The bus came to a grinding stop in front of Ringwood Middle School. The younger kids left the vehicle in a frenzy. Sam shook his head and rolled his eyes. You’d think the school’s handing out free candy.
Miranda was one of the first to exit. Sam peered out the window and watched her drag her school case along the sidewalk, heading toward the yard. He could tell she was still angry at him. Under normal circumstances she probably would have glanced back and smiled. Maybe even waved. Today he was lucky she didn’t throw a rock at him.
“Whatcha listening to?” asked the guy slumped in the row in front of Sam. Beneath the bright red toque his eyes were hooded. He took up the entire row, his long legs splayed into the aisle. Somehow he didn’t strike Sam as the type to ride a Kronan bike.
Before Sam could prevent him, the guy reached over. He snatched Sam’s iPod and plugged it into his ears.
“Hey!” Sam protested, but the guy smacked his hand away.
Red Toque burst out laughing. “Yo, J-Man! Check this out!” He threw the iPod to his friend in the row beside Sam. The guy had a quick listen and began cackling.
Sam’s stomach bottomed out. The song must have changed. The girl, who had been chatting with Red Toque and Black Hoodie, now gazed directly at Sam. Their eyes locked a second time. Could she see the panic in them? Sam blinked and looked away.
“Classical music?” Black Hoodie wailed. “What a wonk!” His laughter sounded like a wounded hyena’s. “What a scrub!”
Other kids turned to stare at Sam. Suddenly, he felt as if he were on display in a zoo.
This can’t be happening. Sam’s eyes found the back of Walter’s head. In the same instant Walter glanced back. His face was pale, expressionless.
“Come on, guys, give it back to him,” the blond girl said.
Red Toque’s smile faded. “Come on, guys, give it back to him,” he mocked. “What’s he to you, AJ? Your new best friend?”
Sam’s cheeks burned. He realized that Red Toque and AJ were together and that Red Toque wasn’t impressed with her sticking up for Sam. Besides, he couldn’t let himself be defended by a girl. He lunged over and yanked back his iPod from a still-laughing J-Man, but it didn’t matter. The damage was done.
Red Toque chuckled again and shook his head. “Yo, dude, whatcha listening to that junk for?”
“I don’t listen to it.” Sam stuffed his iPod into his pocket.
“Yeah, right. Someone must have snatched your Pod and swapped tunes. Some ghost, maybe?” He snapped his fingers at J-Man, and they both exploded in laughter as if it were the funniest thing they’d ever heard.
This was bad. Sam remembered what Mike had taught him. Mike had said you could cruise through high school on nothing but reputation. Now Sam’s reputation had sprung a leak, and he was sinking fast. He had to do something and quick. Before he knew what was happening, he squared his shoulders to Red Toque and fixed him with hard eyes. “Quit baggin’ on me, man.” That was exactly what Mike would have said.
Red Toque’s spine straightened. Obviously, he wasn’t used to people standing up to him. His eyes grew wide. He studied Sam, looking him up and down with a mixture of curiosity and contempt. Then he settled back into his seat and grinned. “What’s your name?”
“What’s yours?” The cool-guy act was working. Sam had to keep it up. These were the guys he had to win over. He had to gain their respect.
“Don’t be all salty with me,” Red Toque said. “Maniac’s the name. Thrill-seeking’s the game.”
AJ rolled her eyes.
Sam frowned. “Thrill-seeking?”
Maniac snorted. “This kid belongs in kindergarten. Needs to learn his ABCs.”
J-Man reached over and gave Maniac some exploding knuckles, and the two began laughing all over again. “Send him to your blog, Maniac. It’ll teach him what thrill-seeking is pretty quick.”
Great, thought Sam, rolling his eyes, back to square one. He sank hopelessly into his seat while the two continued their taunts.
Maniac smirked. “Awww! He’s lost without his Beethoven. I think he’s gonna cry!”
More laughter.
“What’d he say his name was?” J-Man asked.
“He didn’t,” Maniac said.
“How about we give him a name then? How about we call him Maestro!”
“Yeah, I like that. Hey, Maestro, my grandma says she wants to borrow your Pod. Says you two got the same taste in music.”
Perfect, thought Sam, just what I’ve always wanted — a nickname.
He decided to ignore them. Someone who called themselves Maniac was either an idiot or a psycho — and there was no telling what either was capable of. Sam was pretty sure he’d already witnessed some of Maniac’s so-called thrill-seeking — the stunt with the red bike that could have easily cost him and his father their lives if another vehicle had been approaching.
Sam took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. At least these guys, unlike Walter, were cool. Given the choice he’d take psycho over geek any day.
The bus pulled into the loop of Ringwood Secondary. The older kids exited, dragging their feet as though they were dead men walking. Part of Sam was thinking he should get up and push his way through the crowd, try to get away from the two guys as quickly as possible. The other part of him said he should stay put.
Relax, show no fear, Mike always said.
AJ stood and began making her way up the aisle.
“Let’s bounce, Javon,” Maniac said.
“Yo, Cody, grab my backpack,” AJ said, swinging around and motioning to the seat where she’d left it.
Cody and Javon.
It was as if someone had thrown a switch. Suddenly, these guys seemed a lot less threatening. Sam took a deep breath and steadied his nerves. He remained seated as the two guys shuffled up the aisle. AJ had gotten off the bus, and so had Javon. Just then Sam got an idea. “Yo, Cody.”
The guy halted and swung round.
This was Sam’s only chance. He couldn’t blow it. “My dad drives a black Volvo. Ring a bell?”
Cody narrowed his eyes as Sam rose and started walking toward him. “You’ve got a blog, right? I think I have some pictures you might be interested in.”
Sam dangled his cellphone like bait on a hook.