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'Did you know the boy?' Hanson asked. |
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'I've seen him around school.' Toby faced him, frowning slightly. 'We've only got a handful of coloreds, you know. This Chidi, he wasn't at all like the others. A tall fellow, kind of handsome, and he talked funny. I guess he came from one of those islands. Jamaica, Haiti, someplace like that. It was none of this "hey, bro, mutherfuh," stuff. He talked like he had breeding, you know?' |
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'How did he get along with the other students?' |
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'Well, from what I saw, he didn't have much to do with the other black kids. The rest of them were always hanging around together. I guess that's only natural. But I don't think I ever saw Chidi with them. When I saw him, he was always with white kids. White girls, mostly. It seems like the girls really took to him.' |
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Hanson felt his heart quicken. 'Anyone special?' |
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'Yeah, there was. I don't know the girl's name, but I could find it out for you. The past couple of weeks, they've been hanging all over each other. I wouldn't be at all surprised if she wasn't putting out for him.' |
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'Well, now,' Hanson muttered. |
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'Yeah, I can see how a thing like that might rub some folks the wrong way.' |
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They both jumped and threw their heads back as the sky seemed to explode. For an instant, Hanson thought a mid-air collision had occurred over the stadium. But what he saw was a searing bright flash of lightning, branched like a giant tree, ripping down |
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