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ment team shirt before Friday's game. His old one was ruined in the fight. If Matty complied, he would take matters from there. |
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Matty complied. "Yeah, sure," he said into the phone. When he hung up he told her that Dr. Tojian wanted him to pick up a new shirt. |
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"You can take your bike," Terry said pleasantly. |
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Before he left, Terry said, "Matty, I don't want you near those kids. If they tease you or try to pick a fight, you walk away or tell the teacher. Okay?" |
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He slipped on his backpack without response. The silent treatment. |
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"Promise me, no fighting." |
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He nodded. Then, in a soft voice: "I don't want to move." |
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"We'll talk about that later. Hug?" She held open her arms. Matty put a stiff arm around her. |
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"Not unless you want to split your allowance with me," she said, and smiled. |
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Matty put his bookbag down and got a can of cat food from the cabinet. He opened the cellar door and dumped the food into the red bowl. "Daisy? Daisy?" He made kissing sounds. "She out?" |
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Matty bounded down the stairs, calling for the cat, while Terry went upstairs to bring down a basket of laundry. She was pleased that Tojian's ruse had worked. But the hard part was how he was going to convince Matty to submit to an exam, especially a blood test. Not that Matty was afraid of needles. He prided himself on his toughness against pain. But if he had taken something, he might suspect detection. Terry was counting on Mitch's artfulness with kids. |
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She carried the basket downstairs. As she headed to the table by the washing machine, she glanced at Matty. He was on all fours, staring under the large worktable. |
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