in-charge

I liked to feel I had to do things perfectly; I felt I was earning my freedom. Though I was in hiding, and though I worked every day until midnight, I felt I was much more in charge of myself than I had ever been.

Brianna__ looking for Drake,_ Edilio said, thinking out loud.__ou sent her out against Drake?_ Albert demanded.__ent her? Who sends Brianna out to get into a fight? She goes on her own. Anyway, it__ not like you__e left us with anyone else.__lbert had the decency not to say anything to that.__ou know, you guys put me in charge. I didn__ ask to be in charge. I didn__ want to be in charge. Sam was in charge and all you guys ever did was give him grief,_ Edilio said. __ou two, especially._ He pointed at Albert and Astrid. __o, okay, Astrid takes over. And then Astrid finds out it__ not so much fun being in charge. So it__ like, okay, let__ get the dumb wetback to do the job.___o one ever_,_ Astrid protested.__nd me, like a fool, I__ thinking, okay, that must mean people trust me. They asked me to be in charge, be the mayor. Come to find out, I__ not making decisions; Albert__ making decisions. Albert__ deciding we need to find more water and sending our two best fighters off into the countryside. Now I__ supposed to fix everything? It__ like you go, __ight a war,_ but you sent my army off on a wild goose chase.

Have you seen Sam?_ Mary asked.__hat do you want with Sam?___ can__ take care of all those littles with just John to help me.__oward shrugged. __ho asked you to?__hat was too much. Mary was tall and strong. Howard, though a boy, was smaller. Mary took two steps toward him, pushing her face right into his. __isten, you little worm. If I don__ take care of those kids, they__l die. Do you understand that? There are babies in there who need to be fed and need to be changed, and I seem to be the only one who realizes it. And there are probably more little kids still in their homes, all alone, not knowing what__ happening, not knowing how to feed themselves, scared to death.__oward took a step back, tentatively lifted the bat, then let it fall. __hat am I supposed to do?_ he whined.__ou? Nothing. Where__ Sam?___e took off.___hat do you mean, he took off?___ mean him and Quinn and Astrid took off.__ary blinked, feeling stupid and slow. __ho__ in charge?___ou think just because Sam likes to play the big hero every couple years that makes him the guy in charge?__ary had been on the bus two years ago when the driver, Mr. Colombo, had had his heart attack. She__ had her head in a book, not paying attention, but she had looked up when she felt the bus swerve. By the time she had focused, Sam was guiding the bus onto the shoulder of the road.In the two years that followed, Sam had been so quiet and so modest and so not involved in the social life of the school that Mary had sort of forgotten that moment of heroism. Most people had.And yet she hadn__ even been surprised when it was Sam who had stepped up during the fire. And she had somehow assumed that if anyone was going to be in charge, it would be Sam. She found herself angry with him for not being here now: she needed help.__o get Orc,_ Mary said.__ don__ tell Orc what to do, bitch.___xcuse me?_ she snapped. __hat did you just call me?__oward gulped. __idn__ mean nothing, Mary.___here is Orc?___ think he__ sleeping.___ake him up. I need some help. I can__ stay awake any longer. I need at least two kids who have experience babysitting. And then I need diapers and bottles and nipples and Cheerios and lots of milk.___hy am I going to do all that?__ary didn__ have an answer. __ don__ know, Howard,_ she said. __aybe because you__e really not a complete jerk? Maybe you__e really a decent human being?__hat earned her a skeptical look and a derisive snort.__ook, kids will do what Orc says,_ Mary said. __hey__e scared of him. All I__ asking is for Orc to act like Orc.__oward thought this over. Mary could almost see the wheels spinning in his head.__orget it,_ she said. ____l talk to Sam when he gets back.___eah, he__ the big hero, isn__ he?_ Howard said, dripping sarcasm. __ut hey, where is he? You see him around? I don__ see him around.___re you going to help or not? I have to get back.___ll right. I__l get your stuff, Mary. But you better remember who helped you. You__e working for Orc and me._____ taking care of little kids,_ Mary said. __f I__ working for anyone, it__ for them.___ike I say, you remember who was there when you needed them._ Howard turned on his heel and swaggered away.

Before you speak... I have already heard. Before you see... I had seen a million times. Before you reach... I came and departed, so is the way and life of a versatile soul.

You weren__ going to tell us about Orsay?___ didn__ say I____ou don__ get to decide that, Sam. You__e not the only one in charge anymore. Okay?__strid had an icy sort of anger. A cold fury that manifested itself in tight lips and blazing eyes and short, carefully enunciated sentences.__ut it__ okay for all of us to lie to everyone in Perdido Beach?_ Sam shot back.__e__e trying to keep kids from killing themselves,_ Astrid said. __hat__ a little different from you just deciding not to tell the council that there__ a crazy girl telling people to kill themselves.___o not telling you something is a major sin, but lying to a couple of hundred people and trashing Orsay at the same time, that__ fine?