My homeroom teacher saw us but merely pinched her lips and nodded.“I’m sorry I didn’t call,” Simon whispered.“Don’t worry. I understand. I...barely moved off the couch the whole week.” He let me go and we looked at each other. “One day at a time.”“One day at a time,” he answered me and then nodded at Joe, Bethany, and Mark. “Hey.”“Guys, this is Simon. He was Sam’s best friend,” I said as I turned. Simon kept his hand on my shoulder. Mark glanced at it and frowned for a second.“Simon, this is my. Eight years in the United States Marine Corps had aged him almost double his age, both mentally and physically. A strong hearted conservative, he didn't like change and with all the deployments he'd been sent on time for him stood still while the world around him would seem to skip twenty years into the future.He always wanted the best for his family, and being an only child wanted only the best for him. They seem to be the model family. Two kids, two dogs, a cat and a fish, a four bedroom. Not seeing at least her car on the other side, I wanted to give the Log Bridge a visual inspection before I dared my truck drive over. I knew the understructure was solid enough. It was all big boy bridge gauge metal, and Dad apparently had won a cement mixer up the dirt drive to pour all the footings. For the bed of the bridge, he went for foot-round pine logs harvested from his domain. Drilled and bolted down, of course.There were some individual issues slowly developing, but mostly I was. "Welcome to the club," Rob said, and gave me a hug. "Do you want to goshopping again this weekend?"I hesitated. Did I want to start wearing girly clothes just becauseI was developing girl parts? "Let's wait a few weeks," I said."I've already grown half an inch and if I buy stuff now it won't fitwhen I'm finished growing." You'll probably have to buy new things several times in the next twoor three years," she said, "if you grow as much as a young teen doesand at the same rate." Well, I'm.