"You just ran a red light."

Tom looked over at Meera and smiled. "I know," Tom said. "It's called dodging. Everyone is doing it. It's fun.

"Seems dangerous," Meera replied.

"That's the point," Tom said.

Meera went back to looking at her phone.

Tom felt angry. He'd borrowed his neighbor's car to impress Meera. His dad let him drive all the time, even though he was only fifteen. But his dad wasn't home and Tom really wanted Meera to like him.

"Watch this." Tom pressed hard on the gas. The car flew past the stop sign. Meera never looked up. He thought he should try something else.

"I bet you didn't know you were with a celebrity," Tom said.

"What? Who?"

Tom smiled. "Me. Tom Cruz. Get it? Like the actor?"

"That's funny." Meera's laugh sounded mean.

Tom had had enough. Meera was one of the prettiest girls in school, but she wasn't nice. His best friend, Evan, had said so. Tom just didn't want to believe it. All he could think about was getting the chance to kiss her.

Tom was so upset that he ran through another red light. This time it wasn't on purpose. He didn't notice it until he was halfway across the street. Then all he could see was the front of another car coming right at him. At the last second, it turned to the side with a screech of tires.

"Holy crap! Did you see that?"

"What now?" Meera hadn't looked up once from the text she was sending.

With his heart beating hard, Tom was more careful the rest of the way home. He pulled into his neighbor's driveway and left the keys in the glove box. It didn't look like Mr. Smith had noticed the car was even gone.

Meera finally put away her phone and looked at Tom.

"That was fun," she said. "Want to walk me home?"

Tom couldn't believe it. Half of him wanted to tell her off. The other half still hoped to get a chance to kiss her.

"Hey, Tom!" It was Evan. He lived four houses down. "Want to play some video games?"

"Maybe later. I'm taking Meera home."

He hoped Evan would get the hint. Evan didn't.

"I can drive her home," Evan said. He'd turned sixteen a month ago. He loved to rub it in Tom's face whenever he could.

"Thanks," Meera said. "It's not too far."

Tom had to ride in the back. It was full of fast food wrappers and empty soda cans. Worst of all, it smelled like rotten milk.

At Meera's house, Tom jumped out and opened the door for her.

"Thanks for the ride." She smiled at Evan and Tom felt jealous. Meera should like him, not Evan. All Evan did was give her a ride home. Tom had stolen a car and almost gotten killed.

"I guess I'll see you tomorrow," Tom said.

"You could come in for a while," Meera told him.

"Maybe next time," Tom said. He was too mad. He didn't even want to kiss her anymore. He got back in the car and slammed the door.

"Why did you turn her down?" Evan asked. "I thought you liked her."

"She's boring."

"What did you guys do?" Evan asked as he drove Tom home.

Tom told Evan about Mr. Smith's car. He told him Meera didn't even pay attention while he was dodging. Evan's older brother Chris had taken them dodging their first time last year.

"I told you so," Evan smiled.

"Yeah, you did," Tom agreed.

"You could have borrowed my car."

"Your car stinks," Tom said. "And I thought Meera would think I was bad if I stole a car."

"Mr. Smith lets people borrow it all the time," Evan said.

"Yeah, but she doesn't know that."

Evan laughed. His laugh was real and made Tom feel better.

"Did you at least have fun?" Evan asked.

"At first. Then I almost got in an accident."

"For real?"

Tom blushed. "I ran a red light."

"That's the point of dodging," Evan said.

"But it was an accident," Tom said. "I was mad at Meera and didn't check to see if anyone was coming."

"I guess I'm glad you didn't take my car."

They played video games until Evan's mom said it was time for dinner. Then Tom went home and waited for his little brother, Joey. Joey went to daycare until six o' clock. Most nights his mom picked him up in between her two jobs.

Tom cooked macaroni and cheese and set the table. His mom and Joey got home at seven o' clock. The food was cold and Tom was starving.

"I thought I told you I'd be late," Tom's mom said.

She took off the vest she wore at the grocery store and threw it in the corner. She hated that job. Her real job was as a nurse's aide at a nursing home. She worked nights so she could be home with them after school. But his dad had gotten hurt at work two years ago and couldn't do his job. They needed the extra money.

"Where's your dad?" Tom's mom asked.

"I don't know," Tom said. "He wasn't here when I got home."

His mom looked like she wanted to cry or hit someone. Sometimes his dad left for days at a time. When he got home, he always said he was sorry. His mom would yell and they would fight. Then they would make up and it would be okay for a while.

Tom's mom shook her head. Lately she was too tired to fight. "Thanks for making dinner," she said. "It looks great."

Tom heated the food up in the microwave. After they ate, he helped Joey with his homework while their mom took a nap.

Joey was a real smart kid. He was ten, but sometimes he helped Tom with his homework. It wasn't that Tom was stupid. He just didn't like school.

* * *

That night, Tom dreamed about the car that almost hit him. In his dream, it didn't turn. It ran right into Mr. Smith's car. Tom woke up sweating. He had been very lucky no one had gotten hurt. He promised himself he would never do anything that stupid again.

"Did you hear about Jenna Thompson?"

Tom heard that question all over school the next day. The answer was always different. Some people said a bus hit her. Some people said it was a car. Some people said she jumped in front of a train. She was dead or alive or in a coma or perfectly fine. It all depended on who you asked.

Tom remembered Jenna from grade school. They had gone to daycare together even though they went to different schools at the time. She was very quiet, and some of the other kids picked on her. Tom had thought she was nice, and they became friends. He'd made sure no one bothered her.

Tom stopped going to daycare in middle school. He didn't see Jenna again until they started high school. She had changed a lot by then. She had friends, was in the band, and took all the hard classes. Tom was in the easy classes, but they had gym together. She didn't seem to remember him at all.

Then one day, they ran into each other in the hall. He was hurrying to get to class, late as usual. He ran around the corner and smacked right into Jenna. Her books went all over and he helped her pick them up.

"Thanks, Tom," she said when he was done.

"You remember me?" Tom asked.

"Of course," Jenna said. This made Tom feel warm inside. "I remember you, but..." Tom knew he wouldn't like what she said next. "I guess we're pretty different now."

"Yeah. I guess so," Tom said.

Tom handed her the last book and walked away. He didn't even say goodbye. That was the last time they talked. He knew she was too smart and pretty for someone like him. But he'd also thought she was too nice to care.

Now he felt bad for never taking the time to apologize. He would feel awful if that was the last conversation they ever had.

* * *

Evan caught up to Tom after fourth hour.

"Did you hear about that girl?" Evan asked.

Tom nodded. Evan didn't know he and Jenna used to be friends. Evan had moved in down the street in seventh grade. By then, Tom was already staying home alone after school. He never told Evan about the talk he and Jenna had.

"I heard if she dies, we'll get a day off school," Evan said.

Tom looked at Evan like he was speaking a different language. "That's disgusting," Tom said.

Evan shrugged. "It's not like we know her."

"I have to get to class," Tom said.

He saw the confused look on Evan's face. They had never argued before. Tom just didn't think Evan could understand. Even though he wasn't friends with Jenna anymore, he still cared about her.

At lunch, Tom saw Jenna's best friend, Sandy. She was sitting at a table with a plate of food in front of her. She hadn't taken a single bite. Several girls hugged her or patted her arm as she cried. He wanted to ask her what the real story was, but there were too many people around.

It turned out he didn't need to.

Ten minutes before the last class ended, the principal made an announcement. "Attention students. As you may know, Jenna Thompson was hit by a car yesterday afternoon. She was badly injured, but her parents report she is in stable condition now. If anyone would like to talk to a counselor about this, they will be available after school. Thank you."

Tom let out a huge sigh of relief. Jenna would be okay. As soon as she got back to school, he would talk to her.

He remembered his dream from the night before. It was weird that he dreamed about getting hit by a car and Jenna really did.

All of a sudden, Tom felt sick. He had a terrible feeling. When the bell rang, he took a long time getting up. If he missed the bus he would have to walk home. He had to check on something, though.

In the school's library, he waited for a computer to open up. They were only supposed to be used for homework. Most people checked email and looked up other stuff when the librarian wasn't looking. Tom hardly ever came here unless he had to for class.

Finally, he got on the computer and did a search. After a few tries, he found the newspaper article about Jenna's accident. He read it three times, but the words didn't change. The car that hit Jenna had swerved when another car ran a red light.

And he had been driving that other car.