been
irrevocably sealed and I was branded the worst thing you could be in
Quarantine: a Rat.
One day a gang of four boys
tried to shove me into the Blind Hall. I recognized them as Kenny
Stoppard's gang, Bobby the cooler guard among them. They ignored my protests and kicked my feet
out from under me, pulling me toward the dark maw of the Hall. I clawed
at the walls, tearing down posters and signs. I even managed to snake one
finger into a bullet hole, but a quick swat from Bobby stripped some skin off and freed my hand.
Mere feet from the threshold of Blind Hall a guard appeared out of nowhere,
snapping his MP5 to bear at my four captors. They didn't seem too eager
to obey his commands to release me, but after it was clear than the guard
wasn't going to back down they pushed me away and melted into the depths of the
Hall. I wondered if the guard was Biff, but I couldn't see through his
facemask and he turned smartly around and resumed his rounds as soon as he was
certain I was in the clear.
I avoided the Blind Hall at
all costs after that. I even found a different route to get to the
gym.
After one meeting with Conyers
I was walking back to the cafeteria, dreading the always humiliating seat hunt
that saw whole rows of empty chairs declared taken (I often had to sit at the
broken table near the trash cans, if there were no seats near Dave or Ben) when
Alan Tallart slid greasily around a corner, grinning. "Hiya,
Sam. Getting cozy with the Principal, I see. Your nose sure looks
pretty brown these days."
"You're one to
talk. Better a
brown-noser than a pet."
Alan's smile slipped for just
a moment, before it returned full force. "I hear you had some
trouble with Kenny Stoppard's bunch."
I started to push past him but
he took one casual step out, blocking my way. "Nothing
serious," I said, trying to keep my voice steady. "Just a
misunderstanding."
"Right. Look,
Crafty, I think we can help each other out here." Alan slid his
backpack off and clasped my left arm warmly above the elbow. "You
know, I'm pretty close with Kenny."
Of course he was. Alan
moonlighted as a Blind Hall enforcer.
"I think I can get him
off your back...if you help me out." Alan was leering now, all
pretense of friendliness gone.
"What do you need me
for? You got a better in with Conyers than I do."
Alan looked confused for a
moment, then chuckled. "Come on, Sam. I'm not stupid.
It's common knowledge what you're up to, at least to people in the know.
People like Kenny and me. Just give me what you've been giving Conyers
and I'll call Kenny off. Cool?"
I simply stared blankly.
"I don't know what you mean." Why would Alan want information
on other students? Blackmail, maybe? But nothing I told Conyers was
a secret to any other student. It was just stuff no teacher could ever
find out on their own.
Alan was still for a moment
and I began to get edgy. You never knew when he might decide to get
rough. I was no weakling,
but Alan was out of my league when it came to casual violence. Instead,
he breathed deeply once and tried a different tactic. "Let me tell
you a story about your buddy Remi and your buddy Conyers."
"I know Remi used to give
out drugs. Conyers stopped him."
Alan laughed. "You
and I both know that's not true. Oh, he stopped Remi from giving it out,
sure. When Remi got busted, he ordered all the drugs destroyed.
Standard issue, right? Just what an upstanding Principal would do.
But then two weeks later Kenny notices something odd. He's got fewer
customers than usual, which is weird since Remi's bust actually improved his
clientele. Turns out there's new competition, but no one can tell where
the stuff 's coming
from. No one else is dealing in the Blind Hall, but kids are getting
their fix anyway. Well, no secret's safe in Quarantine, so it didn't take
us long to figure it out."
He leaned forward, peering
into my eyes. "If you wanted
irrevocably sealed and I was branded the worst thing you could be in
Quarantine: a Rat.
One day a gang of four boys
tried to shove me into the Blind Hall. I recognized them as Kenny
Stoppard's gang, Bobby the cooler guard among them. They ignored my protests and kicked my feet
out from under me, pulling me toward the dark maw of the Hall. I clawed
at the walls, tearing down posters and signs. I even managed to snake one
finger into a bullet hole, but a quick swat from Bobby stripped some skin off and freed my hand.
Mere feet from the threshold of Blind Hall a guard appeared out of nowhere,
snapping his MP5 to bear at my four captors. They didn't seem too eager
to obey his commands to release me, but after it was clear than the guard
wasn't going to back down they pushed me away and melted into the depths of the
Hall. I wondered if the guard was Biff, but I couldn't see through his
facemask and he turned smartly around and resumed his rounds as soon as he was
certain I was in the clear.
I avoided the Blind Hall at
all costs after that. I even found a different route to get to the
gym.
After one meeting with Conyers
I was walking back to the cafeteria, dreading the always humiliating seat hunt
that saw whole rows of empty chairs declared taken (I often had to sit at the
broken table near the trash cans, if there were no seats near Dave or Ben) when
Alan Tallart slid greasily around a corner, grinning. "Hiya,
Sam. Getting cozy with the Principal, I see. Your nose sure looks
pretty brown these days."
"You're one to
talk. Better a
brown-noser than a pet."
Alan's smile slipped for just
a moment, before it returned full force. "I hear you had some
trouble with Kenny Stoppard's bunch."
I started to push past him but
he took one casual step out, blocking my way. "Nothing
serious," I said, trying to keep my voice steady. "Just a
misunderstanding."
"Right. Look,
Crafty, I think we can help each other out here." Alan slid his
backpack off and clasped my left arm warmly above the elbow. "You
know, I'm pretty close with Kenny."
Of course he was. Alan
moonlighted as a Blind Hall enforcer.
"I think I can get him
off your back...if you help me out." Alan was leering now, all
pretense of friendliness gone.
"What do you need me
for? You got a better in with Conyers than I do."
Alan looked confused for a
moment, then chuckled. "Come on, Sam. I'm not stupid.
It's common knowledge what you're up to, at least to people in the know.
People like Kenny and me. Just give me what you've been giving Conyers
and I'll call Kenny off. Cool?"
I simply stared blankly.
"I don't know what you mean." Why would Alan want information
on other students? Blackmail, maybe? But nothing I told Conyers was
a secret to any other student. It was just stuff no teacher could ever
find out on their own.
Alan was still for a moment
and I began to get edgy. You never knew when he might decide to get
rough. I was no weakling,
but Alan was out of my league when it came to casual violence. Instead,
he breathed deeply once and tried a different tactic. "Let me tell
you a story about your buddy Remi and your buddy Conyers."
"I know Remi used to give
out drugs. Conyers stopped him."
Alan laughed. "You
and I both know that's not true. Oh, he stopped Remi from giving it out,
sure. When Remi got busted, he ordered all the drugs destroyed.
Standard issue, right? Just what an upstanding Principal would do.
But then two weeks later Kenny notices something odd. He's got fewer
customers than usual, which is weird since Remi's bust actually improved his
clientele. Turns out there's new competition, but no one can tell where
the stuff 's coming
from. No one else is dealing in the Blind Hall, but kids are getting
their fix anyway. Well, no secret's safe in Quarantine, so it didn't take
us long to figure it out."
He leaned forward, peering
into my eyes. "If you wanted
Similar Books
