What if she had knocked out a tooth or two in the mouth of Maryland's best extemporaneous speaker? But the blood came from a gash on his forehead and although there was a lot of it, the wound was superficial. She gave him a wad of paper towels to stem the flow, but it was too late to save his white shirt and navy blazer. "Shouldn't you wash it?" he asked worriedly. "That bathroom floor was pretty dirty. I could get an infection." "What do I look like, the school nurse?" "No, she's fat, wears bright red lipstick, and spends most of her time smoking on the loading dock behind the dining hall." Very charming. Or would be if Tess was amenable to being charmed just now. She folded up another wad of paper towels and passed it to Sal. "I could take you to a hospital emergency room if you like. After I call the police, of course, and Penfield. You're AWOL, I assume?" "Why would you drop the dime on me?" Must be hard, keeping up with the current slang while ensconced at Penfield. Tess wondered if Sal tried to impress his well-heeled classmates by playing the part of the savvy street kid.
