Remember?
Mr. Calabrizi : No.
Lucky : You know, the one in Torchie’s room?
Mr. Calabriz i: Right.
Lucky : I think he might be okay. I wasn’t sure at first, but he seems like an okay guy. I’d trust him on my side if things got tough.
Mr. Calabrizi : If things get tough, leave the room. Besides, if he’s okay, what’s he doing at Edgeview?
Lucky : Hey. What about me? I’m there.
Mr. Calabrizi : [sighing] I know.
IF I TOLL YOU ONCE
I f I was walking away from a bad situation, I was walking into one that was worse. I realized my mistake halfway down the hall when I came face-to-face with Bloodbath and three of his gang—Grunge, Lip, and the guy with the skull tattoo on his forehead.
“Hey, this is a toll road,” Bloodbath said, holding his hand out. “Pay up.”
“I don’t have anything,” I told him, taking a step back.
Grunge and Lip took two steps forward. “Everyone has something,” Bloodbath said.
Before I could move, Grunge grabbed me in a headlock. The sharp, ripe smell of his unwashed shirt smacked me like a punch to the nose. I tried to pull away, but his arm tightened, locking around me like a giant handcuff. Lip and Skullface flipped my pockets inside out. Three quarters dropped to the floor, followed by a fluttering green rectangle. I tried not to stare at it.
“Nothing?” Grunge asked, tightening his grip around my neck. “That don’t look like nothing.”
Lip scooped up the quarters and handed them to Bloodbath.
“Next time you lie to me,” Bloodbath said, “I’ll break something. Understand?”
“Yeah.”
Bloodbath glanced down at the floor. Since yesterday when I’d
shoved it in my pocket at the arcade, I’d forgotten all about the ticket.
“What’s that?” Bloodbath asked, tapping the ticket with the toe of his sneaker.
I came within a breath of saying, It’s from the arcade. But I couldn’t. I’d given my word to keep the secret. Even after the way Torchie and the others had treated me, I wasn’t going to rat them out. At least the ticket had fallen facedown, so it wasn’t obvious that it was an arcade ticket. I tried to remember what was written on the front.
“Hey!” Grunge snapped, squeezing my neck so hard that things started to turn gray. “The man asked you a question.”
If he caught me lying, I was dead. “It’s my lucky ticket,” I said. “I’ve had it for years.”
They all laughed. “Doesn’t seem to be working very well,” Bloodbath said.
He must have given some signal, because Grunge unclamped his arms from my neck. But Grunge wasn’t quite done. Instead of just letting me go, he pushed me hard. I was already off balance. I staggered and fell.
“Man, this job pays lousy,” Bloodbath said, jingling the quarters in his hand as he walked away.
I glared after them, then reached out and turned the ticket over. On the front, in giant letters, it said, MondoVideo. I shoved it back in my pocket.
As much as I didn’t want to return to the room, it seemed safer than staying in the hall. It wouldn’t be very pleasant to be around if Bloodbath wandered back. There really wasn’t any choice. I headed to the room.
Torchie didn’t even look up when I came in. It was obvious he didn’t want to talk. If he knew what I’d just been through—if he knew how well I’d kept his secret—maybe he’d feel differently.
I tried to think of some way to tell him. But I couldn’t think of any way to start. In my mind, I saw myself talking and I saw him just staring, not really caring what I said.
I don’t care, either , I told myself as I went to sleep. Right. Unlike Bloodbath, I didn’t believe my lies.
NOW YOU SEE ME, NOW YOU DON’T
C heater and Flinch ignored me the next day. Torchie also pretty much acted like I didn’t exist. I don’t know what they told Lucky, but seeing how he already wasn’t my biggest fan, he seemed happy to go along with them.
I was sitting in math class, thinking about how
Mr. Calabrizi : No.
Lucky : You know, the one in Torchie’s room?
Mr. Calabriz i: Right.
Lucky : I think he might be okay. I wasn’t sure at first, but he seems like an okay guy. I’d trust him on my side if things got tough.
Mr. Calabrizi : If things get tough, leave the room. Besides, if he’s okay, what’s he doing at Edgeview?
Lucky : Hey. What about me? I’m there.
Mr. Calabrizi : [sighing] I know.
IF I TOLL YOU ONCE
I f I was walking away from a bad situation, I was walking into one that was worse. I realized my mistake halfway down the hall when I came face-to-face with Bloodbath and three of his gang—Grunge, Lip, and the guy with the skull tattoo on his forehead.
“Hey, this is a toll road,” Bloodbath said, holding his hand out. “Pay up.”
“I don’t have anything,” I told him, taking a step back.
Grunge and Lip took two steps forward. “Everyone has something,” Bloodbath said.
Before I could move, Grunge grabbed me in a headlock. The sharp, ripe smell of his unwashed shirt smacked me like a punch to the nose. I tried to pull away, but his arm tightened, locking around me like a giant handcuff. Lip and Skullface flipped my pockets inside out. Three quarters dropped to the floor, followed by a fluttering green rectangle. I tried not to stare at it.
“Nothing?” Grunge asked, tightening his grip around my neck. “That don’t look like nothing.”
Lip scooped up the quarters and handed them to Bloodbath.
“Next time you lie to me,” Bloodbath said, “I’ll break something. Understand?”
“Yeah.”
Bloodbath glanced down at the floor. Since yesterday when I’d
shoved it in my pocket at the arcade, I’d forgotten all about the ticket.
“What’s that?” Bloodbath asked, tapping the ticket with the toe of his sneaker.
I came within a breath of saying, It’s from the arcade. But I couldn’t. I’d given my word to keep the secret. Even after the way Torchie and the others had treated me, I wasn’t going to rat them out. At least the ticket had fallen facedown, so it wasn’t obvious that it was an arcade ticket. I tried to remember what was written on the front.
“Hey!” Grunge snapped, squeezing my neck so hard that things started to turn gray. “The man asked you a question.”
If he caught me lying, I was dead. “It’s my lucky ticket,” I said. “I’ve had it for years.”
They all laughed. “Doesn’t seem to be working very well,” Bloodbath said.
He must have given some signal, because Grunge unclamped his arms from my neck. But Grunge wasn’t quite done. Instead of just letting me go, he pushed me hard. I was already off balance. I staggered and fell.
“Man, this job pays lousy,” Bloodbath said, jingling the quarters in his hand as he walked away.
I glared after them, then reached out and turned the ticket over. On the front, in giant letters, it said, MondoVideo. I shoved it back in my pocket.
As much as I didn’t want to return to the room, it seemed safer than staying in the hall. It wouldn’t be very pleasant to be around if Bloodbath wandered back. There really wasn’t any choice. I headed to the room.
Torchie didn’t even look up when I came in. It was obvious he didn’t want to talk. If he knew what I’d just been through—if he knew how well I’d kept his secret—maybe he’d feel differently.
I tried to think of some way to tell him. But I couldn’t think of any way to start. In my mind, I saw myself talking and I saw him just staring, not really caring what I said.
I don’t care, either , I told myself as I went to sleep. Right. Unlike Bloodbath, I didn’t believe my lies.
NOW YOU SEE ME, NOW YOU DON’T
C heater and Flinch ignored me the next day. Torchie also pretty much acted like I didn’t exist. I don’t know what they told Lucky, but seeing how he already wasn’t my biggest fan, he seemed happy to go along with them.
I was sitting in math class, thinking about how
Similar Books
