night, so everybody gets an equal-”
“Everybody but you, right?” Will said.
David stopped. Will walked up from the first floor. He leaned against the banister and ran his hand through his frizzed-dry hair. Lucy was behind him on the stairs, hesitating for some reason. Her hair was as rumpled as Will’s. What were they just doing together? He felt a stab of jealousy.
“Where’ve you been?” David asked Will.
“Don’t act like you didn’t hear the question. Tell the truth.
Everybody has to work a shift but you, right? Isn’t that the way it goes for King David? We all hustle while you get to take everything-”
“Will, stop,” Lucy said.
“You know what?” David said to Will. “I don’t care where you’ve been. Maybe it’s best if you just go back there.” Will turned away from David and addressed the gang.
“Don’t believe a thing this guy says. His whole ‘I put you first’ act, it’s fake. He acts like he only thinks about you, but I know from personal experience that when everything goes to shit and you need him, he won’t be there.” David couldn’t believe his ears. Where did he get the nerve?
“Screw you, man. You lived off me this whole time! I do everything for you!” David said.
Will stormed up to David.
“Oh, really? Where were you when Mom died?!” Will said.
Will’s face was nearly purple, and it was strained. He might seize. David didn’t care.
“She died on me too!” David said. “What, you’re the only one who gets to hide in your room and cry like a little baby? You’re an idiot. I had a life that had nothing to do with you, and you know what? I liked it.”
Will applauded sarcastically.
“Thank you! Thank you for showing everyone what you’re really like.”
David stomped toward Will. He was going to break his nose.
But Ritchie got to him first, standing on his toes to get in Will’s face.
“What are you talking about, huh? David busts his ass for this gang!”
“Get out of my face, Ritchie. I’m talking to my brother,” Will said.
“No, you’re talking to our leader, and none of us want to hear any of it, you little punk.”
“Who you calling little, midget? Get out of my way.” Will pushed past Ritchie, but Ritchie shoved him after he passed.
Will spun around, furious. He shoved Ritchie back. Ritchie lost his footing at the edge of the landing and toppled down the stairs. People rushed to the edge. A girl screamed. David
pushed his way through the crowd and grasped Will by the shirt.
David cocked back his fist.
“No!” Lucy yelled. “Please stop!”
Both brothers turned to see Lucy watching them. Her eyes were wide and pleading. David let go of Will. Everyone was watching them.
David scowled at Will. “You’re not going to the Geek show, and you’re on guard duty for a week.”
“How about a month?”
“Done,” David said, and turned to the other Loners. “Fights within this gang won’t be tolerated. You heard it right now.
Punishment is guard duty for a month. We’ve got nothing if we’re not together.”
David walked away from Will.
25
“Sorry, guys, you’re gonna have to check your weapons.”
Ritchie, who had a nasty new gash scabbing up across his forehead, sneered at the Geek like he was crazy.
“It’s okay,” David said to Ritchie and the mob of Loners behind him. One by one, the gang piled their weapons high on the table in front of the well-guarded box office, and each Loner received a claim ticket in return. By the end of five minutes, the counter was overloaded with blades, spears, chains, pipes, slingshots, and wire knuckles. What the Geeks didn’t know was that hidden somewhere on each Loner were at least two shivs.
Someone was going to kill David tonight at the Geek show.
That was the rumor. According to the Skaters, Bobby was losing his cool after being publicly embarrassed by Sam. He may have been scared of Sam when he was in the market, but when Bobby got back to Freak territory, David bet he was more scared of what his own gang might do to him. Bobby had to show the school that they should fear Jackal. Offing David would definitely get the message across.
The PA system squawked to life, and a booming voice addressed the school.
“Geek show! Geek show! You don’t want to miss this one.
Get your butt to the auditorium before we run out of tickets.” David had made a promise to his gang, and he wasn’t going to back down now.
The Loners proceeded into the auditorium, and David scanned the light rigging for any ominous figures. Colored lights and flashing strobes made it impossible to tell for sure.
He’d heard of Freak kids trying to perfect bow and arrows.
He didn’t want to find out those rumors were true tonight.
David let his eyes wander over the spectacle before him.
It was nothing like the dismal gray that lurked outside the doors behind him. The air smelled fresh somehow. The Geeks had frosted the tips of their hair with acrylic paint from the art studios. He saw turquoise, magenta, and tangerine, rare colors for McKinley. He had forgotten how big the auditorium really was. It’d been built to house the entirety of the student body and the faculty for school events for decades to come. A red-curtained proscenium stage, bathed in golden light, took up the entire far wall. Between the stage and where David stood were fifty rows of raked seating. Interspersed along both walls were small, makeshift tents. In front of each tent was a Geek barking the surprises and entertainment that waited within.
It was a carnival, and to David’s disbelief, it looked like kids had not only checked their weapons at the door, but also their affiliation. He’d never seen anything like it, probably because he’d never had the opportunity to go to a Geek show before.
It put him on edge. Everyone mixed freely with each other.
An assassination seemed more feasible than he’d imagined before. He noticed Varsity members and Pretty Ones scattered through the room. A Freak gave him a hateful look. All through the crowd David saw potential threats, enemies pretending to be amused by the extravaganza.
“Stay close,” David said to Ritchie, who signaled to the rest of the Loners.
David heard a high-pitched scream and feet rushing toward him. He pivoted his body and dug in, ready for anything. Anything except a hug. It was Zachary. He wore a blazing orange Marie Antoinette wig, tall as a top hat and full of decorative curls.
“Well, look how far he’s come!”
Ritchie grabbed Zachary’s shirt and swung him off David.
“Hey, hands off!”
A throng of Geeks broke out of the crowd, and they promptly surrounded the Loners. David put his hands up to calm the situation.
“Whoa, whoa, all a mistake! Let’s be cool,” David said.
Ritchie held out his hands. They were covered in a glitter that shimmered with every flash of the lights. Zachary righted himself with a sneer and straightened his black shirt, which was covered in the same stuff, a powder of crushed glass bonded to the fabric with a weak glue. Sparkles sprinkled onto the floor all around him.
“What is this crap?” Ritchie said.
“Fashion, moron. And that before is called a hug. You cave-men don’t get out much, do you?”
