Sarah Cross - Dull Boy

DULL

BOY

Sarah Cross

Dutton Books

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DULL

BOY

Sarah Cross

Dutton Books

D U T T O N B O O K S

A member of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.

Published by the Penguin Group

Penguin Group (USA) Inc., 375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014, U.S.A.

Penguin Group (Canada), 90 Eglinton Avenue East, Suite 700, Toronto, Ontario M4P 2Y3, Canada (a division of Pearson Penguin Canada Inc.) Penguin Books Ltd, 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England Penguin Ireland, 25 St Stephens Green, Dublin 2, Ireland (a division of Penguin Books Ltd) Penguin Group (Australia), 250 Camberwell Road, Camberwell, Victoria 3124, Australia (a division of Pearson Australia Group Pty Ltd) Penguin Books India Pvt Ltd, 11 Community Centre, Panchsheel Park, New Delhi 110 017, India Penguin Group (NZ), 67 Apollo Drive, Rosedale, North Shore 0632, New Zealand (a division of Pearson New Zealand Ltd.)

Penguin Books (South Africa) (Pty) Ltd, 24 Sturdee Avenue, Rosebank, Johannesburg 2196, South Africa Penguin Books Ltd, Registered Offices: 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England

This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either the product of the authors imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

Copyright 2009 by Sarah Cross

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system now known or to be invented, without permission in writing from the publisher, except by a reviewer who wishes to quote brief passages in connection with a review written for inclusion in a magazine, newspaper, or broadcast.

The publisher does not have any control over and does not assume any responsibility for author or third-party websites or their content.

CIP Data is available

Published in the United States by Dutton Books, a member of Penguin Group (USA) Inc. 345 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014

www.penguin.com/youngreaders

Designed by Jason Henry

ISBN: 1-101-02332-5

For peter,

who always saves the day

-S.C.

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Maybe I need a costume.

Trust meI dont want to wear a costume.

Skintight spandex isnt really my thing, the ski-mask-plus-bathing-suit combo didnt exactlyinspire confidence when I tried it on (pleaseforget I even mentioned that), and where amI supposed to find a leather jumpsuit? But atthis point I have to consider all my options.

And before you start thinking Im a completefreak, I should probably admit something:I have superpowers.

When other guys my age stay up too late on aschool night, theyre probably on Xbox Live orfinishing some last-minute homework. Right?

Im in the garage with all the lights off, dead-lifting my moms car because I dont have athree-thousand-pound weight set, and hopingshe doesnt notice. Or Im soaring through thesky, flying under cover of darkness becausenight is the one time I can risk it. The onlytime I can really be myself.