CHAPTER 31

MAGGIE HURRIED OUT OF Miss Joyson’s class right behind Wolfe, but not before seeing Hudson fire his imaginary gun. She dodged around clusters of students to put some distance between her and Hudson. Normally she wouldn’t have thought twice about a guy forming a hand pistol and pretending to shoot someone, but after Hudson’s run-in with the pack at lunch and his vigilante talk in class just now, what was she supposed to think?

Hudson was likely on the pack’s hit list after the lunchroom incident Tuesday. Or was Wolfe on Hudson’s? Apparently, Hudson was sending a message —the darkest kind.

Would he be the type who’d bring a gun to school?

Maggie turned the corner and headed straight for her locker. Snitching would only cause more problems. She was sure of it. But Miss Joyson made some good points, didn’t she? And if Hudson was the loner type, maybe he really was dangerous.

Maggie tried to imagine reporting her suspicions. She knew Miss Joyson would take it seriously. The principal would question him. With the whole zero tolerance policy, even pretending to aim a gun would have consequences. Like police coming. What if the whole hand pistol act was just one of those stupid things boys did? He’d hate her. Did she really need one more enemy? And how would Pancake feel? He was pitifully desperate for a guy to hang out with. Hudson could get expelled for this.

She stood at her locker, just staring at it. Working out the options. And what about that fight Miss Joyson mentioned? Definitely the kind of thing she could see Wolfe and his idiot friends involved in. All of them ganging up on one person. How manly.

Were the two things related? What if Wolfe was part of the gang of seven —and Hudson was the one they’d beat up? That would make sense after what happened in the cafeteria. And Hudson had talked about “schooling them,” and yesterday he mentioned something about a hit list. That would explain the little shooting thing he did at the end of the class. Was he warning Wolfe? Maybe he felt he was too outnumbered —and that bringing a gun was the only way to equalize things. She shuddered. This was making way too much sense.

“Forgot your combination?” Mr. Mann’s voice jarred Maggie back to the moment. He leaned against the lockers. Blue button-down collared shirt with the sleeves rolled halfway up his forearms. Gray at the temples. Totally casual. Definitely caring. “About thirty seconds to the bell.”

Maggie shook her head. “Just zoned out for a minute. Thanks.” She shouldered her pack and raced for her next class.

She scooted into her seat just as the bell rang. If she were sure Hudson planned something awful —really sure —she’d have to say something, no matter how much she hated snitching. Saying something after the gun smoke cleared would be tragic.

She took a deep breath. If she was sure Hudson planned to bring a gun, it was her duty to tell. And she’d have to do it today. What if he brought a gun tomorrow? If Hudson was involved in that fight —if she was absolutely sure —that would be enough to push her to take the next step. But how could she find out? That’s what she’d have to figure out, and she didn’t have much time to do it.