in a group he couldn’t relate to. He was a jock but he really
     didn’t give a damn what NFL team acquired who in the draft. He could never carry on
     a conversation with his teammates, and he despised their condescending attitude toward
     nonathletic students. That was one of the reasons he felt comfortable with Kipp and
     Neil. Neither of them could hike a football, much less score a touchdown.
    “Neil called just before you arrived,” Tony said. “He should be here any minute.”
    “Does he know that he now has a Caretaker ?”
    “Yeah. Alison gave him the gist of the letter over the phone.”
    Kipp grinned, which was always a curious affair on him. He had a buffoon’s nose and
     a rabbit’s ears, plus fair hair that had an unfortunate tendency to stick up, all
     of which at first glance made him look like a clown. But his intense black eyes belied
     the comparison. Even when he laughed, which was often, he looked like he was thinking.
     Kipp may not have been a genius, but he was close enough to make no difference. He
     had a 4.0 average and was going to M.I.T. come fall to study aeronauticalengineering. He and Tony hadn’t been friends for long; they had gotten beyond the
     superficial “Hey, what’s happening?” level only after the incident last summer—nothing
     like a shared trauma to bring people together. He had the rare wit that could ridicule
     himself as comfortably as it did others. He loved to talk and, being a prodigious
     reader, usually knew what he was talking about. Tony was hoping he could shed some
     light on their dilemma.
    “Why didn’t you invite Alison to this discussion?” Kipp asked. “She wanted to come.”
    “Did she?”
    “Brenda told me she did. And Brenda never lies, usually.”
    “Brenda’s your girlfriend,” Tony said. “Why isn’t she here?”
    “She says she’s not scared, but I’m not sure I believe her. I didn’t want us to have
     to have a hysterical female’s opinion to deal with.”
    “Alison said Fran was the one who was most upset.”
    “You don’t know Fran, she’s always upset. She wouldn’t even give Brenda the original
     letter for us to study.” Kipp leaned forward and pulled a folded sheet of notebook
     paper from his back pocket. “Brenda copied it down word-for-word. Do you want to read
     it?”
    “Alison repeated it to me twice on the phone. But let Neil read it. Then destroy it.
     I don’t want copies of that blasted thing floating all over the place.”
    Kipp nodded. “So answer my question: Why not have Alison here?”
    Tony shrugged. “At this point, what does she know that we don’t?”
    Kipp snorted. “Her liking you is no reason to be afraid of her. Look, you have no
     excuse to suffer the usual adolescent insecurities over creatures of the opposite
     sex. You’re built like an ox, have apple pie in your blond hair, and the flag in your
     blue eyes. You’re as All-American as they make them.”
    “How do you know she likes . . . oh, yeah, because Brenda told you and Brenda doesn’t
     lie.” Tony scratched his All-American head and tried to look bored. Actually, he always
     felt both elated and annoyed whenever he heard of Alison’s interest in him: elated
     because he was attracted to her, annoyed because she was fascinated with someone who
     didn’t exist. She saw only his image, the guy who could throw the perfect spiral to
     the perfect spot at