“Me, too,” James agrees. “He’s a pretty stand-up guy.”

“Yeah.” I chuckle at James’s uncharacteristic phrasing. “A pretty stand-up guy, indeed.”

I throw my pack up on the top bunk and climb up. I check the pack again for the box and find the history book I’d been reading earlier. The cookbook I’d been eyeing earlier is tucked into the pack, too. How did he know I was looking at that? I wonder.

Inside, there’s a note from Jim: “Thought you would like to keep studying. Your friend, Jim.”

“Jim gave me the Percy Jackson books!” James calls up the ladder. He sounds happy.

“Nice, James! But don’t read too long—we need to get some sleep.”

I&rs...

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