“I’m off at two,” Jimmy says. “You gonna bring Scout to see the flies?”

Jimmy really likes flies. He knows a lot of unusual facts about them too. Flies puke when they land. Flies taste with their feet. Apparently they puke, then they lick the vomit up with their toes.

“Sure,” I say. “But Scout’s gonna want to play ball.”

In the last few weeks, Jimmy has become my best friend on Alcatraz, despite the fact that he stinks at baseball. If a baseball flew into Jimmy’s glove he wouldn’t know what to do with it. He’d probably use it to brush his teeth. Maybe he’d plant it in the ground to grow a big old baseball tree. The kid has no idea.

Jimmy’s nose lifts in the air-ah, ah, ah choo. He sprays me with snot and knocks his glasses off.

I wipe off my arm. “Thanks a lot, Jimmy,” I say.

Ah, ah, ah choo. He sneezes again, but this time he turns his head away and gives the ants a bath instead of me. “You want me to play?” he asks.

“Of course,” I say. “I always want you to play.”

Jim cocks his head as if he doesn’t quite believe this. “But Scout plays all the time. He’s good, right?”

“He’s not great or anything.”

Jimmy grins. “Oh, okay. Me neither.”

I don’t know what to say to this. Even in our secret place it seems better not to tell Jimmy that Scout’s “not great” is so much better than his “not great” that it isn’t fair to compare.

“C’mon, let’s go. I want to find Annie and get my arm warmed up before Scout gets here,” I say.

Crawling back, Jimmy picks his way slowly and carefully, stopping every time he has a question. “Think Scout’ll like my fly project?”