Over the Edge Read Free

away.

CHAPTER TWO
    D uring the first part of their flight from Jackson Hole, Morgan told Jack a little about his school, complaining that Dry Creek was populated by redneck kids with low-octane brains. In the small town of 700, there was nothing to do but ride horses, which Morgan adamantly refused to do, and nothing to see except scrawny cows and scrawnier chickens. Every other comment he made was punctuated by his request to use Olivia’s laptop, which Olivia declined to hand over. Morgan kept talking, but when the seat-belt light blinked off, Ashley quickly escaped toward the rest room. Jack followed.
    â€œI don’t think I can take another two hours listening to him,” she complained the minute they were out of Morgan’s hearing. “He is driving me absolutely crazy.”
    They bumped their way down the narrow aisle until they reached the back of the plane. A man with a bald, round head and a much rounder paunch stood ahead of them, shifting from foot to foot as he waited for the tiny “Occupied” sign to slide to “Vacant.” For a moment, Jack wondered how the man would fit into a bathroom as small as a metal coffin, but when the door open, the man managed to turn sideways and squeeze inside.
    â€œI mean, all he does is talk about himself,” Ashley continued. “Have you noticed that everyone else is stupid, and he’s brilliant, and blah, blah, blah. When Mom told him about going to the Grand Canyon because the condors were dying, he just stared out the window like he didn’t even care. Maybe if everyone hates him, he should get a clue. I want to say, ‘Hello—the problem is you, Morgan.’”
    â€œHe’s not so bad,” Jack said defensively.
    When Ashley gave him a look, he said, “OK, he’s weird, but he’s also…interesting.”
    â€œAs long as you buy into everything he’s saying. And he’s like obsessed with computers. Mom thinks he could be dangerous, and I think she’s right.”
    â€œOh, come on. When did Mom say that?” Jack demanded.
    â€œLast night. While you were in bed, I snuck down the hall and listened in on their conversation. I’ve never heard them argue about taking in a foster kid before.” With her fingers curled against her protruding hip, Ashley waved her free hand in the air, almost hitting a flight attendant who hustled by. “Finally, Mom told Dad if it was that important she’d go along, but she thought any kid vicious enough to trash a whole town had a lot of pent-up rage. Then Dad told her that it was a lot healthier to write about bad feelings than act on them, and then they called Ms. Lopez inside and took Morgan.”
    The lavatory door opened, and the round man pushed his way out. Ashley was next.
    â€œWhat I can’t figure out is why you even like him,” she declared from the doorway. “He’s a punk.”
    â€œI didn’t say I liked him.”
    â€œYou don’t have to.” With that, Ashley snapped the door shut, leaving Jack to think about what she’d said. It wasn’t exactly that he liked Morgan, but he couldn’t help being drawn to his…what was it? Maybe his self-assured view of the world according to Morgan. His braininess. Maybe even the fact that people thought him dangerous, although Jack didn’t believe it. By the time Jack had made it back to his seat, he could tell Morgan had said something that had set Jack’s mother off again. He could see her eyes flashing, while Ashley, already seated, wore an I-told-you-Morgan-was-trouble expression.
    â€œHey—what’s going on?” he asked, settling down in his seat. He was in the middle, Morgan had folded himself in next to the window, and Ashley had the aisle. Their parents were seated directly opposite them.
    â€œMorgan just informed us that he’s not at all interested in the Grand Canyon,” Olivia answered tartly. “He says