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He was a suspect for a little while, but after Mr. Blackbourne talked to him, it was clear he wasn’t involved. Mr. Blackbourne had a stern conversation with him about opening up any box like that. It was too risky.
“So now the bomber is getting other students to do the dirty work instead of calling in bombs himself,” Dr. Green said. “He probably didn’t expect him to open the box, just to pull the alarm. We’re not getting the pleasure of a phone call any more.”
“He knows we’re onto him,” Silas said. “That we’re waiting to track him.”
“So he makes it harder for us to track,” Dr. Green said. He tapped me on the knee. “I’ve got a class to teach. You coming with me?”
I nodded. I wasn’t going to sleep any more so I may as well sit in class.
“I guess my break is over,” Silas said. He put his jacket back on and left his shirt the way it was.
“Sorry,” I said.
He smirked at me and dropped a hand on top of my head, rubbing my scalp. “Don’t be cute or I’ll do it again tomorrow.” He walked off toward class.
I joined Dr. Green for Japanese, where there was a small review of the quiz and a lecture, but no Victor. From what I could gather from Dr. Green, he had been selected to work with Mr. Blackbourne on the bomb box issue.
I was headed toward gym class when I heard someone calling my name through the crowd. At first, I thought it was Kota.
I stopped, waiting, searching through the crowd for him. I heard my name again.
Rocky split through a few people to get to me. “Sang, hang on,” he said. He breathed heavily. Had he been running to catch up with me?
I backed up a bit. “I have to go,” I said, unwilling to talk to him without the boys nearby. Not after last time.
Rocky clamped his palm against the wall, cutting off my path. “Wait,” he said. “I just wanted to apologize.”
My eyes focused on his bicep. “You don’t have to,” I said in a small voice.
“I do. And I have to say it to you, because Silas and North aren’t talking to me. The whole team isn’t talking to me. No one will listen to me. If I talk to you, and you tell them I said I’m sorry, they’ll stop being dicks.”
I grunted.
“Hey,” he said. He caught my chin, turning my eyes to meet his. “I thought you said before we were on the same team.”
“Maybe the same team,” I said. “I don’t know for sure if we’re on the same page.”
He smirked. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have come after you like that. I was on some bad shit, okay? It wasn’t until after the fight that I realized I was losing it.”
I was about to say forget it and walk away. I had thought of trying to run, and if running didn’t work, punching him in the gut and then running.
But he was apologizing. He seemed sincere. “You didn’t mean it?” I asked.
His smirk subsided and he nodded. “I was being an ass. It wasn’t really me. I’m not normally like that.”
His words took root in my mind, though and something clicked. “Jay said something was wrong with you. Did you happen to be taking something new going around?”
“New? Yeah. Was supposed to be the undetectable weed. Same great taste, parents never find out. Except they don’t tell you it makes you all fucked up in the head.”
“What is it?” I asked. I wanted to make sure it was the same stuff the others had suspected.
His smirked returned. “Why? You want some?”
“I’ve heard about it.”
Rocky reached into his pocket, pulling out a tiny glass bottle. Inside was a white crystal powder. “If you want some, I’ll give it to you. But I should monitor you. The first couple of hits are okay. Too much, and you’re a basket case.”
I glanced around, surprised he had the nerve to bring it out in the hallway. “What is it?”
“JH14. Some type of synthesized shit. Should teach me to go with all natural. I don’t want to use any more, but feel weird wasting the bottle. Like throwing money away. And I didn’t poison John with it. I wouldn’t do that. I don’t care what the guys say, I don’t do that.”
I reached for the bottle to examine it closer. That little bit of stuff was causing all the damage? It looked like salt. Kind of.
He pulled his hand back. “Hey. I didn’t mean do it here. Are you crazy?”
“Sorry. I just wanted to look at it. Did you give this to anyone else?”
“What?”
“My sister? Did she ask you for this stuff?”
“You have a sister?”
I pursed my lips. He didn’t know? “Marie Sorenson? Or Danielle?”
He scratched at his eyebrow. “I think I know a Danielle. Maybe.”
So he wasn’t the one who fed drugs to Marie and Danielle. He didn’t know anything about it. I glanced at the bottle again. “Rocky, I’ll tell the guys what was wrong with you and I’ll show them this. Then they’ll probably talk to you.”
“I don’t want them to think I did that to John. Or get them sick.”
“They won’t take it. I’ll just show it to them as proof so they can see it for themselves. They’ll believe me. North and Silas will.”
Rocky tilted his head. “You’d do that for me? After... I mean...”
“It’s not your fault,” I said. “It’s that. Wasn’t it?”
He slowly took my hand and passed the bottle between us. I took it from him nervous to be holding something that was possibly illegal on school grounds.
“I don’t suppose I could get you to go out with me after all this.”
I hid the bottle with both hands and held it close to my chest. “Rocky...”
“I know, I know.” He held up his hands, smirking. “Can’t blame me for trying,” He said before walking off.
I watched him turn the corner, my heart thundering. At least he trusted me with this. If I brought it to Silas, maybe he could fix things with the team. After all, they weren’t here to cause problems, or to create rifts among friends. For Rocky’s sake, I hope he could find his place again. We may not be here to save him from himself next time.
I ran the rest of the way to gym class. I wasn’t sure if I was allowed to participate, but I’d at least show up. I felt like I needed a stretch after sleeping.
When I got there, I had already tucked the vial into my book bag, in one of the lowest pockets. I couldn’t get to Mr. Blackbourne or anyone else right now. It would have to wait.
Karen was waiting for me by my locker. She was already dressed and sitting on the bench. “What took you?”
“Got stalled.” I picked out my gym clothes, and stuffed my bag into the locker. I weaved around other girls to dash for the stalls to change.
When I returned, Karen was still by my locker. She held the lock in her hands, spinning the dial. I tossed in my clothes, she snapped the door shut and she put the lock into place.
“You didn’t have to wait for me,” I said.
“If I show up ahead of you, Nathan gives me the eyeball.”
“Eyeball?”
“Yeah, like asking me why I left you or whatever.” She smiled. “Besides, this is gym class and it’s stupid. I don’t mind exercising, but I’d rather play sports I like, not run around the parking lot like an idiot because the school can’t afford a proper track.”
We went to our places for gym. During warm-up exercises, all the coaches were watching me, which made me shake a little when I had to stand on one foot in stretching. I guess they were waiting for me to fall over again.
But I stretched like usual. I did take it a little easy, paranoid, too, of fainting again. If that happened, I didn’t think I’d ever get out of being grounded.
Nathan and Gabriel were warming up across the room. It was their eyes I felt the most. Gabriel waved on occasion. Nathan, with his swollen eye, only gave a slight effort into the workout because he was watching me. The coach whistled at him so he’d stop long enough for the coach to stop paying attention to him and then wo
uld turn his attention to me again.
Coach French stood in front of the girls. “Okay gang, we’re going to continue getting ready for the state required mile run. Everyone, outside.”
