Essais
"I've got a metal leg," I tell her. Gretchen stares at me. I stare back. For some reason, I don't feel scared, even though I know I should. I mean, I just told Gretchen— Gretchen, of all people! — my deepest, darkest secret, and yet, I don't feel scared about it at. "Don't believe me?" My words sound strange, as if they're coming from someone else's mouth. Maybe they are. The Essais from the beginning of the summer would've never thought about revealing his secret like this. I pull up my left pajama pants so that everything up to my knee is exposed. The polished steel glints silver in the moonlight. "Look. It's right there. That's my secret. My metal leg." Gretchen reaches out a hand as if she can't believe her eyes. She places one finger, then two, on the metal surface. Her
