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“Captain?” Sam resisted the urge to laugh.
Howard stepped close, brave with Orc standing right behind him. “Yeah. Captain. Someone had to step up and take charge, right? You were busy, I guess, maybe surfing or whatever, so Captain Orc volunteered to be in charge.”
“In charge of what?” Quinn asked.
“Stopping everybody running crazy, that’s what.”
“Yeah,” Orc agreed.
“Kids were busting everything up, taking anything they wanted,” Howard went on.
“Yeah.”
“And all those booger-eaters, all those little kids running around, no one to even stop them crying or change their diapers. Orc made sure they were taken care of.” Howard grinned a huge grin. “He comforted them. Or at least made sure someone did.”
“That’s right,” Orc said, as if it was the first time he’d heard it put that way.
“No one else wanted to get things under control, so Orc did,” Howard said. “And so he is the Captain now, until the adults come back.”
“Only they ain’t coming back,” Orc said.
“That’s totally right,” Howard said. “What the Captain said.”
Sam glanced at Astrid. The truth was, someone needed to get people to stop acting crazy. Orc would not have been Sam’s choice for that job. But he didn’t want to do it himself.
The fight had mostly gone out of the situation. And now that the two sides were lined up face-to-face, there was no question who would win if it started up again. It was four to four, but the four bullies included Orc, and he counted for three at least.
“We just want to go look for Little Pete,” Sam said finally, swallowing his anger.
“Yeah? If you’re looking for something, it’s best if you go kind of slow,” Howard said with a smirk.
“You want the golf cart,” Sam said.
“That’s what I’m talking about, Sammy,” Howard said, spreading his hands wide in a gesture of conciliation.
“It’s, like, people pay taxes, right?” Mallet said.
“Exactly,” Howard agreed. “It’s a tax.”
“Who are you, anyway?” Astrid challenged Mallet. “I’ve never seen you at school.”
“I go to Coates Academy.”
Sam said, “My mom’s the night nurse up there.”
“Not anymore,” the kid said.
“Why are you down here?” Astrid again.
“I didn’t get along with the kids up there.” Mallet tried to toss the line off like it was a joke, but the effect was undermined by the fear in his eyes.
“Are there any adults up there?” Sam asked hopefully.
“Aw,” Howard said. “Sammy wants his mommy.”
“Take the golf cart,” Sam said.
“Don’t waste your time trying to look all bad at me. See, I know you, man,” Howard said. “School Bus Sam. Mr. Fireman. You go all heroic, but then you disappear. Don’t you? It kind of comes and goes with you. Everyone last night is all, ‘Where’s Sam? Where’s Sam?’ And I had to say, ‘Well, kids, Sam is off with Astrid the Genius because Sam can’t be hanging out with regular people like us. Sam has to go off with his hot blond girlfriend.’”
