Terry put his hands in his pockets and walked slowly along the concrete sidewalk, a line of cars to his left parked at the curb, his older brother Jay to his right. He was on his way home from the bus stop after his weekly appointment with the school psychiatrist. Terry knew many of the families in this neighborhood: they were mostly Italian and Roman Catholic, and the kids all went to St. Mary's on Sundays.

Jay said, "I think he's nuttier than you are," and stuck his hands into his pockets. Jay was six-one and weighed 230 pounds. Before graduating last year, he had played center for his high school football team. He brooded as he trudged along, hunched over and sullen, his size accentuated by his brother's smallness. Terry was five-eight and skinny. He played chess.

Terry took his hands out of his pockets, annoyed by Jay's habit of imitating his stances and gestures.