tables and stopped at the fourth, easing into the chairs opposite Brittany and Aisha. The chair next to Brittany was empty.
Murmurs and whispers filled the cafeteria, and Gordie’s mouth fell open. “Did that just happen?”
I smiled and flinched from the stabbing pain in my cheek.
Allie grinned. “It kinda did.”
Four tables away, Fink folded his arms across his chest, and Bundy tugged at the hem of his jacket. The two girls thumbed at their phones, occasionally glancing up at the two sad cases sitting opposite them.
“I could get used to having our own army,” Raj said, turning to Allie. “How big is it now?”
Allie scrolled her phone. “In the last hour we’ve gained… twenty-seven. We’re at two hundred and forty-eight.” She scrolled further. “And the results of the leadership vote are in.” She smiled at me. “You’re it, Mr. President.”
“What? But I didn’t nominate.” After all this, having people depend on me was not something I’d ever want to experience again.
“I know. That’s why I did it for you. How does it feel?”
“It feels like I need morphine.”
She poked her finger into my side. “Don’t worry, they voted me Vice President. We can do this together.”
“What’s my job?” Gordie asked.
Allie gazed at the ceiling. “This could go viral. We need someone who can get the message out, someone who can build our membership. How about Spokesperson?”
A satisfied grin lifted Gordie’s lips. It was good to see him happy.
“And me?” Raj asked.
Allie rubbed her chin. “You’re good at math right? You can be our Financial Controller.”
“So, I count the money?”
She shrugged. “Sure.”
“Hang on, what money? There’s no money.”
She smiled. “That makes your job easier, doesn’t it?”
Across the room, the squeak of a chair moving across the floor cut through the cafeteria noise. Fink stood from his chair, motionless and staring in our direction. I should have known he wouldn’t let this go. He was as predictable as he was violent. Stepping out from his table, he strode toward us, his eyes flicking from side to side as he weaved between tables. My heart pumped so fast my lungs struggled to keep up. Approaching our table, he pursed his lips, nodding like a bigger-than-life-sized bobblehead. “So, umm… you got me good yesterday.” He pointed to his nose bandage and gave a strained smile. “You’re really good at breaking noses.” He glanced back at Bundy.
That was the signal I was about to get my nose broken if ever there was one. I pushed back my chair, moving out of reaching distance.
He put his hands into his jacket pockets, trying to look casual. “We’re cool now, right? Your gang ain’t gonna come after us no more?”
For a moment I thought he was talking about the four of us at the table, but then I realized what he meant. Allie looked at me, and I bit my lip to hide a smile. “Are you sure we’re cool? You brought Tylenol, remember? So you could hurt me.”
Fink gave a forced, exaggerated laugh and slapped his thigh. “I was kidding! I wasn’t going to hurt you!”
“No, you were right.” I lifted Allie’s phone. “We should finish this properly at the park this afternoon. Your gang versus mine.”
“No!” Fink raised his palms. “We don’t want no trouble… please.”
Allie snatched her phone and glared at him. “You leave us alone, and we leave you alone. It’s that simple. Got it?”
“Cool, cool. Got it.” He nodded and grinned for longer than the rules of social awkwardness allowed. “No problemo.”
Allie raised an eyebrow. “You can leave now.”
His grin faded and his gaze fell. He turned and slinked back to his table.
“What… was that?” Raj asked.
Gordie leaned sideways, nearly falling out of his chair to get a better look at Fink.
“I told you.” Allie kissed my cheek. “Now we can all live happily ever after.”
Having Kyle, Fink, and Bundy under thumb made me more relieved than anyone, but it didn’t take away from the uneasiness in my stomach. “Not yet we can’t.”
Gordie lifted his glasses to get another look at Fink. “I really don’t think they’ll cause us any more trouble.”
“It’s not them I’m worried about.”
28. Cutting off A Loose End
A mangy cat lounging next to a water pipe clawed at its fur and hissed as we walked past.
Raj hissed back, and it scrambled behind a trashcan. “They’re still sweating big time,” he said. “I can’t believe Fink and Bundy joined the USSC last night.”
Allie slipped her hand into mine. “Maybe Kyle will too.”
“Sure, right after he devotes his life to helping underprivileged children,” I said.
The wind changed direction and a light sprinkling of snow dusted the sidewalk. Gordie brought the ends of his crutches down onto the street and stepped off the curb. “I have a feeling something bad’s about to happen, the kind of feeling I get before bad things happen.”
Allie patted his back. “You’ll do fine, Gordie. It’ll be over in no time.” We crossed the street and stepped onto the sidewalk. Pausing to steady my nerve, I let go of Allie’s hand and pushed through the door, clanging the bells attached to the other side.
Inside, an oversized hulk of tattooed muscle adjusted his gym shorts and squatted next to a barbell loaded with more steel than a battleship. Gripping it with both hands, Drac lifted it, grunting as he straightened his legs. A straining growl came from his throat as he heaved the weights above his head, his muscles bristling and his whole body shaking.
“Do it now,” Allie whispered.
This was one of those life moments that were destined to change things in a big way – for good or bad. Even though bad things always seemed to happen to us, I couldn’t see any way this could go wrong. Taking a deep breath, I leaned through the door and shouted, “Drac, if you want our money, go ask your crackhead two-dollar-hooker mom for it.”
Hearing it out loud somehow made it sound worse than it did in my head. Allie smiled, “Not bad.” Gordie gave a thoughtful nod, and Raj gave a thumbs up. Together, we moved back to the sidewalk and let the door close.
Silence.
I tugged at a thread on my jacket and watched the seam zigzag as it unraveled.
A thunderous clunk of steel boomed from inside the gym.
Raj’s face lit up. “Hey, who’s for chili pizza tonight?”
Allie smiled. “Do you only ever think about food?”
“As you know, I sometimes think about robot women.”
“A little too often if you ask me.”
The door flew open and a sweaty slab of hardened brawn filled the doorframe. He flexed his tree-trunk arms, sucking air through his gritted teeth – and then his jaw dropped.
Filling the streets and sidewalks in all directions, a vast sea of teenagers wielded baseball bats, hockey sticks, belts, chains, and whatever they could carry. Every inch of ground was crowded with freshmen, seniors, skaters, stoners, guys, girls, geeks, goths, emos, jocks, cheerleaders, and even Sean Longmire’s mom. Two hundred and fifty-seven new members had joined overnight, but more than seven hundred had shown for the rendezvous on Woodward Avenue. The USSC had grown far bigger than I ever imagined.
Drac stared open-mouthed, scanning from one end of the street to the other.
The streets erupted into a frenzied roar, and the crowd surged around us. Hardly anyone in this amateur army had ever met Drac, but if he so much as touched anyone they’d crush his bones. I was loving every minute of it. Still, all this would be pointless unless it achieved something. I raised my hand and the crowd fell silent, like we’d practiced at the rendezvous.
Gordie pulled a sheet of paper from his pocket and cleared his throat. “Drac Valeshnikov.” He paused to look at Drac and then turned his eyes to the paper. “This is an intervention by the
United Students Security Council. You have threatened members of the Council, and in the interest of safeguarding those members, the Council has voted to take action against you.”
Drac raised an eyebrow.
“You are required to cease your threats immediately,” Gordie continued. “If you choose to ignore this warning, the Council will take decisive action using the full force of its members.”
At the end of the street, a Ford Ranger pulled up to the edge of the crowd, unable to navigate through. The engine stopped, and the driver climbed out and gazed at the masses of people.
Among the sea of faces, two heads towered above the rest. Fink leaned against a traffic light and pretended to shoot Drac with a finger gun. Next to him, Bundy rested a baseball bat on his shoulder and gave me a salute.
I glared at Drac. “So what’s it gonna be?”
He raised his hands and gave a forced smile. “Hey… what? What all dis–”
“Shut up, shit for brains,” I shouted. “We’ll have our money back now.”
“Money?” He gave a halfhearted shrug. “I no wan’ your money.”
Gordie’s lips tightened, and he nodded at me.
Looking out over the endless crowd gave me a sense of freedom I’d never felt before. I shouted, “Weapons ready. Plan B on the count of three.”
Drac threw his palms up and stumbled back into the gym. “Wait!” He stepped inside and slammed the door. Metal scraped and rattled against the other side. I should have seen that coming. Even with all the rehearsing, none of us figured he’d lock himself inside. A low rumble spread through the crowd.
“Ten bucks says he doesn’t come back out,” Raj said.
“Should we go around the