Seconds Away

CHAPTER 27

When I got to the cafeteria, Ms. Owens, the teacher I liked least (which was a nice way of saying “did not like” or even “hated”), gave me the evil eye and said, “Hall pass?”

I gave it to her. Ms. Owens studied it as though I were a terrorist carrying a fake passport. After a few more long seconds, she grudgingly let me in. I headed over to my normal table. Spoon and Ema were already in place, though there were two chairs separating them.

“Where were you?” Ema asked.

“Mr. Grady wanted to see me.”

“Are you in trouble?” Spoon asked.

“No. Just the opposite.”

As I explained about getting a varsity tryout, I spotted Troy and Buck. They had changed tables so that they sat now only with boys-more specifically, only boys on the varsity basketball team. I wondered whether they knew that I would join them at tryouts today. My eyes stayed on the table a beat too long.

Spoon said, “Your future teammates.”

“Yep.”

“You know Buck and Troy, of course. Have you met any of the others?”

“No.”

“Well, Troy is one captain. The other is Brandon Foley. He’s at the end of the table. He’s the tallest player on the team. Six foot eight.”

I had seen Brandon Foley in the corridors, and I often heard his voice over the morning announcements.

“He’s student council president,” Spoon said.

“And,” Ema added, “he’s also Troy Taylor’s best friend. They’ve lived on the same street since birth and started playing together when they were in diapers, which in their case might have been last year.”

Terrific.

As I was looking over at the table, Brandon Foley turned and met my gaze. I expected the standard mocking glare, but Brandon didn’t do that. He made sure that I was looking at him and then he nodded in a gentle, almost supportive way.

Troy was sitting next to him. He turned to see where his friend was looking, so I quickly diverted my gaze.

“You okay?” Ema asked.

“Fine, but I have really big news.”

I told them about the fire at Bat Lady’s house. They listened with their mouths agape. When I told them about the portraits in the corridor, Spoon spoke for the first time.

“Obvious,” he said.

“What?”

“Those pictures. It was a gallery of the children the Abeona Shelter has saved.”

I told them about getting arrested, about Uncle Myron showing up, and how Angelica Wyatt was the one who saved me from a night in prison. Ema seemed annoyed by this.

“Wait, how does your uncle know Angelica Wyatt?”

“She’s smoking hot,” Spoon added.

We looked at him.

“I’m talking about Angelica Wyatt,” Spoon explained.

“Yeah,” Ema said, “we got that.” She turned back to me. “So?”

“I don’t know. Myron is her bodyguard or something.”

“I thought he was a sports agent.”

“He is. I don’t get it either, but Angelica Wyatt knew my mom too.”

“What are you talking about?” There was a snap in Ema’s voice now. “How would she have known your mother?”

“They were, like, celebrity friends when they were young. My mom was a big tennis star, Angelica was a young actress. I guess they hung out. What’s the difference?”

Ema just frowned.

“I have a thought,” Spoon said.

Ema gave him a withering look. “I can hardly wait to hear this.”

“This sandy-blond guy. Let’s call him the Butcher, okay?”

“What about him?”

Spoon pushed up his glasses. “He tried to kill you. Doesn’t it make sense that maybe he also tried to kill Rachel?”

Silence.

“And if that’s the case, wouldn’t it follow that maybe, just maybe, he’s trying to kill us all?”

More silence.

“I hate to admit it,” Ema said, “but Spoon may have a point.”

“Thank you. I’m not just eye candy for the ladies, you know.”

“We are going to have to be extra careful,” I said.

“Has anyone heard from Rachel since we sneaked into the hospital?” Spoon asked.

So here we were. I could lie to them or I could betray Rachel’s confidence. I aimed for something in between. “I have,” I said as, mercifully, the bell rang. “But for right now, I need to leave it at that.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Ema asked.

“Yeah,” Spoon added. “Aren’t we in this together?”

“Just… trust me here.” I remembered my schedule-visit Rachel, basketball tryouts. Hmm. They were both still looking at me, waiting for more. “How about this? Let’s meet right after basketball tryouts. I should be able to tell you more then.”