“What’s a Fountaingale?”

“What?”

“What’s a Fountaingale?”

“It’s my name.”

“I know that, but what is it?”

“I don’t know.”

“You don’t know what your name is?”

“I know what my name is, kid. I don’t know what it is exactly that you’re wanting to know.”

“What?”

“Look. What’s your name?”

“Marvin!”

“Marvin what?”

“Marvin Yalter!”

“What’s a Yalter?”

Marvin sat back and put his finger to his lip.

“I think it’s a kind of fish,” Marvin said.

“A Yalter is not a fish.”

“I think it is.”

“Believe me, it’s not.”

“I think I would know. It’s my name. You don’t even know what your name is.”

“I know what my name is. It’s Fountaingale.”

“So what’s a Fountaingale?”

“It’s a kind of bird, okay? It’s a bird that lives in the mountains.”

“Then shouldn’t your name be Mountaingale?”

“No. Sit back, kid. Do you always ask this many questions?”

Maine & Thimberton: Lawrence wanted any of these kids to talk to Marvin. Any of them to distract his attention. They all walked right on by to their friends at the back and started screaming. Lawrence pulled away. Marvin leaned forward. Lawrence cursed Diesel House’s demonizing of the letter X.

“So when do you think I can steer?”

“When you get your own school truck.”

“You mean school bus?”

“No, school truck,” Lawrence said.