into chatter, and then laughter.
Raj grinned. “Maybe we should ask him to sit with us? You know, keep your friends close and your enemies closer?”
“We should have brought popcorn,” Allie said.
“Karma sucks.” Raj lifted himself off his seat to get a better view of Fink. “Look at the way he’s fidgeting. A terrorist going through airport security would be more chill.”
“It must be a strange feeling suddenly being an outsider,” I said.
Allie patted my arm. “Fink needs this – he needs to know how it feels.”
At the table at the back of the room, four miserable figures sat in silence. Bundy gazed at the wall with his folded arms resting on his bloated gut, occasionally glancing across the cafeteria at Fink. Brittany plucked a long strand of hair from her scalp, dropped it on the floor, and put her other hand on Kyle’s arm. He shook it off and continued flicking his lighter.
Allie put her hands on the table and leaned forward. “Now to split up Bundy and Kyle. Any ideas?”
“Are you…?” I lowered my voice and smiled. “Are you wanting to help, or just getting off on this?”
“Do I have to choose just one?”
Raj sat upright in his chair. “Chris, did you say Benny was in the locker room?”
“He practically signed me up as–”
“Look.” Raj pointed at the line of tray holders. Benny stood behind Fink, hunched under the weight of his oversized bag, clutching the straps with his thumbs. Benny’s mouth moved, the sound of his voice lost in the noise of the cafeteria, and Fink turned away. Nobody wanted to be seen with Benny, not even a friendless Fink.
“Benny’s harmless,” I said.
Benny stood on his tiptoes, moving his mouth and looking up at Fink like an elf trying to get the attention of a giant. Fink stepped away, but Benny’s lips kept moving. When his lips stopped, Fink turned and his mouth fell open. Benny nodded and scanned the cafeteria. His eyes met mine and he unhooked his thumb from his bag strap and pointed at me.
The air grew heavy, almost too thick to breathe. I’d underestimated Benny’s need to be accepted. Fink was the one person who might be desperate enough to give him what he needed, and Benny was willing to throw me under a bus to get it.
Raj muttered, “Benny, you rat!”
“Let’s get out of here.” Gordie pushed his chair back, his hands shaking as he collected his crutches.
At the front of the cafeteria, Fink shoved Benny aside and locked eyes with me. He stormed down the aisle, teeth gritted and his hands squeezed into fists. Coming toward him, Cannondale’s Korean exchange student, Myung Do, walked up the aisle balancing a bowl on his tray. Fink shoved him hard with both hands, throwing him backwards and sending him sliding across the floor soaked in steaming minestrone. Welcome to America.
Allie reached for her bag. “Gordie’s right. Let’s go.”
Hundreds of students watched as Fink strode up to Kyle, leaned over the table, and pointed at me. “Maddox was messing with my phone, you dicktard!”
Even from a distance, I saw the muscle in Kyle’s jaw twitch.
Bundy stood from his chair and turned to me.
This was probably a good time to be somewhere else. I scanned the exits.
Kyle stared at me. After a pause, his brain switched into gear and he kicked out his chair, sending it crashing in a spiraling path across the floor, and walked toward me with clenched fists. Fink and Bundy moved in behind him, and Brittany and Aisha clambered off their chairs and followed. Together, they swarmed around our table, Kyle and Fink leaning eye to eye with me, while Bundy, Brittany, and Aisha hovered somewhere behind. With his cigarette breath warm against my face, Kyle peered into my soul with his dark, shark-like eyes.
Silence spread across the cafeteria.
Allie sprang to her feet, staring wide-eyed at me, and nodded in the direction of the food counter where Sneds was scooping slop onto a tray. I shook my head.
With the intensity of a vulture about to shred a squirrel, Fink squinted at me with bloodshot eyes and flicked his snake tongue over his lips.
Kyle sat on the edge of the table and gripped my arm. “Let’s go talk – outside.”
Even with my brain in paralysis, I knew that bad things happen inside and worse things happen outside. He had something in mind, and I’d live longer if it stayed his secret. I pulled away, and his eyes burned into mine. I wasn’t going anywhere unless they dragged me, not that I’d be giving them ideas.
Allie gritted her teeth and folded her arms. If there was one thing she wasn’t good at, it was waiting patiently for her friends to get assaulted. I didn’t want her to see what was about to happen, but it’d be pointless telling her to leave – she wasn’t going anywhere.
Kyle rotated the rings on his fingers, lining up the skulls, and lowered his voice. “I’ll be straight with you. I’m going to hurt you.” He looked at Bundy and then Fink. “They’re going to hurt you too.” His voice had an unnerving calmness.
Opening my mouth would risk starting the action, so I held my breath and waited. Gordie gripped his crutches, like he was preparing for a high-speed hobble out of the cafeteria. Raj folded his arms, and chairs squeaked as students stood to watch the action.
Fink circled behind me and put his mouth to my ear. “What would Maddox look like with a buzz cut?” He grabbed a fistful of my hair and wrenched my head back. “Maybe we should ask your buddy Apu.”
Air moved loudly through Kyle’s nostrils. “It ain’t his hair I’m gonna cut.”
Bundy slammed his fists on the table, and Gordie flinched and knocked his crutches to the floor. Not being able to talk must have sucked for Bundy. Hopefully that thought will make me feel better when he stomps on my head.
Kyle pushed off the table and stepped behind me. He moved around to my other side and pushed the edge of Raj’s chair, tipping it sideways and dropping him onto the floor. He kicked Raj’s legs clear and sat facing me. “Look, Maddox, I’m not the bad guy here. I’m just trying to right a wrong.” He rested one hand firmly on my shoulder and raised the index finger of his other. “First you broke Bundy’s nose.” He glanced at Fink and held up another finger. “Then you ruined Fink’s favorite jacket. You love that jacket. Right, Fink?”
Fink pointed at the torn sleeve. “This jacket was my life. Now I have nothing.”
The look on Kyle’s face was like the disbelief and sadness of someone who’d been attacked by their own dog. He raised a third finger. “Then you attacked us with a fire extinguisher.” His pinky finger went up. “And now you’ve been messing with Fink’s property and sending hurtful messages to my girl.” He frowned. “What’s it going to take for you to leave us alone?”
Bundy shook his head in disapproval.
Next to Kyle, Raj climbed to his feet and rubbed his elbow, stepping out of reach. He stared at me, no doubt trying to figure out how to get us out of this. If there were any way he could help, he’d already be doing it.
Kyle turned to Allie. “I’m sure you understand. We can’t let this behavior go unpunished.”
“You’re sick, Kyle.” Allie leaned over the table and stared him down. “You need meds and therapy.”
He stared blankly at her for a moment and then turned to me. “It’s time, Maddox. Let’s go.” He patted my head. “I’m sure you’ll feel better once this is all behind us.” Pretty sure I was already feeling okay, and that I wouldn’t after he was finished.
An open hand smacked the side of my head. “C’mon, let’s do this,” Fink said.
Allie unfolded her arms. “You need psychiatric help. You realize that, right? I’m not kidding.”
Not to be out done, Brittany stepped forward. “How ‘bout you shut the hell up, geek?”
“How about you go sit on some glue, tart monkey?” Allie snapped.
Brittany clenched her fist and drew her arm back awkwardly, her elbow dangerously close to entering the fifth dimension. “Bring it, betch.”
With his eyes fixed on me, Kyle raised his hand like a teacher calling for quiet. He grabbed a fistful of my hair and yanked my head back.
“Stop it!” Allie shouted.
Kyle balled his other hand into a fist and pressed his skull-ringed knuckles hard against my cheek. “I’ve tried to be civilized, but have it your way.” He let go of my hair and walked back to his table.
Before I could breathe, Bundy gave my cheeks a two-handed slap and then followed.
Fink tapped the table twice with his knuckles, grinning. “See you soon, girls.”
Maybe I should’ve been relieved, but I knew better. If Kyle wanted no witnesses, it had to be bad.
10. Be Quick or Be Dead
The 3:30pm bell rang, and students clambered out of the classroom into the hall. Raj, Gordie, and I joined the crush and pushed out into the schoolyard. It was a miracle we’d survived this long, and the sooner we made distance the safer we’d be.
Strong winds whipped through nearby trees and clanged ropes against the flagpole. I zipped up my jacket and leaned into the gust. Gordie turned his head to the side and moaned, unable to cover himself while holding his crutches.
Silver buses had replaced the yellow ones that used to line the parking lot. Thirty-seven schools in Detroit closed down last year; Cannondale stayed open, but to save money they started using silver buses. I never understood why silver buses cost less than yellow ones.
Raj raised his voice over the wind, “You coming, Gordie?”
He lifted a crutch and pointed it at the parking lot. His old man was slouched in