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"Right," says Cam "Scantron" Because her answer is the very definition of a test, isn’t it?

He looks at the inizes closer The portrait: "Lincoln" The building: "Eiffel" The red vehicle: "Truck fire No Fire truck" And on and on As he pulls an ie away, another sprouts to replace it So, others have noat the edge of his mind, but he can’t find a word to attach to them Finally, when he’s done, he feels even more exhausted than he does after physical therapy

"Basket," he says "Crumpled paper basket"

Roberta smiles "Wasted You feel wasted"

"Wasted," Ca the word in his mind

"I’m not surprised--none of this is easy, but you’ve done well, haven’t you? And you are to be commended!"

Cam nods, more than ready for a nap "Gold star for me"

- - -

Each day more and more is asked of hiiven for any of it "Your success is its oard," Roberta tells him, but how can he relish any success if he has no context hich to measure it?

"The kitchen sink!" he tells Roberta at dinner one day It’s just the two of them It’s always just the two of them "The kitchen sink! Now!"

She doesn’t even have to probe to figure out what hethere is to know about yourself Now is not that time"

"Yes, it is!"

"Caer well in hih words together to take it away

Instead it goes to his hands, and before he knohat he’s doing, he’s hurling a plate across the room, then another, then another Roberta has to duck, and now the whole world is flying dishes and silverware and glass In an instant the guards are on hi hi they haven’t done for over a week

He rages for what feels like forever, but then, exhausted, he cal It’s just a small cut above her left eye, but it doesn’t matter how small it is He did it It was his fault

Suddenly all his other emotions are overwheler

"Broke y bank," he says in tears "Crashed my father’s car Badness Badness"

"I know you’re sorry," Roberta says, sounding as tired as hiently takes his hand

"You’ll be restrained untilfor your outburst," she tells him "Your actions have consequences"

He nods, understanding He wants to wipe away his tears, but he can’t, for his hands are secured to the bed Roberta does it for hi as we thought you’d be They weren’t kidding when they said you were a baseball pitcher"

Immediately Cam’s mind scans his ht be disjointed and frag what it contains is always difficult, but it’s easy to knohat memories don’t exist at all

"Never a pitcher," he says "Never"

"Of course not," she says cal"

- - -

Bit by bit and day by day, as ins to realize his terrifying uniqueness It is night now His physical therapy has left hiKenny the therapist had said

"You’re strong, but your roups don’t work and play ith others"

Cam kneas just an offhand joke, but there was a truth to it that stuck in Cam’s craw, the way food often did The way his throat didn’t always agree to shat his tongue was pushing its way

"Eventually your body will learn the alliances it has to make with itself," Kenny had said--as if Cam was a factory full of strike-prone workers, or worse, a clutch of slaves forced into unwanted labor