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He grunted and paused the tapping, turning to look at me, and I expected a dumb joke, but got dead serious instead. “You know there’s an easier way to pass that test, right?”
“I’m not sleeping with Mendleton.”
“Okay, two ways. That one seems like work though. Dude is never satisfied. Nah, I mean…” He lowered his voice. “It’s dead easy to get a copy of that test. I could do it from here right now.”
I glanced around, but for once he was keeping his voice low enough no one was paying attention to us.
“What the fuck are you talking about?”
“Teachers all have to log on and submit their tests. For like… review or insurance or something, I don’t fucking know how teaching works. But they all get stored in a school drop and if you know the right passwords you can walk right in on the Shark network. I could be printing it out right. Over. There,” he told me, pointing across to one of the ancient library printers that never fucking worked.
“How do you even know that?”
“Please. I know everything.”
“That isnottrue.”
“Whatever. I know enough.”
“And what, you’re just printing out tests for everyone?”
“Not everyone. People I deem worthy of my services.”
“You’re gonna get busted and thrown off the team and thrown out of school,” I told him. “Maybe thrown in jail.”
“Jesus. Negative much? When has this pretty face spent more than a couple hours in lock upat most?Seeming unlikely any of these geniuses are gonna catch on, since I’ve been taking whatever I like ever since Miss Darby left the passwords sitting on her desk in Computer Science last year. If they’re gonna make it that fucking easy and never even change the passwords, they deserve to have me hacking their shit. You know howstupidthat is? If I tried just a tiny bit I could doso much worse. They’reluckyI’m just selling tests.”
I had no idea how much of that was true and how much was bullshit, but Ellis sold everything else, tests didn’t surprise me at all even though this was the first time he’d offered one to me. “Yeah, okay, whatever.”
“Want me to print you one out? No charge. I know you’re flat. You can owe me.”
I snorted. “Yeah, right. What kind of sucker gets pulled into owing you anything.”
“Oh, you’d be surprised. I got myself favors stacked up to third floor. I know you got plenty to offer besides cash. I’m all about the barter.”
“I don’t even wanna know what that means. No. I don’t cheat.”
“Yeah, that’s really gotten you ahead in life.”
“Dude, I have a fucking tutor. My grades are up. Full no. I don’t need to cheat to pass.”
He shrugged. “Alright, if you say so. Not like you to be so positive. That big ole Beast dick must be filled with sunshine.” He pumped his hips, grinding up against the computer stand, and I scowled and looked around.
“Would you knock it the fuck off.”
“Why you keep all those dirty details to yourself? You guys into some sick shit? Tell me, I love sick shit, I won’t judge.”
I rolled my eyes, but when I started to walk away, he grabbed me by the shoulder.
“Yo, Press, I’m just saying if you sit, fucking August takes your place probably. He’s half your size and can barely breathe off the bench. Cliff sacked him twenty times in practice yesterday and Cliff sucks. You’re not there, Walker’ll end up a pile of broken bones. Ollie protein shake.”
Fucking Ellis, dragging out the guilt like he knew me. Asshole. “I’llbe there. But I’m not the one you should be talking to if you’re so fucking worried. I can protect him all day long, but I can’t fix whatever’s going on in his head. You wanna help somebody, help Walker.”
He sighed, annoyed. “Fine. Do it your way, nerd.” He turned back to the computer and started scrolling his porn facts again.
* * *
“What’s the matter?”Caleb asked me when I got over to the table, and I realized my frustration was showing on my face.
