by M. M. Cox
I’m mildly surprised. So Mr. Chen did not alert the police to the Mafia’s involvement?
That seemed strange after his show of defiance last night. Had Ray frightened him enough to stay quiet?
I try to make small talk with Portia and Evie about various classmates, and I’m always impressed with how kind Portia is, even when gossiping about other people. She’s certainly not a spoiled girl, even if she is an only child (as I found out from Vince). Julia snickers from time to time when certain names are mentioned, but for most of the ride, she remains silent. I can only guess what crazy scheme she has put together to sneak out of the house. I feel a little guilty about helping her, but she said she was visiting a friend’s mother in the hospital and had thrown a long-sleeved T-shirt over her revealing top, so what else could I say? Ronnie had given her permission, and I have bigger things to worry about than Julia’s underhanded schemes.
Julia deserts us the minute Joe puts the car in park. She says she will grab a ride home with her friend and then heads toward the hospital. I glare at her as she walks away because I don’t believe her story for one moment. Portia obviously notices me watching Julia leave, because she says, in a resentful voice that is out of character for her, “Do you like her, Danny?”
“No, I think she’s trouble,” I say quickly. I smile at Portia. “Let’s not worry about her. I’m here for you, and you’re here for Tony. Let’s go inside.”
Portia returns my smile, and I’m proud of myself for turning a potentially sticky situation around so quickly. The truth is, I can’t help but find Julia attractive, but I certainly don’t want to do anything more than look at her. When it comes to wanting a girl with whom I could spend quality time, that girl is Portia. Outwardly, she is just as pretty as Julia, but Portia is far ahead in the personality department.
We enter the hospital and quickly find the intensive care unit where Tony’s dad is currently undergoing treatment. I see the other three members of the Chen family before they see us. The family looks exhausted. Tony’s mother has obviously been crying, and Tony’s face is strained with worry. Tony’s younger brother seems frightened by the doctors scurrying back and forth and the obvious distress of his mother and older brother. And suddenly, looking at Mr. Chen’s family, I know exactly why Mr. Chen didn’t identify his attackers. Family is everything.
* * * *
I stretch out on my bed fully clothed at the Vigliotti house. It’s already ten p.m., but I’m a long way off from being able to fall asleep. When I arrived back at the house, Ronnie had immediately asked me where Julia was. I had repeated what Julia had told me—that she would grab a ride home with her friend. I hadn’t believed Julia, and now I could tell that Ronnie was regretting her decision to let Julia go out without obtaining any particulars about which friend she was visiting or when she planned to be home. I feel mildly guilty, but I can’t take the blame for this one. Julia lied, Ronnie believed her, and whatever else happens is between the two of them—and possibly Gino, if Julia is unlucky. I’m ridiculously behind on my schoolwork. This is very unlike me, as I have always breezed through my schoolwork and had excellent grades to show for it. The first week of school is almost over, and I have probably done less than a full hour of homework. I may be able to get away with blowing off my work this week, but next week, if I don’t crack down on myself, I’ll start to fall even further behind. I’m not going to give the Vigliottis any unnecessary reasons to hand me back over to my mother. Gino’s activities may be corrupt, but I cannot willingly let myself be kicked out of a house that is beginning to feel so much like a home. Gino has behaved fatherly toward me, Ronnie has already gone above and beyond my own mother, and Vince is beginning to feel like an older brother. The only Vigliotti who doesn’t quite feel like family is Julia, and I know that’s probably only because I find her attractive, and thinking of her like a sister, even though we are not related, just makes my attraction feel very wrong.
I think about the Chen family and how they have seemingly pulled together in a very rough situation. I didn’t see Mr. Chen tonight, but Tony had described most of his injuries, which made me sick to my stomach all over again. The little brother was particularly difficult to watch—his young face so full of misery was more than enough to haunt me. And Mrs. Chen had appeared strong for her boys, but when she didn’t think anyone was watching, her face fell into a look of such desperation that I had fought the urge to go and put my arm around her shoulders. Yet there they were, standing together as a family, and I knew that I had never known the love that these people held between them. The closest I have come to that is living in the Vigliotti house.
I know I will do everything I can to protect the Vigliottis. I don’t want any more people to get hurt, but I begged Frank and Pete Alvarez to let me stay as much to help them as to keep an eye out for Gino and his family. My emotions are all twisted inside of me. On the one hand, I cannot ignore the terrible work in which Gino is involved, but on the other hand, I don’t want this family pulled apart in any way. Somehow, I hope that everything will work out so that Gino can get out of the mob, but that the mob itself will be destroyed. And yet, I know that having both of those outcomes is unlikely.
I get up to put my books in my backpack and get ready for bed, thinking about another missed opportunity to connect with Evie tonight. At no time did I have a chance to talk to her without making it look to Portia like I wanted to be alone with Evie for other reasons. I’m working hard to keep Portia from getting the wrong idea.
Lost in thought, I’m just slapping the biology book on top of the algebra book and wondering how I will ever zip my enormously overstuffed backpack, when the lights go out in my room, and a hand on my shoulder spins me around and slams me up against the closet door. In the darkness, my arms are trapped at my side in an iron grip.
Chapter 13
“Vince! What the heck?”
Vince’s shadowy, furious face is just inches from my nose. His eyes are blazing, and I have no idea what has made him so angry. He looks like a kid who is ready to beat the crap out of me.
“Where did you go today?” Vince demands, holding me against the closet; although, to be fair, I have yet to struggle.
“What do you mean? You mean just now? I was at the hospital!”
Vince slams me against the closet door again, making a dangerous amount of noise. I’m thankful that Ronnie and Gino are busy worrying about Julia at the moment.
“Not tonight! I mean today! Where did you go during school?”
“Knock it off!” I say, pushing Vince back against the bed. He looks like he is going to rush me, but I put my finger to my lips and move to shut the guest room door, which is still ajar from Vince’s abrupt entrance. Vince waits by the bed, his chest heaving and his fists curled into balls at his side.
I switch the light back on, shut the door, and then turn slowly, rubbing my neck. “Geez, Vince, you really should look into a sport like wrestling or something! Just calm down and I’ll tell you whatever you want to know,” I promise.
“I saw you digging around in Dad’s office the other night,” Vince accuses. “What were you looking for? What did you find?”
I step back, surprised. I had expected to talk my way out of this one, but now I realize that Vince has been keeping an eye on me. “Why are you watching me, Vince?”
“Answer my questions first!” Vince howls.
I quickly lift my finger to my lips again, but Vince is not settling down. “All right. I was looking for something,” I whisper harshly.
We stare at each other, both of us waiting for the other to do something. Vince’s obsession with mob movies and his disastrous trip to the diner flashes in my mind. And that’s when I know that I’m not the only one who wants to protect Gino. I’m also not the only one in the house that knows Gino is involved in work that isn’t just computer networking.
“Vince, I don’t want anything to happen to your dad. I’m trying to protect him,” I say, trying to feel Vince out
.
The anger seems to drain instantly out of Vince. He collapses onto the bed, shaking his head slowly. “All this time, I didn’t think anyone would ever find out. All this time Julia and I have been keeping a secret from everyone.”
“Julia?” I ask, surprised that the shallow teen has time to worry about her dad’s work. Vince nods. “Yeah. And Mom does too. But I don’t think she knows exactly what Dad does. And I don’t think Dad started this until after they were married. All she knows is that he works for Ray Gallo, but she doesn’t know exactly what that means.” He glances up at me. “I shouldn’t be telling you all this. I don’t trust you.”
“Someone else does know about your dad, Vince. But I’m going to protect him,” I say, wondering if I will make good on that promise. I picture the worried faces of the Chen family again, and I don’t know which side I’m on.
At that moment, the door opens. Gino stands in the open doorway, and I immediately wonder what he may have heard. I almost involuntarily shrink back, but Vince is immobile.
“Is everything all right in here?” he asks us.
“It’s fine,” I reply quickly.
Gino’s eyes narrows. “Even over Julia’s whining, I could hear you guys yelling back here.”
I think that Gino must also be noticing the strained looks on our faces. I glance at Vince and recognize a look on his face that I had worn on mine not too long ago. Vince wants desperately to please his father, but he doesn’t know how to get close to him. I once felt that way about my dad; now I feel nothing toward Del after what he did to me. But Vince loves Gino despite his mobster ties, perhaps even, to some extent, because of those ties. I don’t feel the same way. Although I can’t help but feel grateful that Gino saved me from the hands of Barb Kluwer and offered me a home, I also saw Tony’s dad beaten almost to death while Gino stood idly by. I feel obligated to protect Gino as much as possible, and yet, my liking for my godfather has altered forever.
“You guys keep it down, okay?” Gino says. “We’ve got enough going on with Julia sneaking off tonight. She rode with you, didn’t she, Danny?”
I put up my hand, as though fending off the accusation. “I got the same story Ronnie did,” I say, a little guiltily, but truthfully.
Gino stays for several more silent seconds, as if judging the honesty in my story, and then he turns and leaves the room, shutting the door behind him.
“Who knows about Dad’s real job, Danny?” Vince asks after several seconds, his eyes steely as he keeps them on the door.
“The FBI.”
Vince appears panicked, as though he will run out of the room and warn his dad right now.
I catch his arm. “Don’t tell him, Vince. We can protect him. Everything you guys have—your house, your life, your happiness—it doesn’t have to change!”
We stare at each other tensely. Vince finally turns and walks to the door. “You keep me in the loop, okay? I want to help. If you don’t, I’ll warn my dad, and everything will disappear—for both of us.”
I nod. “Well, on that note, I may need your help tomorrow.”
Vince’s head snaps back around toward me. “Something to do with my dad?”
I smile. “No. This is much more fun. We have a little appointment with an old friend.”
* * * *
The next morning, I’m afraid that Julia will not be able to play her part in my little scheme—something Vince and I are calling “Operation Tommy Boy.” In fact, Vince and I actually stayed up late last night as I outlined my plan and Vince excitedly endorsed it. Gino and Ronnie had been busy grilling a tired and grumpy Julia, who, as Vince and I had gathered, would be grounded for several weeks to come.
I didn’t talk to Julia last night, but as I sit down to inhale a bowl of Cinnamon Swirlers (I have finally found a type of cereal that Vince doesn’t particularly care for so that the box will last more than two days), I nudge her on the shoulder. “You still want that scoop?”
She glares at me with a look of pure death, and I take a few bites of sugary cinnamon clusters. After a while, though, I can’t help myself. “So, how’s your friend’s mom?” I ask cheerfully.
I know I shouldn’t provoke her, but I don’t realize how angry Julia really is. She jumps out of her chair, grabs the half-full bag out of the cereal box, and then, glaring at me, proceeds to grind the sweet little clusters into a sugary cinnamon dust. She throws the bag on the floor and races up the stairs, and Baxter stands still for a moment of canine indecision, his beady little eyes moving from the bag of cereal on the floor to the figure of his mistress disappearing up the stairs. The food wins out, and I watch the dog lap up the tiny sugary crumbs where the bag had popped open on its way to the kitchen floor. Baxter and I enjoy our cereal in silence, although I regret that I will be forced to share Vince’s Cocoa Nuggets tomorrow.
The ride to school is no better. Julia sits in the far back, ignoring Vince’s teasing and my occasional pleas to still be a part of my plan. When we get to school and Vince drops us off in front, I grab Julia’s arm. She struggles to be free of me, but I am much stronger than her.
“Stop it, Julia.”
She quits squirming and glares at me. I suddenly notice Portia chatting with her usual group of girls a few yards away, and I quickly drop Julia’s arm. “Come on, you need this story to make up for the fallout of me going public about where I’m really from. Just hide behind the bleachers in the gym before ten a.m., during third period, and you’ll be able to hear everything.”
She continues to glare at me as I walk away, hoping she will stop pouting and show up when she is supposed to. “Operation Tommy Boy” won’t be the same without a little school media coverage. I stride toward the group of girls in which Portia and Evie are standing. A few weeks ago, a group of girls like this would have terrified me, but after the events of the past week, I know I have much bigger threats with which to deal. This is the last day of the first week of school at Newcastle High. Most of the school is buzzing with pre-weekend excitement, but I’m just tired because I have had the most exhausting, most emotional week of my life.
I walk over to Portia. “Hey, how are you doing this morning?”
She glares at me. “Apparently, not as well as you. Seems like you have a little thing going on with Julia.”
I roll my eyes. For as great as Portia is, she certainly has her jealous moments. But then I smile, trying a different tactic. A little friendly competition never hurt anyone, right? “What, you jealous?” I ask.
She frowns. “No. Why should I be? It’s just—I don’t really like her, Danny. She’s pretty mean to my friends.”
I laugh. “She’s mean to everyone! I just need her to do me a favor—that’s all.”
“Maybe I could help you instead,” Portia offers.
I notice Evie watching us with her sharp eyes. I still have not had a chance to speak with her. Then I realize Portia is watching me expectantly. “No. I prefer to keep you out of this.” I put my hand on her shoulder as she starts to argue. “Portia, something is going to happen this morning that may make me an outcast here at school.”
Evie laughs. “You? An outcast? Hardly! You’re quickly becoming the most popular freshman here—especially since Tommy has been hinting he has some dirt on you. It adds to the intrigue.”
I glance at Evie when she says this because she sounds like she is trying to warn me. The thing is, I already know what Tommy has on me, and although I might ruin my reputation for a while, revealing my true background will be better than living a lie. I think. Portia puts her hand on mine, still on her shoulder. “Please, let me help you.”
I shake my head. “Just promise you won’t abandon me.”
She nods. “Promise.”
* * * *
After first period class, I make my way to the teachers’ lounge, keeping my fingers crossed that a certain teacher, whom I had found out doesn’t teach second period, will be in there. I spend the next half hour convincing this teacher to be involved in
the plan.This is the most difficult part of my scheme, but it is also the most essential for getting Tommy into the kind of trouble he deserves. I tell the teacher where to meet us in the gym, and then I meet Vince at his locker.
As he and I start toward the gym, I feel almost giddy with relief. As much as I like the attention I’m getting at Newcastle High, I can’t enjoy it because I know I’m hiding a very large part of who I am. Maybe the kids here look down on Ridley, but if they like me, then they may see that where I came from doesn’t matter. Then again, because I lied, the other students may reject me as someone who tried to be something I’m not. I know it’s my own fault for not setting the record straight from the beginning.
Vince and I walk into the deserted gym, our shoes squeaking on the spotless surface. I love being inside a gym. It reminds me of wrestling, a place where I could always prove myself, away from my parents and the gloomy life I had in Ridley. I wonder what wrestling at Newcastle would be like, and I hope I will make the team so I can have the chance to feel the thrill of competition that I love so much.
As we reach the center of the gym, Vince grabs my shoulder. “I hear them outside. What do you want me to do?”
I listen carefully and, sure enough, I can hear the voices of Tommy and one of his friends coming from the hall leading to the locker rooms. “I just need you to back me up. I think Tommy’s going to get very angry.”
Tommy struts into the gym with a triumphant smile on his face. He and Paul, the shorter teenager who has been involved in all our scuffles so far, walk to the center of the gym and face us. “So, Higgins, you ready to play the game my way?”
I glare at Tommy, but I try to appear defeated, as though I’m giving into his threat of blackmail. “I talked to Mr. Doonesby, Tommy.”
“Yeah? And what did he say?” Tommy asks, smirking.
I consider my words carefully. In order for my plan to work, Tommy must admit to trying to cheat and blackmailing me to help him. “What kind of grade in math are you looking for?” I ask.
