by Carla Thorne
“I’m teasing you, Mary. I don’t mind it. I’m just used to living in the city like I did in Dallas. Not outside it. And I know Texans very well.” He took another slurping pull on his straw.
“You can’t possibly be enjoying that.”
“It’s not too bad.” He stood. “I’ll get my tablet out of my trunk.” He paused and touched my shoulder as he passed. “I appreciate the study help. I was only surprised because no one who’s ever suggested I study with them actually meant there’d be studying.”
I felt my right eyebrow creep up at his comment. We had the most bizarre relationship going. Most days he was either too serious and reserved, or too loose with personal information and humor. I didn’t always get when he was trying to be funny, but I recognized his clever but brutal sarcasm, though it was never directed at me. It was as if he didn’t have a lot of experience with casual friends.
But that was the problem, wasn’t it?
Jacob didn’t have any friends.
He was at a new school where everyone saw only a possible state football championship for the first time in school history. They’d probably push him into baseball right after that.
He wasn’t close to his parents, and he’d gravitated toward my unusual friend group from the beginning. His camaraderie with his team was only because he was so good, and homecoming with Cassidy had, by his own admission, been a fluke of two people who didn’t have a date.
Jacob was lonely.
He’d latched on to me and the Warriors that first day at the ice cream social and we’d been linked ever since. Still, I didn’t know where he fit there, if at all, but it made me feel a whole lot better he seemed to be on our side rather than the alternative.
Our personal connection was different. The comfort and familiarity between us couldn’t be explained. We had no history, no ties, not even a whole lot in common. But we worked like that lock-and-key certainty that came when we were together. We just…worked. It wasn’t overtly romantic or strictly a friendship. He held my hand when we crossed a street and always watched out for me. I was doing the same for him.
We needed each other and we belonged together—and it defied explanation.
I pulled the zippered pouch my grandma had given me out of my bag. The soft, worn leather was comforting under my fingers as I dug for a hair band and a pen.
Lost in thought, I mindlessly doodled on the back of my notebook. Warriors. Sebastian. Jacob… My phone jarred me from my artwork with a series of texts from Ivy.
Jacob dropped his tablet and a wadded-up review sheet on the table. “Everything OK?”
“Yeah… Ivy’s got something going on. She said she’d call when she could. Sounds important.”
“Do you need to go?”
“No, she’d say if I did.”
“What’s the A for?”
“What A?”
“On your bag there.”
I’d forgotten the monogram on the pouch. “Oh. My initials.”
“Is your middle name Angel?”
A chill rippled at the back of my neck. “Why would you use that name?”
“Angel? It’s not such a stretch.”
I couldn’t imagine what he possibly meant.
He pulled my notebook across the table and held it up for me. By my own hand, I’d drawn no less than a dozen angel wings in various shapes and sizes.
“Oh. That.”
Thank God. If we’d had one more supernatural, telepathic, or otherwise psychic-like circumstance to navigate that day…
“Mary Angel. I like it.”
“That’s not my name.”
“I think it probably is.”
“It’s not.” I opened the review sheet. “Let’s see here. You’ll have to answer a couple of essay questions on test day, but otherwise, I can quiz you on some multiple choice. I hope all your answers on this review sheet are correct, though.”
He turned his tablet my way. “You can double-check me, but I’m ready. Hit me, Mary Angel.”
“Stop.” I finally had to laugh. His delivery couldn’t have been funnier. “That’s not my name.”
“Hey, Mary Angel?”
I looked up.
“Gotcha’. You answered to Mary Angel.”
“No, I didn’t.”
“You did.”
“My name is Mary Antonia Hunter, and you need to study.”
“I like Mary Angel better so I’m going with that, and you didn’t answer my question.”
“You didn’t ask a question. You’re just tormenting me and stalling for time.”
“Oh, sorry.” He leaned in. “Mary Angel, can I kiss you when I take you home?”
Chapter 20
Scout
I closed the door to Mr. Silva’s office with a soft click and turned to my anxious friends. “What’s the emergency? We have about ten minutes before Mr. Silva comes back. He’s pretending to be occupied somewhere else so we can talk.”
Deacon snorted. “Who knew Scout’s bromance with our school custodian would turn out to be such a perk?”
“Shut it, Deacon. We don’t have much time.”
“All right,” Ivy said. “Here’s the deal. There’s a big pep rally Friday morning to send the guys off to the playoffs. Gavin and his band of…whatever demon-like people he knows, are going to try to pull something. They’re setting up Jacob. The Arrows—led by Gavin’s new evil sidekick, Corey—are helping him.” She glanced at Mary. “Sorry.”
Mary dropped her gaze. “No need. It’s become clear around here the Arrows and the jocks have become a thing.”
Deacon gave her a side hug. “One of my brothers said they’re having those weird campfires out in the woods behind the country club where he works. Like way out past the lake after hours.”
“I know,” Mary said. “And apparently it’s pretty gross. Certain things are now required of the Arrows to be able to spend time with certain football players.”
That piqued my interest. “What things?”
“You know,” Mary said. “Things.”
I still didn’t get it.
“A sex thing,” Deacon said. “We’re talking about a specific sex thing, Scout. Perhaps you’ve heard of it?”
“Leave it alone,” Ivy said. “We only have ten minutes, and I’ve already had to sanitize my eyeballs once this week because I accidentally walked up on something, so can we move on?”
I didn’t like that Ivy was uncomfortable. “What did you walk up on?”
“Never mind.” She glanced Mary’s way again, and it was clear they’d already talked.
“Oh. Got it. Gavin. Corey. Sex thing. Sorry, Mary.”
“Will y’all stop it?” Mary snapped. “I honestly don’t care anymore about that, but what I do think is hilariously ironic is that some of those girls are in the Purity Club.”
“I can explain that,” Deacon said.
Mary’s shocked and wide-eyed expression was almost as funny as Deacon’s statement. “You can explain the Purity Club connection? Are you a member?”
“No, of course not. But I talked to my mom about this.”
Then it was Ivy’s turn to look a mile past awestruck. “You talk to your mom about sex?”
“Well, it’s more like she talks to us about sex, but if you’ll let me explain—”
“I can’t wait for this,” I said.
Deacon gave us a deadpan stare. “You don’t deserve to hear my vast knowledge on the subject.”
Mary laughed. “C’mon, Deac. Whaddayaknow?”
“There are five kids in my house,” he said. “Five boys. Boys. All we talk about is girls, sports, food, and video games. And my mom eavesdrops. So, when she hears something, she gets right on in there and tells us how it is.”
“What does this have to do with the Purity Club and the sex in the woods?”
“That’s my point. They aren’t having sex in the woods. Or at least they don’t think they are.”
“What?” I grimaced until my eyes closed. Then one eye popped op
en. “What do they think they’re having?”
“Don’t even try to make me say all the words because I know I’ll pay for it later, but according to my mom, there are some girls and guys who think certain sex acts aren’t really sex. They don’t feel like they’re breaking any rules because they aren’t really…you know…”
“Alrighty then.” I glanced at my phone. “And now we only have two minutes to discuss how we’re going to make like Warriors and stop a disaster. Ivy?”
“It’s a fire,” she said. “I think Gavin’s guys are going to start a fire during the pep rally and make it look like Jacob did it. They’re using the Arrows to distract him and make it look like he could have done something. I think they want him off the team and kicked out of school.”
Deacon crossed his arms. “Seriously? They’d blow the game just to get to Jacob?”
“I think Gavin hates him that much. And there’s more. I don’t know why, but I believe there’s something else. It isn’t clear. Gavin seemed adamant Jacob be in a certain place at a certain time. I couldn’t hear everything, but there’s more to this than just a fire.”
“We should warn Jacob,” I said.
“No!” Mary dropped onto the folding chair by the door.
“Why not? I thought you trusted Jacob.”
“No,” she repeated. “I mean, I do trust Jacob, but no, don’t warn him.”
“Why?”
“Because I don’t know what he is. I say we make a plan in case there’s an actual fire. We can watch out for Jacob. If he’s one of the good guys, he’ll come out all right. And if he’s one of the bad guys…”
“He’ll be exposed,” I said. “I like it. Clever, Mary.”
“Thank you. Now, what do we do? We’re talking a fire. Do we warn Mr. Parrington?”
Ivy pulled on a strand of hair and wrapped it around her finger as she thought. “And tell him what? That I saw a vision of a smoke cloud and smelled the stench of an electrical fire?”
“Good point,” I said. “Especially after we’ve had so much trouble here with all that. We could look guilty of something. Mr. Silva’s been working with an electrician, but he’s beside himself. The electrical problems make no sense.”
“Or,” Deacon said. “They just haven’t found them all yet.”
“Right. If the Destroyer is using Gavin and the others to cause problems, who knows what they’re doing or who could be hurt?”
Deacon leaned against the wall. “Anyone else think it’s weird that some kids would be messing with electrical stuff? I don’t even have my phone charger plugged in by the sink where I brush my teeth. You know… Electrical stuff and water.”
“Right…,” I said. “I’ll help you with that later, but right now, you also have a point. If all this electrical misfiring is connected—the fire behind the AC, the problems with the security lights and cameras—some teenager is taking some really scary risks to mess with that.”
“Unless it’s an adult,” Ivy said. “Sebastian said the Destroyer would use all kinds of people to try and hurt us and others.”
“Maybe it’s the electrician,” Mary said. “Or any adult who could get in here unnoticed during that pep rally and cause problems. Parents will be here for that.”
Ivy shrugged. “What do we do? I got the impression it was about framing Jacob and not necessarily burning down a school full of students.”
“Yeah,” Deacon said. “But you know how fast that can get out of control. We have to be prepared either way. We’re either stopping a fire or rescuing students when it goes three-alarm.”
“Or,” Mary said. “Exposing Jacob.”
Ivy stepped to Mary’s side. “Or uncovering an adult enemy.”
“Maybe instead of possibly exposing Jacob, we’re saving him,” I added.
Deacon sighed. “Well, we just have a big ol’ mess, don’t we? We can’t be everywhere.”
“No,” I said. “But I can start here. In this office. This is Wednesday. The pep rally is Friday. I’ll try to get through Mr. Silva’s records and get his log-in to get into the system and see what the security cameras are doing—when they’re working.”
“You can do that?” Deacon seemed surprised.
“I can do a lot of things. I have a feeling the cameras being down are part of the plan. Or at least a small part of it. With everyone running loose that day and all the visitors, Gavin or whoever is helping him has to count on one camera to know where Jacob is.”
“Yeah,” Mary said. “But doesn’t that mean it’ll also catch us and the Arrows out and about? Mr. Parrington’s not going to know who to believe if he sees us all running the halls looking for trouble.”
“There has to be adult help,” Deacon said. “You don’t think—”
“No, I don’t,” Scout said. “If anything, Mr. Silva is somehow one of us.”
“You know that for sure?”
“I know that for sure.”
Ivy twined her fingers in mine and planted a tiny kiss on my cheek. “Thanks for being a genius, Scout.”
I may have seen stars and a wall of black for a sec.
Mary grabbed the doorknob. “What next?”
“Keep your eyes and ears open,” I said. “Video chat late tomorrow night.” I swiped a folder off Mr. Silva’s desk that I intended to return by lunch, and pulled my girl toward the door. “Don’t worry. No one’s burning up in this school.”
Chapter 21
Deacon
It was mass chaos.
And that was before everything happened.
The Stonehaven Saints had never been to the playoffs before, or so close to a state title in anything. Everyone wanted to cheer the team on and see them off. I don’t think the principals expected to see so many extra people show up for a pep rally. Parents and grandparents and locals came out of the woodwork. The community newspaper came for pictures and interviews, and Wayne had to call in extra security at the last minute.
Like I said. Chaos.
Scout and I filed into the gym with our class to our assigned grade-level section. While everyone else chattered and prepared to cheer loud enough to earn the coveted spirit stick, Scout went over blueprints and diagrams with me on his phone.
“It doesn’t make sense,” he said. “The random fire and the electrical problems don’t add up. I scoured Mr. Silva’s records. Like I said last night, I don’t think the electrician knows what he’s doing, but right now, all the cameras are working properly. If I can get enough signal in here, I might even be able to get back in and see for myself.”
“What are all these Xs?”
“Those mark spots where there have been previous repairs or updates. They’re not old, but they’re not new either. The other marks are where it appears things need to be upgraded. And look at this.” Scout scrolled through several more pictures. “Here’s where Mr. Silva’s notes line up with what’s been happening recently. See that? Mr. Silva is noting where he feels there are issues, but it doesn’t look like anything is being done.”
I scanned the crowd, but there was no way to pinpoint anyone. “Where are Mary and Ivy?”
“They already peeled away from the crowd and are in a hallway on either end of the gym as planned.”
“Which means we need to get to the ends of these bleachers and near the doors to watch for Jacob to get in. He’ll either be right on time and with the football team on that end, or he’ll be late and come in this end—if Mary and Ivy don’t bust up whatever the Arrows are doing to misdirect him.”
“And,” Scout said. “If he gets in on time, he’s probably safe, but there’s still the matter of a fire. If Ivy said she saw fire, that girl knows there will be a fire.”
“Let’s go, then.”
“Wait.” Scout grabbed my arm. “Look at this view.”
I glanced at the picture and didn’t know what I was looking at. “What is it?”
“It’s the gym. See it?”
“Look, Scout, there’s no way I’m going to see wh
at you’re looking at and we’re out of time, so spill it.”
“They did a two-year fundraising campaign a while back to update the gym. They maybe got as far as updating the lights to LED and revamping some disgusting locker rooms, but I think I read the project tanked. Bad management, no money, whatever. But look at all these spots Mr. Silva has marked around the gym. He’s got big red circles around our joke of a press box, the scoreboards—”
“Can I have your attention, please?”
“Crap. We have to go before everyone gets quiet and we can’t move.”
Scout bolted.
The band started the fight song as the cheerleaders lined up at the opening of the inflatable arch in the corner.
I stumbled toward the end to try and sit near the doors Jacob was supposed to come through late. If we hadn’t been herded like cattle into the gym in the first place, I might not have had to step on not one, but both of Claire Cannon’s feet. I couldn’t even eek out a decent apology as the acrid fumes from the fog machine hit my nose.
Really? The fog machine inside the gym on that day? Between that and the cheerleaders, I couldn’t even tell if Jacob was with the team as they barreled through.
A teacher stopped me near the end. “Sit down, Mr. Sanders.”
It wasn’t a bad place to stop. I texted to our group. No eyes on Jacob from here.
Scout texted back. He’s not with the team.
Dang. That meant he’d been derailed. I only hoped Ivy and Mary hadn’t been also.
I continued to search the perfectly normal pep rally as Mr. Parrington introduced the coach. Drum claps and whistling rang in my ears as I counted the exits on each end. There were plenty of doors, but far too many people to get out fast. Any mass movement would be no less than a stampede. Even the older bleachers could collapse under the constant and sudden movement of terrified students.
“You better be around, Sebastian,” I mumbled to myself. “Scout’s right. If Ivy said fire, she meant fire.”
I glanced at each scoreboard. My hands pulsed warmth.
I texted. Scout. Scoreboard?
Yeah?
Look. Why are they on? The one down here isn’t fully lit. Flickering.
