- Emile Janza approaches Archie. He wants to talk about the picture. (The one we heard about in Chapter 7.)
- Archie says he's still got it.
- Emile says he wants to buy it from Archie.
- Archie wants to know why he'd want to buy such an unflattering picture of himself.
- The average guy "would be intimidated" if Emile looked at him the way Emile is looking at Archie. But Archie isn't average.
- Emile asks where the photo is. Archie assures him it's in a secure location.
- For a moment, Archie considers giving Emile the true story on the picture. But he has to be really careful with Emile. It's possible that Emile could hurt him.
- Still, Emile can be used as a tool to hurt others.
- Archie tells Emile that it won't be necessary to give him money. He'll get the picture back in exchange for Emile doing Archie a favor.
- Emile says OK.
- Archie knows Emile will do it, and that Emile would kill somebody for that picture.
- Here's the funny part: Archie doesn't even have a picture.
- Here's what happened:
- (Start flashback.)
- Archie's is walking down the hall at school and he sees an open locker with a camera inside. He grabs the camera, planning to dump it when he's tired of it.
- Next, he goes into the bathroom and opens one of the stalls.
- Lo and behold, who does he find on the other side of the door? Emile, of course. And Emile appears to be masturbating.
- Archie pretends to snap a picture, preparing to run for his life if need be.
- Emile asks for the camera, but Archie stands firm. Emile doesn't press the point.
- (End flashback.)
- Emile sees a freshman across the way and calls out to him. He tells the kid to go buy him some cigarettes.
- Archie knows Emile wants to be a Vigil. He thinks this is Emile's way of showing Archie he'd be good for the organization.
- The freshman tells Emile that he doesn't have the money to pay for cigarettes, and he doesn't want to get a tardy.
- Emile tells him he needs to find the money, buy the cigarettes, and deliver them at lunchtime.
- He gives the freshman his name, in case the kid wants to ask around about him.
- Archie doesn't want to be late to class either, but he can't help watching Emile. Archie thinks, "The world [is] made up of two kinds of people – those who [are] victims and those who [are] victimized" (15.41).
- Yeah. He knows which type Janza is; Archie is that type too.
- Archie says he bets Emile gets his kicks hurting elderly women and disabled people.
- Emile laughs creepily, and Archie knows that people think the same thing about him.