The Instructions (135 page)

ADAM LEVIN

THE INSTRUCTIONS

banned and did he suffer? No. He didn’t suffer because he had long arms that coach, like my father used to say, meaning he could pull himself up by the bootstraps, which is what he did, with a fire in his eyes and also in his belly and with a ticker that wouldn’t quit either, and he came to that junior high school and coached those poor kids who didn’t even have a scoreboard but cared about glory and teamwork and the other values, and then they won against the kids who did have a scoreboard, but we the Indians
do
have a scoreboard. A world-class one. And it’s broken. And even though I would’ve, if I ever coached in the NCAA and had a money player who didn’t toe the line or care about glory, I never slapped a player in the NCAA, which I never coached in, it’s true, and so the Indians are suffering for no reason that has to do with me. They’re suffering for a reason that has to do with vandalism and ill will and no intestinal fortitude or honor of any kind on the part of others so now we have to find volunteers to keep score with flipcards, and I’m not trying to be negative.

I see the long faces, but you gotta let me finish first. I was only just telling you about the way I
was
answering that question about surviving with our heads up, which was: No
.
Today I answer it different.

Looking at my players,
our
players, I got hope and my answer now is: Yes. Maybe we’re not too poor to afford a scoreboard, but two of our starters and one of our benchmen got injured in assaults yesterday, and unless lightning strikes twice in similar locales, which we all know it can’t, Twin Groves’ players have
not
been assaulted by schoolmates this week, meaning we’ve got a need to show some heart. To climb out from under what’s trying to keep us under it. We got difficulties to overcome, and since the scoreboard’s been destroyed, those difficulties are blessings, and once we overcome them, do you know what it 1272

ADAM LEVIN

THE INSTRUCTIONS

is, because I’m tellin you it’s glory freakin road. FLIPPIN! GLORY!

FREAKIN! ROAD!

‪

‫

‬

‪

‫

‬

‬

We had one knife and ten of Benji’s stolen crack-lighters. He handed them out once the coins were rationed, and I showed the Side of Damage where to sever their bottles. The jetflames were as precise as Benji’d told Pinge—they left all the rims at the sev-erances smooth.

As the lighters went around, Benji called in the fire in his basement on Jelly’s celly, I called in a gunman at a mall on Jerry Throop’s, and Vincie on his own phone reported a beardo who left a fat suitcase on the Metra tracks. When he hung up, he shook his ammo-packed fist. It jingled and he said, “I don’t get this coin-op bullshit.”

I’ll explain soon, I said. Why you whispering?

“It seems like you’re trying to keep everyone in suspense, so I don’t want to blow the suspense.”

How would you blow the suspense? I said.

“Because I know what we’re making,” he whispered. “June invented—”

I forgot, I said.

“Well so I don’t know what this fucken coin-op bullshit’s all about. Why don’t I get some nibs from my locker?”

How many do you have?

“I don’t know—forty? I lost count. My grandparents keep send-1273

ADAM LEVIN

THE INSTRUCTIONS

ing them to me. No one ever told them my eye got inked, and their hearts would fucken break if they knew I quit calligraphy.”

Go, I said, but do it fast—the pep rally ends in twenty-five minutes.

“What if Floyd’s out there?”

I said, Take Ronrico to scout for you. He can run distraction if—

“Distraction’s good,” Vincie said, “but, you know what’s a lot fucken better…”

I handed him the sap. He wanted to bang fists.

We banged fists.

“Ronrico,” said Vincie, “let’s go.”

“I want to finish making the weapon,” Ronrico said.

Give me your tit-shaped piece, I said.

“Tit-shaped! Ha!” Ronrico said. He traded me for the pennygun in my pocket.

“How do I use it?” he said.

“I’ll show you on the way,” Vincie told him.

They grabbed some change and split.

I called in a hit-and-run. Benji called in a dine-and-ditch.

As soon as all the widemouths were severed, I demonstrated how to affix the balloons and told the Side of Damage what to understand.

Understand you hold a gun, I said.

Then I projected a nickel into a desklamp and the bulb shattered.

The Side of Damage cheered.

1274

ADAM LEVIN

THE INSTRUCTIONS

I projected another one at a coffee carafe, and the carafe shattered.

They cheered some more.

Understand you hold a gun, I said, but understand you’re not the only ones. Others in the gym will have them, too. I don’t know how many, and I don’t know most of their names. And since they don’t know all of us and we don’t know all of them, the only way we’ll all be able to identify each other is by our weapons, so be sure to brandish and be sure to
watch
for brandishers, too: we’re all on the same side. Ask your questions.

“What makes them on our side?” “What if we don’t like them?” “What if they’re enemies?”

I said, Even if some of them have been your enemies in the past, the past is over. They’re all loyal to me, and all of us are against the Arrangement.

That was good enough for most of them, but a few—some of the smartest—were still concerned.

“Please forgive my interjection, Gurion, but how is it that you know these others are loyal to you if you do not even know their names?” asked Anna Boshka.

“Gurion knows stuff,” said the Flunky. “He’s the leader.”

“It’s true,” said the Janitor.

I said, I was their leader since before I even met any of you, and they’re my brothers, so they’re loyal. Faith in me is the same as faith in them.

Anna said, “But what if we do not have faith, Gurion?”

1275

ADAM LEVIN

THE INSTRUCTIONS

“Jeez, Boshka, don’t be such a downer,” Chunkstyle said.

I said, No, it’s an important question. If you have doubts, then you can’t attack the pep rally with me. And I’m not challenging any of you when I say that. You’re all feeling stronger now, weapons in your hands, and that’s good, that’s why I had you build them, but back in the Cage a lot of you were dying to leave, and any of you who want to leave, any of you who have any doubts—and I don’t mean about will we have victory or won’t we—those doubts are fine, better than fine, they are smart, faithful—I mean about
should
we have victory or
shouldn’t
we,
are
we righteous or
aren’t
we— you will leave with my blessing. I
want
you to leave if you have those doubts. And if you leave, you will leave with all your snat, and under my protection. No one will call you a coward or a traitor. You’ll always be, as you have been, on the Side of Damage.

“What if something happens and we want to leave later?” said Ansul Entsry. “Like after we attack?”

I said, If you follow me to the gym, you have to follow me til I tell you not to follow me anymore.

“What about freedom of choice?”

Nakamook said, “If you get to leave whenever you want, no one’ll know who to rely on.”

I said, You make your choice here. Walk away now or stay til it’s over.

“But what if we think we want to attack with you, but then, after we start, it turns out we were wrong and we didn’t really have faith?” Ansul said.

1276

ADAM LEVIN

THE INSTRUCTIONS

“You mean like you’re worried you don’t have faith in your ability to know if you have faith right now?” Benji said.

“Yeah,” said Ansul.

“Then you’re a fucken pussy and we’re better off without you,”

said Benji.

“But what if—”

“If you come with, then try to run away in the middle of it, I’ll catch you,” Benji said.

“Gurion?”

I said, You probably shouldn’t come with us, Ansul.

“But I want to.”

Everyone here wants to, I said, and soon, if things go well for us, almost everyone everywhere will want to, or at least wish they had—even some of our enemies. It’s not good enough to just want to, right now. If you can walk away, you should walk away.

Just then Vincie and Ronrico returned to the lounge.

Take a minute to decide, I told the Side of Damage. If you’re not coming with, turn your coins back in—we’ll need them.

“We didn’t fucken see Floyd,” Vincie told me.

“Not that we didn’t go looking,” said Ronrico.

“Shut the fuck up, Asparagus. You wanted to get him as bad as me.”

Vincie handed me the sap. I stuck it in my belt. “I’m sorry,” he said, “but I just love that thing. Makes me wanna fucken
use
it, you know?”

“I know!” said Ansul Entsry. “Exactly!” he said.

“Huh?” said Vincie.

Ansul batted his eyelids = either “I think you’re very sexy and 1277

ADAM LEVIN

THE INSTRUCTIONS

want to kiss you, Vincie Portite,” or, “I think you’re very sexy and want to be like you, Vincie Portite.”

“Anyway, I was thinking about it, and I’ll bet you anything Floyd’s in the gym,” Vincie said.

Why? I said.

“His big fucken chance to do crowd control or whatever.”

You’re smart, I said.

“I—”

“Did you tell him about the Office and the camera?” Ronrico said.

“Did you fucken hear me tell him? You’ve been standing here the whole time,” said Vincie. To me, he said, “The good news is that Brodsky’s office is empty and so is Nurse Clyde’s, plus look at all these nibs.” He emptied a baggie of nibs on the table. “The bad news is: Some Boystar guy with a camera was walking around and I think he caught us on tape.”

“We’re all gonna be on tape, anyway,” Benji said. “Right?”

Right, I said. I said, It doesn’t matter.

“Good,” said Ronrico. “Cause I flicked that guy off.”

“Also,” said Vincie, pulling something from his backpack,

“I’ve been stashing these away for a present for your birthday or Chanukah or something.” He dropped a second baggie on the table and the baggie clunked and glinted. It was filled with wingnuts and hexnuts and washers. “I started thinking how if you’re saying pennies’ll…”

I grabbed his head by the ears. I said, You’re smart, Vincie.

1278

ADAM LEVIN

THE INSTRUCTIONS

“Tch,” Vincie said, and tried to shrug from my grasp.

I pulled his head down close so our foreheads touched. No, I said. I said, Listen to me. I’m not trying to have an emotional moment with you here. When we get to the gym, you’re gonna be making some decisions and you’re not gonna be able to ask me or Benji if they’re good decisions. You’ll be in charge of people, and if you think you’re dumb, you’ll second-guess yourself and slow us down, and if we’re slow we’ll suffer for it. You know what you’re doing. You’re smart. So be fucken smart.

“I will,” he said.

I mashed our foreheads.

“For serious,” he said.

I let him go with a backslap and he waved his pennygun. He told me, “I need one for Starla.”

I gave him the weapon I’d made for her.

Ronrico asked if he should pass out the nibs.

Just the washers and fasteners, I said. Nibs’re for us.

“I’m honored,” said Ronrico.

Sorry, I said, I didn’t mean you.

Ronrico made a whiny noise.

“We’re the best shots,” Benji told him. “We’ve been practicing for months. Here’s some coins.” He gave Ronrico some coins.

There were thirty nibs. I divided them five ways.

“Who’re—” said Benji.

I said, June and Eliyahu.

I swept three portions into my bag.

1279

ADAM LEVIN

THE INSTRUCTIONS

When I looked up, there was a new pile of give-back coins on the table, and some kids were still digging in their pockets, making it larger.

“Should we go?” asked one of the pocketdiggers.

Not yet, I said. I said, We don’t know for sure where Floyd is and we have to stay stealth. I said, Stay here til the attack’s in progress, then go out the side entrance.

“How will we know when it’s in progress?”

I said, Just wait for the end-of-class tone or the fire alarm—

whichever comes first.

Other kids started digging in their pockets.

Last chance to go home, I told everyone.

Another two flopped coins into the pile. And then another three. More were lining up.

I called in a murder, Mangey a flasher, Vincie a bank heist, Benji a crazy-eyed man in a quiet cul-de-sac.

“We’re in,” Benji told me.

How do you know?

“The dispatcher told me, ‘Yeah, yeah, yeah, kid.’”

Good, I said. I said, Keep making calls. If they yeah-yeah-yeah you, act incredulous and tell them you’ll sue them if they don’t respond. Tell them you know the laws and they’re being racists and your dad’s a civil rights lawyer and just because you’re black doesn’t mean they can treat you like a second-class citizen.

“Should I do a gangsta voice or something?”

1280

ADAM LEVIN

THE INSTRUCTIONS

No, I said. Talk like a news anchor.

“Shouldn’t we stop?” Vincie asked us. “Aren’t they gonna think we’re crying wolf?”

“That’s the whole idea,” Benji told him.

“No,” said Vincie, “that’s not what I fucken mean. I mean aren’t they gonna start thinking that we’re crying wolf on purpose—like for a strategy?”

Yes, I said.

I dialed Information, asked them for the number for Stevenson High School.

‪

‫

‬

‪

‫

‬

‬

COACH RONALD DESORMIE

(AT HALF-COURT MICROPHONE, USING OWN

MEGAPHONE)

Co-Captain William “The Co-Captain” Baxter!

10:21 AM: C1 (C3;
C4
;
C6
;
C9) WILLIAM BAXTER

(RISES FROM CHAIR NEAR HALF-COURT, STRAIGHTENS

TIE, SALUTES BLEACHERS)