Among the Imposters

Twenty Six

Luke took time to grab one of his textbooks so he’d have an excuse if someone caught him out of his room after lights out. “1 only wanted to study some more,” he could say. “I’m worried about my tests.”

But the only person who might catch him was Jason.

Out in the dimly lit hall Luke looked back and forth, not sure which way to go. Probably Jason had only needed to go to the bathroom, and Luke was foolish to follow him. Luke headed toward the bathroom first.

Why didn’t I think to go to the bathroom after lights out, back when I was trying to find a place to read my note? Luke wondered. But Luke had been too terrified back then to think like that. He wouldn’t have dared leave his bed. He had actually blended in quite well. And if I’d read the note right away, I wouldn’t have discovered the door to outdoors or the woods. I wouldn’t have had those few days of setting up my garden. He still missed his garden. He tried not to think about it. And I never would have gotten to know anybody.

But how well did he know his new friends? The only friend he’d ever had before was Jen, and that friendship had been entirely different.

It wasn’t fair to compare.

He sneaked quietly down the hall, feeling foolish. Of course Jason would be in the bathroom, and he’d only have rude comments and mockery for Luke when he saw him. “Can’t even pee without your books, huh?” maybe, or even, “Hey, lecker, we’ve got toilet paper here and everything. You won’t need to use that.”

The bathroom was empty.

Luke backtracked, and glanced in his room again. Jason’s bed was still empty. Luke went the opposite direction from the bathroom. All that lay down this hallway was the back stairs.

Maybe Luke wouldn’t look for Jason anymore. What did he think he was going to do when he found him? But Luke was so thoroughly awake now that he decided he might as well study. The details of the Trojan War and the Peloponnesian War were blurring in his mind.

He went over to the stairwell and sat down on the top step. He leaned against the wall, opened his book, and began reading. “The Greeks fought battles for—”

Far below Luke, someone was murmuring.

Luke sat still for a minute, tempted to ignore it. It probably was Jason, but so what? If he was having a secret meeting without Luke, why should Luke care? It wasn’t Like Jason’s gang ever planned anything real, anyway.

But Luke did care. If Jason’s gang was going to help third children, Luke owed it to himself — to his family, to Jen, to Jen’s dad — to take part.

Luke eased down to the next step. And the next. And the next. He kept clutching his book because he didn’t want to make any noise putting it down. Yet he wondered if he should be making noise, acting normal, so he could come upon the secret meeting casually, “Oh, hi, guys— didn’t know you were down here. Can I help?”

There was nothing normal about walking around Hendricks in the middle of the night Luke stayed quiet.

When he rounded the corner of the second flight of stairs, he could begin to distinguish words. The only person who seemed to be talking was Jason. Nothing new about that. Luke crouched behind the half-wall that surrounded the stairs. He listened closely

“But it’s too soon!” Jason was pleading.

Luke risked a peek over the banister. Maybe Trey was there, and would call out, “Hey, Lee! Glad you’re here! I was hoping you would come!”

But Jason appeared to be alone.

He was talking into a small portable phone. At least, that’s what Luke thought it was. He’d never seen one before, except in sketches. in his science textbook.

Jason was facing the other way, so Luke kept watching and listening.

“I told you. There’s no danger in waiting!” he exclaimed. “They’re just sitting ducks!”

Jason was silent, listening. He turned slightly and Luke caught a glimpse of the side of his face. Jason’s expression was set, dead serious. Luke thought about all the times he’d seen Jason joking, joshing, prodding, mocking. Luke wouldn’t have thought Jason could be 100 percent serious about anything. He seemed like a different boy.

Frightened, Luke ducked out of sight.

“I’ve got four and she’s got two,” Jason said. “But I could have more by the end of the week.”

Four and two and more of what? Luke wondered.

‘Well, I don’t know about Nina,” Jason said. “You’d have to ask her. But she says girls are harder to recruit.”

Girls? Luke thought he’d solved his puzzle. Jason was making plans for some action against the Government— something like the rally but safer, Luke hoped. He was telling someone how many boys and girls — how many exnays— were available to help. ~cept… the group that met in the woods had nine boys now, with Luke, and five girls.

Hadn’t Jason told Luke once that the whole group wasn’t brave enough yet to be subversives? Luke wondered whom Jason was counting and whom he was leaving out. Trey was pretty timid. So were several of the others.

What about Luke? What if Jason wasn’t including Luke because Luke hadn’t gone to the meeting in the woods that evening? Or because he knew that Luke was secretly the biggest chicken of all?

Luke started to stand up, to say, “Wait! Count me in!” His legs were quivering, but he could make himself be brave. He’d have to.

Jason had his back turned to Luke again. He was practically snarling into the phone now.

“You want names? All right, I’ll give you the ones I have. Antonio Blanco, alias Samuel Irving. Denton Weathers, alias Travis Spencer. Sherman Kymanski, alias Ryan Mann. Patrick Kerrigan, alias Tyrone Janson.”

Jason was saying the boys’ real names. Luke was so thrilled, he couldn’t speak. If only he’d told Jason his real name. He could just imagine hearing, “Luke Garner, subversive for the cause, coming to the aid of third children everywhere.” Forget the alias. It didn’t matter.

Jason shifted his portable phone in his hand, and Luke had a terrible thought What if Jason~s phone was bugged? Then Luke realized something even worse: Since it was a portable phone, the Population Police didn’t even have to bug it. Luke had learned in science and technology class just last week that portable phones sent out messages indiscriminately Didn’t Jason know that? All the Population Police needed was a receiver.

And of course they had one. They had everything.

Luke rushed out from his hiding place and took the last flight of stairs in two leaps. He had to get the phone away from Jason before he accidentally betrayed another boy’s identity. Jason still had his back to Luke. He was saying indignantly into the phone: “Of course I’ll get the others to tell me their real names. They’re just cagey. They do trust me. They don’t have any idea I work for the Population Police.”