take my records and player.” “What will your dad think?” She squinched her nose, brightened, and glanced at Susan. “He’ll be okay if you come along. You will, right? Suzy, yes, please?” “Okay, but I’m leaving if you two start smooching.” Jenny crossed herself. “I promise.” “I hope so, and anyway, let’s stay away from Liam. I don’t like how he stares.” Susan turned in her seat to better face Jenny. “You know how when you catch him staring, he’ll do that thing where he looks down and starts muttering?” Jenny nodded. “Creepy. No way he’ll graduate.” ■ ■ ■ In the quiet, predawn hours, under the waxing gibbous moon, Jenny’s father, Sheriff Robert Linsky, drove his squad car slowly past Main Street’s closed stores. He checked his watch and tuned his radio to a Kansas City Royals replay. ■ ■ ■ Saturday morning, Jenny’s younger siblings were playing outside, Dad was snoring, and Mom was sewing Jenny a new blue dress for the upcoming school dance. Meanwhile, Jenny was upstairs, in her room, in front of her long mirror, and dancing to the beats of her newest ABBA album. After the day’s football game, Susan, Jenny, a stack of her records, and her player met Jacob outside their gym school doors. Jacob pointed the way, and they walked across the lot to a white pickup truck. “Is this yours?” Jenny asked. “No, it’s a farm truck. My battery died. I took this one.” “Will someone be missing it?” “Nah. It’s Saturday, and the planting’s done. Anyway, we have others.” He slung his gym bag into the bed of the truck, turned, and took Jenny’s record player from her arms. He pointed with his chin. “Hop in.” As the girls walked to the truck’s passenger side, Jacob lifted Jenny’s player to place it in the truck bed but hesitated when he saw he had dropped his gym bag onto someone’s duf昀氀e bag. He wedged her player tight between PLAINS PARADOX ■ 4