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Show Inside Out, 215 "Yeah. Andli. I'm kind of new-just came at the beginning of the year." "Why don't you go get a beer, Andli?" she asked. "Maybe Terra will calm down and you can talk to her a little later." And it wasn't even sarcastic. She was actually being nice to me. Why was I so surprised that people were being nice? No one had criticized me for coming without an invitation. They had been welcoming. I could see how someone would run to these people when others might not be so welcoming. I wondered if I ought to spend some more time getting to know them-at school, maybe. Not at a party like this, which would have made me uncomfortable even without Joseph's ominous warning. But some time, somewhere e l s e . .. Simon stood against the wall with his arms folded, smiling slightly at everything. I had to get Terra out of there. "Look," I said to Terra and Martina. "I know it's rude of me to barge in here like this. I know you were having a . . . a talk. But I really, really need to talk to Terra outside right now." I turned towards Terra. "Please, Terra." Terra looked at Martina, who was examining the ends of her hair, and Simon, still watching her with a weird smirk on his face. Then she turned to me and shrugged. "All right," she said. Then she turned to the other two. "I'll be back in a minute." She pushed past me and headed down the hallway. I followed her through the kitchen and around the corner towards the front door. The doorbell rang. Terra opened the door. |