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“No Name.”
“What?!” I laugh. I can’t seem to help myself. “You haven’t got a name?”
“No, that isn’t what I said. We’reNo NameCrew.”
“This just gets better and better,” I say, sighing heavily.
Seriously, one thing I wasn’t expecting to find here was more of the same kind of bullshit I’ve had to live with my whole life. What is it about a human being’s need to find a home with like-minded people? I’m a loner, always have been, always will be. I prefer my own company and that of a select few. Namely, Eastern. Though that’s gone to shit now that he’s joined Hackney’s bloody Hackers.
“So, what’s it to be,Asia? That isyourchosen name, right?”
“How did you know?”
“News travels fast in a place like this. Seems fitting then that the girl who doesn’t use her real name should join theNo Name Crew.”
“That makes no sense,” I retort.
“Every single one of us has abandoned our real names for one reason or another. For a while we all lived without a name before we chose one for ourselves. It fits. We fit, and you could too.”
“I’m not weak, I don’t need to join a gang to feel safe or worth something.”
“I didn’t say you were weak or worthless, and I imagine you’ll put up a good fight,” he says, his gaze boring into mine. So much so that I feel the tension between us all the way down in my toes. “But eventually those fuckers will wear you down. If you join my crew, they’ll leave you alone. I have enough sway to make sure they do.”
“And if they don’t leave me alone, what could you actually do about it?”
“Challenge Monk to a fight at the Tower. The winner gets you and the loser backs the fuck off. I never fucking lose. It’s why I have their respect. No one has been able to beat me, not even Camden.”
Whoa! That’s one statement to make. So there really is history between them. Who is this guy and why don’t I know about him already, given he seems to hang around in the same kind of circles as I do? “What’s the Tower?” I ask, tucking that thought away for the time being.
“Exactly what it says,” Ford says cryptically.
Interesting, and whilst I’m intrigued enough to want to know if this was what Sonny had been talking about earlier, I’m not about to delve any deeper with everyone watching us. Right now, I want this conversation over so that I can get out of Ford’s orbit and breathe again.
“You’re assuming again that Ineedyou to fight for me. Listen,” I say, losing my patience now, “I’m a big girl. I can look after myself and I don’t need you or anyone else fighting my battles for me. Got it?”
“You’re a fool. We can afford you sanctuary.”
I chance another glance at Bram and Red who are looking at me with distaste. Yeah, right. I don’t care what Ford says, those two will stab me in the back quicker than you can say Count Dracula. “I’ll take my chances, thanks,” I snap.
“Then you won’t last past the term break… I can already see Sonny has his eye on you. He might not be part of the Hackney Hackers but that doesn’t mean you should trust him either. Bram said you were close.”
“I don’t trustanyone.” I’m not sure why I feel relieved that Sonny isn’t part of that crew, but I am.
“Then that makes two of us,” Ford responds, leaving me wondering why the hell he asked me to joinhiscrew if that’s the case. I watch him walk over to the group, taking a seat at the head of the table. He glances at me, then at the other group of boys he warned me against. I follow his gaze as it finally lands on Sonny who’s glaring at Ford like they’re old enemies. Sitting back down on my chair, I pick up my glass of water and take a sip. The coolness slides down my throat but fails to temper the heat inside my chest that remains alight partly from my immediate reaction to Ford, but also because my instincts about people seem to be way off. First Mr Carmichael, then Sonny and now Ford. I’ve got them all wrong.
Mr Carmichael has lived a life less befitting of a headteacher and more of an ex-gang member. Sonny isn’t everything he seems, and Ford may be the leader of his crew, garnering the respect of all the residents because of his fighting skills, but I was wrong about him being the kingpin of Oceanside Academy. My game is off, and I need to sort it out, otherwise I’m going to find myself in deep shit before the week’s out, let alone by the term break. There’s more at play here than even I can figure out right now.
Cold dread sinks like a stone in my stomach and I know that bravado and courage aren’t going to help me this time. I don’t know who to trust. I wish Eastern were here, but then again even if he was, what good would it do me? He’s part of Camden’s crew now.
