Among the Imposters

“It’s not like we can tell any of the trees apart.”

“So maybe you stepped on his garden by mistake,” Nina said. ‘And didn’t even know it.”

“I certainly wouldn’t know what a garden looks like,” one of the other girls said. “Like this? What were you growing?”

“Nothing,” Luke muttered. He was suddenly overcome with shame. He’d felt so brave stepping out from behind that tree. Just to make a fool of himself. Looking around, he could see how the other boys could have missed noticing his efforts, and trampled his garden by mistake. This had been a pathetic excuse for a garden. He’d been pathetic for ever thinking it was anything, let alone anything worth taking a risk for. He wished he could go back and hide behind a tree forever.

Jackal boy started laughing first.

“You thought this was a garden? You were sneaking out here to make a garden?” he asked.

The others began to snicker, too. Luke’s shame turned into anger.

“So?” he asked, defiant again.

“So you are a lecker,” jackal boy said. He was laughing so hard, he doubled over in mirth. “A real lecker.”

“You always say that,” Luke grumbled. “I don’t even know what a lecker is.”

“Someone from the country” Trey explained helpfully. ‘Like a bumpkin. That’s what it really means. But now the word’s just kind of a general insult, like calling someone a moron or stupid.”

Luke thought Trey almost sounded apologetic, but that only made things worse.

“What’s wrong with being from the country?” Luke asked.

“If you have to ask.. ,“ jackal boy said, laughing again. He had to sit down on the rotting stump to catch his breath. Luke hoped he got mold smears on his pants.

“Want to know something even funnier?” jackal boy continued. “I’m betting you’re really an exnay, too. So all those insults — lecker, exnay, fonrol — they’re all true. I don’t know that I’ve ever met someone who’s all three before. We’ll have to come up with a new word, just for you. What’ll it be?”

Luke stared at jackal boy and the others laughing behind him. His faced burned. How could he have thought, even for an instant, that these might be kids he could trust? That he might belong with them?

“Leave me alone!” he shouted, and turned and ran.

Twenty One

Luke could hear someone crashing through the woods behind him, but he didn’t look back. He’d run into the darkest part of the woods, and it took all his concen— tration to dodge the tree limbs that seemed to reach down out of nowhere. In fact, if Luke really wanted to terrify himself, he could think of those tree limbs as witches’ arms, ghouls’ fingers. He wasn’t used to running through woods at night. Back home, when he’d gone outside after dark, it had mostly been for catching lightning bugs in the backyard, playing moonlight kick ball with his brothers— innocent fun.

He’d been so young, back then, back home.

He forced himself to run faster, but whoever was behind him seemed to be catching up. Luke zigzagged, because he’d read once that that was how rabbits escaped their predators. Then he slammed into a tree. He screamed in pain, and reeled backwards.

A dark shape pounced. Before he knew it, Luke was pinned to the ground.

Luke remembered another time he’d been tackled: the first time he’d crept into Jen’s house. He made a noise, and the next thing he knew, she had him facedown in the carpet. And they’d become friends.

This wasn’t Jen.

“What do you think you’re doing?” a voice hissed in his ear. Jackal boy’s. “You go back now, during Indoctrination, and they’ll catch you. They’ll know. And then they’ll come looking for the rest of us.”

Indoctrination? Luke guessed that jackal boy meant the evening lecture. The name made sense — the lecture was always about how wonderful the Government was. But Luke hadn’t even thought about what he was running toward. He was just running away

“Who will catch me?” he asked. “The only ones who watch are the hall monitors. And they all report to you, right?”

“You got it,” jackal boy said. He sounded pleased. “1 worked hard setting up that system. The teachers didn’t like hall duty, anyway. And now—”

“You can get away with anything, can’t you?” Luke asked. “Unless I tell.”

He didn’t know what possessed him to make that threat. Maybe it was just habit — after twelve years of being the youngest brother, he knew the power of tattling.

And he knew how easily it could backfire.

“Make you a deal,” Luke said quickly. “Let me up, and I won’t go back now. Answer some questions for me, and I won’t tell. I’ll keep your secrets.”

Jackal boy seemed to be considering. Finally, he said, “Okay.”

Luke scrambled up and pulled away He rubbed the side of his face. He wasn’t sure if it was sore from hitting the tree or from being slammed against the ground. His hand came away wet.

“I’m bleeding,” he said accusingly.

“You’ll have to hide it,” jackal boy said. “Are you good at hiding?”

Luke shrugged away the question. He knew jackal boy was really asking something else. But Luke wasn’t ready to answer.

“What’s your name, anyway?” Luke asked.

“Which one?” jackal boy asked. “If you look at the school records, I’m Scott Renault. Out here, I’m Jason.”

“One of those names is fake,” Luke said.

Somewhere in the woods, an owl hooted. Luke waited. Finally, jackal boy answered, softly, “Yes.”

“Your friends all have fake names, too,” Luke said.

“Yes.” No hesitation.

“You’re all third children who have come out of hiding with fake I.D. cards,” Luke said.

“Exnays,” jackal boy said.

“Is that what that means?” Luke asked.

“You didn’t know?” jackal boy asked. “Where have you been all your life?”

Luke decided not to answer that question, either.

‘And fonrols—” he started. a — are any third children, hiding or not”

“Why does everyone at school call each other those names?” Luke asked. “Is everyone here an exnay?”

In the dark, Luke could barely see jackal boy shaking his head.

“Haven’t kids called each other exnays and fonrols at the other schools you’ve been to? All the. other places you’ve ever lived? Some say in the beginning the Government paid people to use ‘fonrol’ and ‘exnay’ as swear words. On TV, and stuff Then those words were forbidden in public broadcast, which just meant that people used them more in private. They wanted to make sure that everyone thought of third children as terrible.”

Luke wondered why Jen had never told him about that.

“Maybe I’ve never been to any other schools,” Luke said cautiously He’d said “maybe.” He could still deny everything if he wanted.

Jackal boy laughed, openmouthed. His teeth glinted in the moonlight.

“Why don’t you just come out and admit it?” he asked. “You’re an exnay, too. I know it”.

Luke dodged the question.

“Why do you harass me every night?” he asked. “When everyone else ignores me—”