Push and Shove: The Ghost Bird Series: #6 (The Academy) (24 page)

I knew how wild John had been earlier. I should warn her. Mr. Blackbourne had said not to tell anyone about the drugs, but couldn’t I trust Karen?

Karen was already halfway down the bleachers. I reached out for Derrick, grabbing his arm to get his attention. He would understand.

“What?” he asked.

“Can you follow Karen and tell her that John may be high?” I asked. “There’s some stuff going around.”

“There’s always something going around,” he said.

“This is bad, though. Mr. Blackbourne...”

“Hang on,” he said, backing his head up. “Wait a second. Are you supposed to be telling me this?”

“But she may get hurt if she gets involved,” I said. “There’s a ... synthetic. JH14. John might be high on this stuff and if he has more, she needs to stay away from it. It makes people crazy.”

Derrick’s eyes darkened. “Sounds bad.”

“Yeah. Could you go with her? Make sure she’s okay.”

He grimaced and nodded. “Even when I’m not in the Academy...” he trailed off as he walked away.

I hated to ask him. I didn’t like to involve him either, especially if Karen was mixed up with Mr. Hendricks in some way. I also didn’t want to be alone with this group around me. Maybe I should have sent a text to Nathan to help, but he was supposed to stay near me.

The game was paused while coaches and team members tried to carry John off, check that Rocky was okay, and figure out what happened. I could feel the waves of gossip flying around. People were making guesses.

I glanced again at the red-skinned boy. He was staring off at the field with everyone else, but now Karen wasn’t in the way so we were technically sitting next to each other.

I checked back with Nathan, who had his cell phone out and was typing something into it.

He was right there. If I was doing something wrong, Nathan would come in and tell me so.

I sidled up beside the red-skinned kid. This seemed like a good idea, but I didn’t know how to start. I could ask him where he got the JH14. Would he tell me? Should I just say hello? How do you start a conversation with someone you don’t know?

“Crazy game, huh?” someone asked, and I turned to meet the red-skinned boy’s eyes.

My heart did a nervous flip. My mouth wanted to stay glued shut, but I forced myself to start talking. “Yeah. Can’t believe John would do that.”

He checked around me and then up and down the bleachers. “Karen left?”

“Yeah,” I said. How many people knew Karen? “She went to see what was wrong with John.” I paused. How do I bring this up? “There’s a rumor he’s on drugs or something.”

“Naw,” he said. “It’s a virus.”

I blinked at him. “What is?”

“Yeah,” the red-skinned boy’s friend piped in. “Arthur here caught it a few days ago. Made him real crazy. Started throwing punches at me.”

Arthur’s blue eyes dimmed and he hunched his shoulders. “I wasn’t that bad.”

“You got in-school suspension,” his friend said.

My shyness wanted to let them continue talking and just listen in, but I didn’t want to lose the chance to learn something. “So, you don’t think it’s a drug? How is it a virus?”

“A doctor tried to ask me about it,” Arthur said. “They said I must have taken some crazy weed. I don’t think they believed me when I told them I was clean. They just assumed I did.”

“You’ve never taken anything?”

“No,” he said, with a little more confidence. “I’ve never even smoked a cigarette. Hate that stuff. Besides, there was a fever and I don’t even remember half of that day. But I was real sick.” He rubbed a palm over his forehead. “Still kind of feel weird. I don’t think I’m contagious anymore.”

“You better not get me sick,” his friend said.

“I told you,” he said. “I was at home yesterday and no one in my family got sick. I think I’m over it.”

If Dr. Green asked him if he took drugs, and Arthur said no, then how was this JH14 involved? “Maybe this John has it?” I asked, testing his theory. “Do you know him?”

Arthur shook his head. “I don’t know anyone on the football team. I don’t think I share any classes with him. But yeah, he could. I mean it could be drugs for him but I know I didn’t take anything other than Tylenol that day.”

“Maybe it was the Tylenol,” his friend said.

“Tylenol doesn’t make you sick,” Arthur said.

They continued to talk but I kept quiet this time. I couldn’t help but look back at Nathan, and when I met his eyes, I tried to tell him silently that I learned something and I needed to talk to someone.

He seemed confused for a moment but then gestured with an index finger toward the start of the stands.

I followed his direction, spotting Kota, Luke and Gabriel coming up. They were scanning the crowds.

I waved to them, eager to get out of this mess of students.

––––––––

K
ota plopped down next to me on the bench. Luke sat on my other side. Gabriel went to join Nathan.

My heart finally settled down out of my throat and my shaking eased. This was so much better. I didn’t want to be apart from any of them again.

The football team had lined up for another play and the crowd began to settle back into their seats.

“Whew,” Luke said. “Mr. Morris didn’t want to give up.”

“Did you find out who the other driver was?” I asked.

“Another teacher,” Kota said. He checked around us but Arthur, Mike, Jer and the other students were caught up talking or watching the game. With the sudden appearance of Kota and Luke, they all seemed to have distanced themselves from me. Did they not like them?

“Who?” I asked him.

“My biology teacher,” Luke said. “Which was weird. I wouldn’t have suspected her. She’s a real snore.”

“Maybe she’s like Mr. Morris. She needs the money.”

“I think there’s something else to this,” Kota said. “They were way too obvious and they’re clearly inexperienced. They’re not even trying.”

“Because Mr. Hendricks wants you guys to know you’re being followed?” I asked.

Kota shook his head, his green eyes darkening, but he didn’t say anything else about it, instead he shifted on the seat and turned to the game. “Where are we? Catch me up.”

I quickly went over what had happened with John. I checked over Kota’s shoulder for Arthur, who was distracted with talking to his friend. I leaned in toward Kota to whisper the rest into his ear. “And that kid who Dr. Green and Mr. Blackbourne thought had taken drugs swears he never did. He thinks it’s a virus.”

Kota turned his head, bumping his cheek into mine because I was slow to move. I backed my head up, heat flooding my face.

He smiled a little and then leaned in, whispering in my ear. “You don’t think he’d lie?”

I backed my head away, shaking my head. “I really don’t think so,” I said, feeling okay with talking out loud now since we weren’t using names.

“That complicates things,” Kota said. He nudged at the corner of his glasses, a reflex I was starting to understand meant he was thinking.

“How?”

“It may be like North,” he said. “Maybe taking the drug wasn’t voluntary.”

My fingers covered my lips, trying to hide my dropping mouth. “I told North I thought it was Jade. Is she doing it?”

He shrugged. “Or someone else. North told me what you thought. Could be her. Could be Rocky. Could be anyone. We don’t know for sure.”

I thought I did. Jade seemed to be the most likely suspect. Kota was right, though, as was North. We shouldn’t trust anyone.

Luke sat up sharply and then reached for his phone in his pocket, checking the messages. He squinted at it and then turned to look over his shoulder.

I turned instinctively. Nathan and Gabriel were pointing at me at the same time and then at Luke. Gabriel tugged at the jacket he was wearing.

I didn’t catch on but Luke did. He unzipped his blue jacket and passed it to me. “Put this on,” he said.

I’d been so busy with all the investigating that I’d forgotten about the chill. I reached for it gratefully. “Won’t you get cold?” I asked.

“Don’t worry about me,” he said.

I tried to hide my secret smile at how Gabriel and Nathan were looking out for me from the distance, insisting Luke give up his jacket.

“Hey, hey, hey!” Mike bellowed from where he was sitting next to Jer. He was so loud, I wanted to cover my ears. He pointed to Luke. “Don’t go flirting with her. She’s going out with Silas.”

Not this again. I wanted to groan.

Luke and Kota both turned to him, looking confused. We weren’t usually called out like that for anything we did together.

“Just giving her something to wear,” Luke said to him. “She’s cold. It’s not a proposal.”

“Don’t encourage him,” Kota said quieter so only Luke and I would hear.

Mike laughed. “I haven’t done that in ages.”

That bit of humor seemed to diffuse the tension and people started talking again.

The game went on and our team had scored but they still lost by seven points. Karen and Derrick never returned.

When the game was over, Kota started tapping at his phone.

“What now?” I asked. I was tired of this show and was very eager to go home and relax for the weekend. I would have wanted to leave earlier if it wasn’t for Silas and North playing the game and my wanting to support them.

“Let’s wait until the crowd clears out before we leave,” Kota said. He showed me his phone, a screen showing Marie and Danielle in the living room. They were watching TV. Both appeared to be dressed now. “Are you sure they’re planning something?”

“They asked me if I was going to be away for the weekend. Maybe they meant to have people over tomorrow.”

He nodded and turned his phone off. “Well, nothing is going on tonight, it seems. They’re by themselves.”

“Still not a good thing if they have anyone over at all,” Luke said.

Kota sighed. “Let’s hope Marie knows better than to confess to anyone else that her parents aren’t going to be around for a while.”

Luke shook his head, leaning back a bit. “I can’t wait for this school year to be over.”

I frowned. “I’m not looking forward to next year,” I said. Without the guys around, I couldn’t imagine going to Ashley Waters again. I didn’t mean to sound bitter, but if I had an alternative, I think I’d prefer the Academy. Or anywhere else. With no Silas to hide behind, or Mr. Blackbourne’s office to run to, what would happen to me?

Luke and Kota looked at me briefly and then over my head to silently talk to each other. I stared at the field, unsure if I should say anything. I shouldn’t have brought it up at all. This was only October and we had months to go before the year was finished. Thinking about next year only added to the mountain of stress I was under now.

Kota’s phone lit up in his hand and he tapped at the screen, grunting. “Never ends,” he said.

“Bad news?” Luke asked.

Kota glanced up, scanning. “I may need to go with Silas and North to the party. They need a third. And Dr. Green wants you...” he checked over his shoulder again to see if anyone was listening. “You need to break into John’s locker and then check his house to see if he has any more of the JH stuff. Apparently he’s had two doses in one day, according to North. They still let him play football. I don’t know how he’s taking it but he’s pretty sure this is it. And take Gabriel.”

“What about Sang?”

“She’ll have to go home with Nathan. Gabriel can’t drive after dark anyway so he’s the only one left. And Nathan can’t go to the party.” He tapped at his screen, typing in a message and then checked over his shoulder again. I followed his eyes to see Nathan check his phone and then he looked at us and nodded, encouraging us to get going.

“I thought only the team could go to the party,” I said, standing as they did and following the stream of people toward the bleacher steps.

“We need to break this rule,” Kota said. He fell behind me, talking to the back of my head. “North’s thinking the same thing you are. This is worse than kids taking drugs on their own. Someone’s poisoning people.”

“They don’t know each other,” I said. “Arthur said he didn’t know John.”

“There’s a connection somewhere,” he said.

I followed Luke quietly down the steps, Kota right behind me. When we were at the bottom and waiting on others ahead of us to clear out, Gabriel caught up with Luke. They quietly disappeared in a different direction, heading toward the school.

Kota stayed quiet near me. We were arm to arm as we followed the trail of people to the parking lot. I glanced at him often. He’d meet my gaze with a smile, but drifted to stare off out toward the parking lot. He was monitoring the others. I couldn’t blame him. Someone poisoning the students? Who knew who would be next?

The back of his knuckles brushed against mine. My fingers stretched out, wanting that touch again. I held my arm straight, trying to look normal, but kept close.

He seemed to read my mind and his knuckles again met mine. We were touching, but barely. We walked this way, knocking our hands into each other’s every few steps.

His pinky encircled mine. My heart fluttered and I held onto his finger. I remembered the first time I did this and he knocked my hand away to hold the entire thing. We couldn’t do that now, and after only a moment, as the crowd thinned, he slipped his finger from mine.

I followed him to the parking lot and the crowd dispersed. We found his car and he went to the passenger side. “Nathan should be right behind us,” Kota said as he opened the door. “Stay in the car and don’t go anywhere.”

“I won’t,” I said and sat in the passenger seat. At least this felt over now. We could go home. Maybe I could convince Kota we should sleep at his house, or maybe we could go out to Victor’s house. Anywhere. I wanted to relax, not go back home and worry what would happen if I held hands with Nathan or anyone else in front of Danielle or Marie.

He bent over, sticking his head into the car. “Keep your phone in your hands,” he said.

I took the phone out, and punched one of the buttons, illuminating the surface.

He smiled quickly. He leaned in further while I was quickly checking for text messages. I thought he was trying to look at my phone and I was turning it toward him so he could see.