Page 10 of Everything That Kills Me
“Do I need to take you back to the dealer?”
“I’m fine with snakes.” Jack cursed himself for that analogy.
“I’ll make the appointment.”
Shit.His shrug wouldn’t fool Thomas.
“How many of your classes is he in?”
“All of them. Do you want me to be his friend?”
“That’s up to you. Maybe you’d rather pet a snake.”
“That place is full of snakes.” It was real ones he had a problem with.
The next day, Jack did what he was good at—watched, listened and evaluated. He tried to stay in the shadows but that was difficult in a school environment, especially when he was one of only a few new faces. But he said as little as possible, avoided getting drawn into conversations and kept his mouth shut in lessons unless he was addressed by the teacher.
The one person he wanted to speak to—Zeph—seemed to be deliberately avoiding him, rushing out of the classroom at the end of the lesson, not appearing for the next until the last possible minute. Skinny with thick framed glasses and messy dark hair, he was all arms and legs, full of nervous energy. And nowhere to be seen at lunchtime. Jack was torn between amusement and irritation. But then he was assuming he was the one Zeph was trying to avoid. Jack knew better than to assume anything. Thomas would be on his back about that. Maybe Zeph was avoiding Rufus and Scott who were dicks, not just to Zeph but to everyone. Though more with Zeph than anyone else.
On the plus side, Alice, one of Portia’s acolytes, who sat next to Jack in computer science, had come over at lunch,and invited him to a birthday party a week on Saturday. His inclination had been to say no, but he thought Thomas would be pleased if he accepted, so said yes. Jack’s only experience of parties was what he’d seen on the TV.
Well, it would be interesting. He knew better than to take drugs. Thomas had let him drink beer and wine in moderation. Sex…well, that hadn’t been on his radar. His lack of interest hadn’t bothered him. He was fine dealing with things himself. But maybe this was another lesson Thomas wanted him to learn.Though not with Alice. She definitely wasn’t his type.
At the end of the day, Jack saw Rufus and Scott with Zeph about fifty yards down the road from the school gates. They had him backed up against railings. Jack headed towards them, hoping he could right the wrong of yesterday.
As he drew closer, he heard Rufus hiss, “Bring the money tomorrow, princess.”
“No,” Zeph said.
“You don’t saynoto us.” Scott grasped Zeph’s shoulder and thumped him hard in the stomach. Zeph let out a gasp and Scott hit him again. Jack was now close enough to intervene and yanked Scott round by the arm. The round-faced boy glared at him.
“Enough,” Jack said.
“Fuck off,” Rufus snapped. “It has nothing to do with you. He sponsored us and hasn’t paid up.”
“You’re lying,” Zeph said.
Jack let go of Scott’s arm, interested to see what he’d do. The boy stepped away. So he had some sense.
Rufus slung his arm over Jack’s shoulder and pulled him close. “Fucking walk away, dickhead.”
“You think you have the advantage but you don’t,” Jack said quietly. “You think I’m making a mistake. I’m not.”
“There’s two of us,” Scott said with a nervous laugh.
“Do I look as if that bothers me?” Jack asked.
They both stared at him. Zeph could have run but he stood watching, eyes wide, fists clenched at his sides.
“Well, do I?” Jack asked.
He could feel Scott working up the courage to hit him. Jack took hold of Rufus’s hand where it hung over his shoulder, gripped it hard and ducked under to slip free. Still holding onto his wrist, he stepped away so that Rufus’s arm was stretched out, then kicked at his knee. Not as hard as he could have done, but Rufus immediately collapsed with a yelp.
“You shouldn’t have done that,” Scott snarled, but didn’t move.
Jack said nothing.
After glaring at him and Zeph, the pair moved towards the approaching bus. Rufus was limping. They shoved their way into the queue, ignoring the protests of those in line. Jack maintained eye contact with them until the bus pulled away, then turned to find Zeph was twenty metres down the road.
