The Shade of the Moon Read Online Free Page A

kissed her again,
     but this time she didn’t respond.
    “We could walk to the bus together,” he said. “Where do you live?”
    “Elm Street,” she said.
    Jon thought about it. “That’s eight blocks from here,” he said. “I’ll ask Val to wake
     up twenty minutes earlier and make my breakfast. That should give me enough time to
     get to your house.”
    “Why don’t you wake up twenty minutes earlier and make your own breakfast?” Sarah
     asked.
    “I can’t,” Jon said. “I don’t know how.”
    “You’ve never made your own breakfast?” Sarah asked, and Jon could see she was struggling
     not to laugh. He took that as a good sign.
    “Maybe when I was a kid,” he replied. “But that’s what Val’s for, to make our meals
     and clean the house.”
    “That’s not what she’s for,” Sarah said. “It’s what she does.”
    “Fine,” Jon said. “It’s what she does. And she’s grateful for the job. We treat her
     well, and she knows it. There’s nothing wrong with me telling her to get up a few
     minutes earlier every day to make my breakfast.”
    “I wish you understood,” Sarah said. “Working at the clinic, I’m starting to see things
     differently. Maybe you would too if you knew any laborers.”
    “You mean grubs,” Jon said. “And I know some.”
    “I don’t mean your domestics,” Sarah said. “I mean friends, family.”
    “My sister’s a grub,” he replied angrily. “She works in the greenhouses. Her husband’s
     a grub. He’s a bus driver, here in Sexton. You don’t have to tell me grubs are people,
     the same as clavers. Are any of your family grubs? Any of your friends?”
    Sarah was silent.
    “I’m not the only claver with family in White Birch,” Jon said. “Most everybody has
     someone there. Maybe their dad was selected but their aunt and their cousins weren’t.
     So they settled in White Birch, hoping things would get better. And maybe things will
     get better, and there won’t be clavers anymore or grubs. But like it or not, that’s
     how things are.”
    “How things are stinks,” Sarah said.
    “I don’t see you moving into a grubtown,” Jon said. “You had your chance, but you
     chose an enclave.”
    Sarah turned away from him. Jon touched her face, and felt her tears.
    “I’m sorry,” he said. “I’ll make my own breakfast. Can we walk to the bus together?”
    She faced him, and he kissed the tears off her cheek. “I know I sound awful,” she
     said. “I didn’t used to. It’s just I feel so alone.”
    Jon nodded. “I know how that feels,” he said. “We all do. Clavers, grubs, all of us.
     We all feel alone. We all feel exactly like you.”
     
    Wednesday, May 6
     
    Jon tried making his own breakfast, but he burned everything.
    When he got home from soccer practice, he asked Val if she’d mind getting up twenty
     minutes earlier to make his breakfast. He didn’t bother to explain why.
    Val told him it was no problem, exactly as Jon had known she would. He couldn’t figure
     out why Sarah had made such a fuss.
     
    Thursday, May 7
     
    Jon had spent the week eating lunch and joking with his teammates, rebuilding their
     relationship. Sarah was a prime target of their ridicule. He told himself it didn’t
     matter since she couldn’t hear what they were saying. She knew he liked her, and that
     was what counted.
    He was always a good student, mostly because he was afraid of the consequences if
     he wasn’t, but he worked particularly hard that week. He was the first to raise his
     hand when his teacher asked a question. He participated actively in the discussions.
     He did everything short of licking ass.
    That he saved for soccer practice. No one did more reps, no one pushed harder, no
     one took practices more seriously. He apologized again to Coach, and nodded thoughtfully
     when Coach lectured him on the importance not merely of winning but of winning big.
     Ryan and Luke snickered, but Jon acted as though he’d never truly