Outlier: One mistake can destroy everything. Read Free Page B

whatever he wanted, which wasn’t much. Comic books, mostly, and beers every once in a while. But he didn’t really like drinking, because that’s when his mom seemed angrier than usual. He worked about the same hours that the kids would go to school, only he had to stay an hour or two after. Most days off he just stayed home and watched TV. Sometimes he would take the bus to San Antonio. There were lots of nice places there, and he could walk around without anybody knowing who he was.
     
    He had graduated the same year as that detective, Sean. They knew each other by name, but they never talked, since Jay stayed out of trouble. Sometimes Sean would see him and say hi. He knew Sean had been going out with Sheryl, that pretty teacher. He also knew her from school. She smiled at him at school sometimes too, when he was emptying the trash in her classroom. But she looked at him funny, like most people do. Like they were sad or something. They’d smile at him, but they would never talk to him or invite him to parties or anything. Just friendly.
     
    He noticed his right hand clutching something. Sheryl’s bookmark. A heavy paper ruler with one of those characters from One Piece , about the pirates always looking for gold and that guy who looks like a monkey. Yesterday he had swept up in the back of her room. He liked looking at her, so he always took a little bit of extra time when she was there.
     
    She had smiled and left like she always does. But she left her bookmark on the table. He grabbed it and wanted to give it back to her, but she was already gone. He’d put it in his pocket. He’d thought about leaving it on her desk where he’d found it, but he thought somebody might steal it. And then she would know that he knew it was there and left it. He thought maybe she’d get angry at him for letting somebody steal it, so he’d brought it home for safekeeping. He’d give it back to her on Monday.
     
    Now he remembered why he felt really guilty for some reason. He’d brought it home and sat on the couch. He held it and remembered when he had tried to talk to her for the first time when they were in school together. She looked shocked, and he felt embarrassed. He never talked to her again after that. Girls didn’t like him. They weren’t really mean; they just avoided him. Sometimes he thought they were laughing at him. But when he’d look at them, they’d stop. He had barely passed his remedial classes. After he graduated, they gave him a job as a janitor. He’d never really left.
     
    But last night, he’d held her bookmark and felt a great sadness. The more he held it, the more he thought about her. He thought he had maybe dreamed about her last night, but he wasn’t sure. He usually remembered his dreams, but not in much detail. They usually had stuff in them like he’d watched on TV or read in his comics. Not comics—graphic novels, they were called. They were like comics, but much longer.
     
    He didn’t like holding the bookmark. Not anymore. He put it on the table and went to the toilet, then checked the kitchen. He’d give her the bookmark on Monday. Maybe she’d smile at him then. That would be nice.

Chapter Five
     
    Saturday, 5:30 p.m.
     
    One hour in his tiny apartment had been enough. He’d have to ditch that place soon. Or leave. Or something. He’d walked the streets of downtown San Antonio and wandered into a place called The Whistler. It was a college bar with live music on weekends. The place was about half-filled with students and locals. He chose a table in the back out of instinct, since it gave him a view of both the door and the stage.
     
    After his second gin and tonic, a young, pretty acoustic guitar player started belting out familiar music. Popular radio tunes, old classics. Nothing original. He figured he’d drink until he could barely see and then figure something else out. There had to be plenty of hotels around here.
     
    After his fourth G&T, he thought the