We Know It Was You Read Online Free PDF Page A

head slammed against the metal stands. “Ow, fuuu . . . ,” he said, stumbling forward. Benny never cursed, at least not completely. He always stopped himself before the whole word came out.
    â€œBENNY!” Virginia shouted again.
    â€œWhat, what?” Benny said, crouching to get out from under the bleachers.
    â€œI’m hallucinating, just like you said.” Virginia’s voice was weirdly calm.
    â€œUm, what?” Benny said, rubbing his head.
    Then he saw it. A blond boy had appeared out of nowhere in the middle of the field. At first it didn’t look like he was going anywhere. He was staggering in small circles. He looked lost, or drunk. He wore red pants that stood out starkly against the green grass. He continued spinning aimlessly in circles, then he bolted suddenly.
    â€œIs that . . . is that Gottfried?” Benny asked. But before Virginia could answer, Benny took off running.
    The woods, 9:12 a.m.
    It was like a strange replay of the night before—Benny following someone into the forest, and Virginia following him. But this time it was daylight, and the forest was empty, and instead of chasing a mascot, they were chasing a German exchange student.
    How is Benny so fast? Virginia wondered as she strained to keep up with him. He wasn’t on any sports teams. She knew he took some weird karate class that was about trying to punch people with your mind or something. Maybe he had some supernatural mind-body connection that allowed his body to siphon power from his brain in times of physical need. Or maybe he secretly worked out. He could beripped under those voluminous turtlenecks, and no one would ever know.
    She reached the edge of the woods, leaping over a line of yellow police tape. She almost smacked right into Benny.
    â€œWhere is he?” she panted.
    Benny didn’t say anything, just pointed.
    Gottfried stood hunched at the edge of the bridge, his hands on his knees. He was vomiting his guts out. The brackish spew splattered across the ground and the edge of the bridge. Virginia recognized the congealed chunks of cafeteria oatmeal, which had already resembled vomit in the first place.
    â€œOh my God,” she said, covering her eyes. “Gross.”
    â€œUh, you okay?” Benny shouted to him. Gottfried stumbled and coughed quietly. Then he wretched again. Leaves formed unflattering shadows on his face.
    â€œI don’t think he heard you,” Virginia said.
    â€œHey, what’s goin’ on here?” A cop was climbing up the steep riverbank toward them. But he was balancing a clipboard and a tray of coffees and almost immediately started to slide back down the mud. One of the coffees tipped over and sloshed on his shirt. “God daymit,” he hissed.
    â€œGottfried, come on,” Virginia called out. Gottfried was staring vacantly, wiping his mouth. He looked baffled and ill. Virginia strode toward the bridge and gently took his arm.
    â€œYou kids git outta here!” the cop shouted. “You blind? That’s po-lice tape!”
    â€œHe’s from Germany!” Virginia shouted, dragging Gottfried away from the bridge. “Police tape is red there! He was confused!”
    Benny was already far ahead of them. Virginia led Gottfried through the trees back toward the field. It felt like leading a cloddish horse. He kept stumbling and slowing her down.
    â€œGeez, Gottfried, what the hell were you doing over there?” Virginia demanded as soon as she’d dragged him into the end zone.
    â€œGive him a second to breathe,” Benny hissed at her.
    They could hear the policeman still shouting, but he was far-off now. Apparently he’d decided it wasn’t worth the effort to scale the muddy bank and go after them. Soon even the shouts stopped. Lazy fools, Benny thought. If some random kids trampled over his crime scene, he wouldn’t just let them run away.
    Gottfried was squinting up at the