I went to the window and looked out the smudged glass. Jake was looking at me like I might be crazy.

"You never read this book, huh? You just saw the movie?" Why did I bother to ask that? Jake didn't read voluntarily, and got out of it most times he was forced to. I've done most of his homework for him.

He nodded, still looking at me cautiously, the way he looks at his dad, or the rich bullies at school.

"Then, then you don't know, maybe the movie isn't exactly the same but the book, it's my life exactly…and so what does it mean?"

"It doesn't mean anything. What could it mean? It's just a coincidence,"

"Look, Jake, listen, would you? Every main character in this book had so many similarities to the main characters in my life. It's like a freakin' episode of the 'Twilight Zone',"

I didn't like this. It was sinister. The book was a tragic story, and I didn't want my life to be a tragic story, too.

"So who am I in this stupid thing? Johnny?" Jake said, looking at me with those big eyes.

"Yeah, you're Johnny,"

"Great. Doesn't he end up dying?"

"Yeah. So see? This isn't good,"

He laughed.

"Paul, your imagination is out of control. We're not those characters. We'll be fine,"

Well, I thought Jake was wrong but I wasn't going to argue anymore. What he didn't seem to see was that the time and place, the only things that were different, didn't matter. It was the themes. We hated the Bickford Hill kids like the greasers hated the socs. Things were unfair.

At school Monday, walking in with Jake as usual, one of the bigger Bickford Hill jocks shoved me against a locker.

"What the hell?" I said. He barely glanced at me.

"Stay out of my way,"

I shook my head, walked on.

"Don't worry about them," Jake said.

"I think I should worry. They're socs,"

"Whatever,"

We were about to split up to go to our homerooms when I got an idea. I grabbed Jake's T-shirt and pulled him over toward the lockers.

"Hey, c'mon," he said, staggering a little after I dragged him after me.

"Listen, I've got an idea,"

Jake shook free of my grasp and waited.

"I'm going to test it, to see if what happens in the book is gonna happen to me,"

"You're ridiculous! It isn't going to happen! It's just a book, Paul…"

"I don't care. Listen. On Friday I'm going to go to the movies, alone, just like how the book starts, and then…"

Jake shook his head and headed off toward his homeroom.

"You're losing it, Paul,"

I watched him go, a small 15 year old with black hair and shabby clothes.