The Elephant of Surprise (The Russel Middlebrook Series Book 4) by Brent Hartinger Page A
Authors: Brent Hartinger
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"You promised that if I deleted the photos, you'd listen to what I learned about Kevin. Like, two seconds ago?"
"Okay, right. Yeah."
"So, anyway, Kevin," he said. "At first I was surprised by how boring he is."
"Boring?"
"I don't know. After the way you and Min turned on him last year, I figured that he was some kind of monster, you know? But he's not a monster. In fact, he's really a nice guy. Boring, but nice. At one point, he literally helped a little old lady—not across the street, but he carried her groceries to her car at the supermarket."
So Gunnar hadn't just taken photos of Kevin in the locker room at school—he'd actually followed him off-campus? What kind of Frankenstein's Monster had I created—and how far did his rampage stretch?
"Hey," I said. "You didn't post those pictures of Kevin to your blog or anything, did you?"
"No," he said. "I'm not a complete idiot, and shut up and listen, because this is important: Kevin's not a jerk."
"What?"
"No, seriously. He's a nice guy. I like him. He does volunteer work with kids with autism." So Kevin had Gunnar's approval? On one hand, this was what I'd been wanting to hear earlier in the week. But on the other hand, I was interested in Wade now. Right?
"Well?" he said.
"Well what?" I said.
"Are you going to give him another chance?"
I sighed. "I honestly don't know."
"Because if you're not going to date him, I will."
I rolled my eyes.
"What? The guy's a total catch. And man, what a body. I mean, I'm straight, but I'm not blind. You really tapped that, huh?"
"Gunnar!"
"What?"
"Look," I said. "I know Kevin's not a jerk. He's even friends with Brian Bund."
"Well, not anymore."
I looked at Gunnar.
"Yeah, that was one weird thing," he said, remembering. "It happened just this morning. Kevin and Brian got into this argument in the parking lot right near me. Kevin accused him of stealing something, called him a loser. He actually was kind of a jerk about it."
"Really?" I said. This couldn't be right: Brian would never steal anything.
Gunnar nodded.
Why would Kevin make an accusation that wasn't true? Because maybe he wasn't such a Boy Scout after all? It would figure. Maybe that thing in the park wasn't so out of character. Or maybe he had some kind of Jekyll and Hyde thing going on.
The bell rang for class, and Gunnar started to leave.
"Wait!" I said, and he looked at me. "What does any of this have to do with those photos you showed me of Kevin in the shower?"
"What?"
"Those naked photos of Kevin. They don't have anything to do with any of the things you just told me."
"Yeah, I know. I just led with those to get you hooked." When I stared at him, confused, he added, "You didn't wanna hear what I had to say! You really think I was going to do all that spying on Kevin for nothing?"
CHAPTER TEN
That Friday, Min, Gunnar, and I broke into Leah's house.
I still thought it was a terrible idea, but Min was desperate for answers about whatever secret Leah was keeping—plus, she'd invoked the "friend" bat-signal—so Gunnar and I had no choice but to go along. That said, it meant I'd participated in two break-ins in the course of a single week: the warehouse with Wade and now this. Suddenly, I was living a full-fledged life of crime. What was next—elaborate cons involving the school's football uniforms? Tunneling into the principal's office from the classroom next door?
I know I'd said I'd wanted adventure, but this was ridiculous.
We gathered beforehand in Min's bedroom. The room is pretty dark—dark paint, navy bedspread—and she has a big poster of the planet Earth on a wall and a mobile of Jupiter and its moons hanging from the ceiling, so visiting her there is a little like walking into deep space.
"So tell us your plan, Millicent Min, Girl Genius," I said. This was my new nickname for Min, taken from this kids' book we'd both loved, Millicent Min, Girl Genius , about an over-achieving Asian-American girl. But Millicent in the
"Okay, right. Yeah."
"So, anyway, Kevin," he said. "At first I was surprised by how boring he is."
"Boring?"
"I don't know. After the way you and Min turned on him last year, I figured that he was some kind of monster, you know? But he's not a monster. In fact, he's really a nice guy. Boring, but nice. At one point, he literally helped a little old lady—not across the street, but he carried her groceries to her car at the supermarket."
So Gunnar hadn't just taken photos of Kevin in the locker room at school—he'd actually followed him off-campus? What kind of Frankenstein's Monster had I created—and how far did his rampage stretch?
"Hey," I said. "You didn't post those pictures of Kevin to your blog or anything, did you?"
"No," he said. "I'm not a complete idiot, and shut up and listen, because this is important: Kevin's not a jerk."
"What?"
"No, seriously. He's a nice guy. I like him. He does volunteer work with kids with autism." So Kevin had Gunnar's approval? On one hand, this was what I'd been wanting to hear earlier in the week. But on the other hand, I was interested in Wade now. Right?
"Well?" he said.
"Well what?" I said.
"Are you going to give him another chance?"
I sighed. "I honestly don't know."
"Because if you're not going to date him, I will."
I rolled my eyes.
"What? The guy's a total catch. And man, what a body. I mean, I'm straight, but I'm not blind. You really tapped that, huh?"
"Gunnar!"
"What?"
"Look," I said. "I know Kevin's not a jerk. He's even friends with Brian Bund."
"Well, not anymore."
I looked at Gunnar.
"Yeah, that was one weird thing," he said, remembering. "It happened just this morning. Kevin and Brian got into this argument in the parking lot right near me. Kevin accused him of stealing something, called him a loser. He actually was kind of a jerk about it."
"Really?" I said. This couldn't be right: Brian would never steal anything.
Gunnar nodded.
Why would Kevin make an accusation that wasn't true? Because maybe he wasn't such a Boy Scout after all? It would figure. Maybe that thing in the park wasn't so out of character. Or maybe he had some kind of Jekyll and Hyde thing going on.
The bell rang for class, and Gunnar started to leave.
"Wait!" I said, and he looked at me. "What does any of this have to do with those photos you showed me of Kevin in the shower?"
"What?"
"Those naked photos of Kevin. They don't have anything to do with any of the things you just told me."
"Yeah, I know. I just led with those to get you hooked." When I stared at him, confused, he added, "You didn't wanna hear what I had to say! You really think I was going to do all that spying on Kevin for nothing?"
CHAPTER TEN
That Friday, Min, Gunnar, and I broke into Leah's house.
I still thought it was a terrible idea, but Min was desperate for answers about whatever secret Leah was keeping—plus, she'd invoked the "friend" bat-signal—so Gunnar and I had no choice but to go along. That said, it meant I'd participated in two break-ins in the course of a single week: the warehouse with Wade and now this. Suddenly, I was living a full-fledged life of crime. What was next—elaborate cons involving the school's football uniforms? Tunneling into the principal's office from the classroom next door?
I know I'd said I'd wanted adventure, but this was ridiculous.
We gathered beforehand in Min's bedroom. The room is pretty dark—dark paint, navy bedspread—and she has a big poster of the planet Earth on a wall and a mobile of Jupiter and its moons hanging from the ceiling, so visiting her there is a little like walking into deep space.
"So tell us your plan, Millicent Min, Girl Genius," I said. This was my new nickname for Min, taken from this kids' book we'd both loved, Millicent Min, Girl Genius , about an over-achieving Asian-American girl. But Millicent in the
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