THE RAIN BEGAN AROUND EIGHT and kept on falling all Monday night. By Tuesday morning every trace of snow was gone. I arrived at Lincoln High half an hour early. The cheer squad must have worked through the snow day decorating the school. Posters were taped on doors and along hallways. Black and red streamers hung from the ceilings of every hallway and all through the commons. Banners reading go lincoln! fluttered from classroom windows.
When I pushed open the door into the commons, I spotted Kimi sitting at a back table, her face tired, her hair pulled back into a haphazard ponytail. "What did your father say?" I asked once I took a chair across from her.
"He says we should think the way gangs think."
"What does that mean?"
She leaned toward me. "What do these guys know about Angel?"
I thought for a moment. "They know that he goes to Lincoln and that he's on the football team."
"That's not much, which is why they won't wait until the night of the championship game to make their first move. My dad is sure they'll come to Lincoln High looking for him."
"But they won't find him. McNulty's keeping Angel away from school and out of practices. So there's no problem."
"Don't you see, Mitch? They won't find Angel, but we could find them. If we figure out who's after Angel, we could pass a license plate number to the police. If we had something solid, the police would pay attention."
"There are hundreds of cars here every day. How will we spot them?"
"Those guys up at the Moonlite Mini-Mart found us, and it didn't take them long. We didn't fit in. So we look for gang guys hanging around Lincoln, guys who don't fit in. We can take turns. I'll cut first, third, and fifth periods. You can cut second, fourth, and sixth. We can walk around, or hang out across the street from school, or sit at a window table at Zestos." She paused. "Look, I know it's a long shot, but I can't stand doing nothing. And if we don't see any strange cars, we'll feel better, won't we?"
"Okay, we'll do it. Only I'll take first period. You've got a test coming up in chemistry."