Will couldn’t help it—he kept looking over at Eloy, expecting Eloy to be looking at him. Mr. Taylor had as much as said that Will’s bug eating was the reason for the assignment, and Eloy had told Will about eating bugs at his grandma’s in Mexico. The logical conclusion was obvious. Eloy would help Will concoct a plan that involved bug eating—on purpose this time.
But Eloy didn’t look back at Will.
Darryl did, though.
Will didn’t like the feeling of being “caught” looking at someone, especially considering that Darryl hadn’t really been “caught” for his behavior yesterday morning—especially considering that Will was the only one who’d paid a price for Darryl’s prejudiced behavior. The fact was, Will was Bug Boy whether Darryl liked it or not. So if Will needed Eloy’s help, Darryl would just have to deal with it.
But first Will had to get Eloy on board.
So Will balled up a corner of notebook paper and chucked the pea-size missile at Eloy.
It hit his head and stuck there like chewed gum, glaring white in Eloy’s black hair. Eloy swiped it off, looking back.
Will mouthed, “Wait for me after class.”
Instead of nodding, Eloy glanced at the grinning Darryl, then faced front again.
The back of Will’s neck heated up, the burn curling over his ears when not only Cristian and Tyler but also Mackala and Megan frowned at him.
He hadn’t meant to look like he was picking on Eloy. He’d just needed to get the guy’s attention.
Will slumped low in his seat and waited for class to end.
When it did, he told the guys to go ahead because he wanted to ask Mr. Taylor something, glad to see that Eloy seemed to be holding back, too. At least he’d gotten the message.
But when almost everyone had filed out, Eloy stomped over to him. “Don’t throw crap at me.”
“I know!” Will winced. “But you weren’t looking over, and I was trying to get your attention.”
“‘Hey, Eloy,’ would have worked fine.”
“I don’t talk in Mr. Taylor’s class! He’s a wrestling coach! I pay attention.”
“Throwing stuff at me is paying attention?”
Will huffed out a breath. This guy . . . Will had already helped him once. He had to know that Will was one of the good guys. “Are you going to help me or not?”
“Help you with what? You haven’t asked me anything.”
It seemed so obvious to Will, he was surprised he had to spell it out. “I’m going to give the best class presentation in the history of Triton.”
“It’s a class presentation,” Eloy deadpanned. “It can’t be the ‘best’ anything.”
“Are you going to let me finish or what?”
Eloy didn’t leave, so Will explained. “Bugs.”
“Bugs.” Eloy did not look as impressed as he was supposed to.
How was the genius of Will’s plan lost on this guy of all people? Maybe Will didn’t exactly have a plan yet, but he knew it would involve bugs and eating. And then he had it. It came to him like lightning, and saying the words out loud made Will feel electric. “We’re going to feed the class bugs.”
It made sense, because at the moment, Will was the one who had eaten a bug, and that made him special—for now. But if the tide turned and people started to think it was gross, as he’d predicted yesterday, because it had been gross, then he’d be the only one who’d eaten a bug, out there alone, flapping in the wind. But if other people ate a bug, then they couldn’t say anything, and he’d still be the one who did it first.
He was a little in awe of himself. This really was going to be the best class presentation ever.
All Eloy said was, “We?”
“You said your grandma cooks crickets.”
“Grasshoppers. And, no, I said they sell them in Oaxaca.”
“Well, can she get some for us? It’s not that far to ship, is it? Mexico’s just over the border.” The post office had those Priority Mail boxes. Would they work from there? And how long did grasshoppers last? Just because he’d eaten a stink-bug didn’t mean he wanted to eat a grasshopper that had gone bad.
“Do you pay any attention to the geography and culture segments in Spanish class?” Eloy asked.
“Huh?”
“Mexico is a country like the U.S., and Oaxaca is a state. In the south. Not everything in Mexico is ‘just over the border.’”
“Oh, uh, I didn’t mean that the way it sounded.”
“Uh-huh.”
“I’m sorry.” Will sighed. He hadn’t meant to be rude, but his mouth had moved faster than his brain, and now his brilliant idea was going down the toilet. Maybe he didn’t need Eloy. Will had latched on to the idea of using him because he had actually eaten a grasshopper before, but Will could probably figure out how to get some on his own.
“My dad might help,” Eloy said, catching Will off guard. “Since it’s for school.”
“Really?” Doubt colored his tone. Eloy had just called him out for being jerk-y, so why would he help, except maybe to set him up to look stupid?
“But I want something, too,” Eloy said.
“Ah.” That was fair, though as his excitement flashed anew, Will couldn’t think what more the guy could want. He was already going to supply the key ingredient for the coolest event to hit Triton since ever.
“I think I want to try wrestling. You can help me get up to speed.”
The thought shouldn’t have been as deflating as it was.
Will remembered thinking a couple of times that Eloy might make a good wrestler, but the prospect of him really doing it felt different. Teammates had one another’s back in a way that was different than with friends. It wasn’t that they hung out together all the time, but if they saw one of their guys in something it looked like he couldn’t handle, they’d step in. Will had kind of already done that with Eloy, and it had turned into a thing. Plus, what if Eloy ended up being better than Will?
He asked Eloy, “How much do you weigh?”
The guy didn’t even know his weight class. Will held out his right hand.
Eloy hesitated before shaking it. “I help you with the grasshoppers, you help me practice wrestling?”
“Yup.” When Eloy hit the mats the first time, it was going to be like taking a hit. He’d probably quit the team before they had their first match. Meanwhile, Will would turn Bug Boy into Bug King. He had nothing to worry about.