Norman shrugs a bit to her question. "Not really. I've never really cared about gossip. People talk about me no matter what I do, so whatever." There was a certain point of no return for him, and once he reached that he really didn't care anymore. People were going to treat him like a freak regardless of what he did, why not just embrace it?

"But it would be pretty easy to make up a story about camp. You can tell them we went to visit family or something. What I'm trying to say is, it might be fun to be in a place away from Blithe Hollow because no one back home is there to judge us." Like Mom or Dad. Specifically Dad.

He popped another piece of lettuce in his mouth and shrugged again. "It's crunchy. I like it."