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doesn’t think she’ll shoplift anymore. “I thought about what Allie said and figured it’s probably not worth the risk of getting caught.” She smiledimpishly. “Still, I think I’ll miss the thrill—it’s such a cool rush to break the law.”
    Cesar was the only guy still at the table. I thought it was funny how he’s always privy to these female conversations. “Sounds wise,” he said. “Where I work, they really prosecute shoplifters.”
    Marissa laughed. “Yeah, like I’d go into Home Depot to take something. I can just see me putting a Skil saw under my T-shirt.”
    “Well, you’d probably get caught even if you just swiped a package of nails. They’ve got some pretty tight surveillance going on in there.”
    “Okay, I’ll keep that in mind next time I want to lift a ladder or bucket of paint.”
    “How’s your job going?” I asked, eager to change the subject.
    “Pretty good. It’s hard work, but I like it.”
    “Jake said he wants to get hired there too.”
    Cesar laughed. “Fat chance.”
    “You mean the drug test?” asked Allie.
    “Yeah, among other things.”
    “It only takes about a week to get your system clean—that is, if you drink lots of water and take vitamins,” said Marissa, as though she knew this from personal experience.
    I felt my eyebrows rise ever so slightly, and I wondered if this meant she was a user too, but I didn’t say a thing.
    “That’s not the case with weed.” Cesar leaned back in his chair like he was the expert. “It’ll still show up in a UA for up to a month.”
    “So you’re staying clean then?” asked Allie.
    He nodded. “Drug free and glad of it. It helps me to know they can test me anytime they like. But I don’t want to go back to that. What a waste.”
    “Good for you.” I smiled at him. Cesar really seems to have changed during the course of the school year. Okay, he might not be a Christian—not yet anyway. But he’s definitely trying to live better. And he seems pretty open to a lot of the things I’ve told him so far. I honestly think it’s just a matter of time.
    “Well, maybe Jake will quit using too,” suggested Allie. “If he wants to get a job, I mean.”
    Cesar set down his drink cup. “Yeah, my uncle says that you either quit or die. At first it sounded a little extreme to me, but the longer I stay clean—and see what my friends are doing—the more I think he might be right.”
    Marissa seemed quieter than usual just then, and I wondered once again if she might be into something. Although she’s never admitted to anything, and she’s never slipped out to smoke weed with Jake and Spencer.
    “Well, the best high I’ve ever had is with God,” I tossed in, watching for her to react. She didn’t.
    “Yeah, me too,” said Allie. “Like sometimeswhen we’re jamming and stuff, singing songs for God, man, it’s like way better than drugs.”
    Cesar leaned forward. “I remember feeling a high sort of like that once. It was really weird. I went to mass early one day, back when I was in sixth grade, and the whole church was totally empty. I just sat on this back pew and sort of listened to the silence. And suddenly I got this really cool feeling inside of me, kind of like God was right there.” He laughed. “Pretty weird. But it seemed real at the time.”
    Marissa jumped up. “Okay, you guys are really creeping me out with all this religious mumbo jumbo. I think I’ve had about enough.”
    Allie held up her hands. “Hey, it’s not as if we’re trying to convert you or anything—we’re just talking about stuff that’s important to us.”
    “And don’t worry,” I added lightly. “We don’t do an altar call or anything.”
    Well, Marissa kind of laughed at that, then slowly sat back down. “Okay then, I can only take so much, and just so you know, I get enough preaching from my grandparents. I mean, they’re total religious fanatics who have no problem knocking me across the side of the head with