“Diane!” I heard Cassie calling me from across the cafeteria. “Over here!”
Cassie always gets to the lunchroom before me on Thursdays. She saves our usual table.
I spotted her and carried my tray over. Lenny and Jordan sat across from her. I took the empty chair next to Cassie.
“I don’t know why I bothered buying food,” I told them. “I’m too nervous to eat.”
Lenny grabbed half of my turkey sandwich and began wolfing it down.
“I know what you mean,” Cassie said. “I couldn’t sleep last night. I was too wired about Spencer’s note.”
“It gave me the creeps,” Jordan said. “I mean, it sounded like someone wants to kill us.”
“It sounds like some kind of sick joke to me,” Lenny said.
“I don’t get it,” Cassie said fretfully.
“We should have told Spencer last night that we weren’t going to play any more Night Games,” I told them. “Isn’t that what we agreed to do?”
We were all set to tell Spencer that it was over. Why hadn’t we said anything last night when he came to my house with the note?
“What are we doing that’s so bad?” Jordan asked with a shrug. “We’re only playing games.”
“Spencer stole something!” Cassie cried. “We could all get in trouble for that. And now someone is threatening us!”
Jordan nodded solemnly. “I guess you’re right,” he admitted. “Obviously someone knows about us. I wish we could figure out who it is.”
I thought of all the suspects again. First Bryan. Did he send the threatening notes and make the telephone calls?
Who else could it be?
Mr. Crowell? No one but Lenny would believe that.
Cassie had suspected Spencer.
Then he turned up with that note.
Bryan was the only one it could be.
But why? Why would he try to frighten us?
And what would he do next?
Lenny agreed to talk to Mr. Crowell if I promised to wait outside the classroom while he did it.
Classes had ended for the day. I walked Lenny to Mr. Crowell’s room and I stood in the quiet hall, near the classroom door. Lenny wore nice, clean khakis and a dark blue pullover sweater. He even combed his hair. I knew he wanted to impress Mr. Crowell.
It didn’t work.
I planned to eavesdrop on the conversation. But I didn’t have to, because Lenny and Mr. Crowell started screaming at each other loud enough for the whole school to hear.
I glanced around nervously. Should I go in and stop them? What if Lenny lost control and punched him?
He would be expelled from school.
I reached for the doorknob. Before I touched it, the door swung open and slammed against the wall. Lenny shoved past me and stalked down the hall.
He didn’t look at me.
I sprinted after him and finally caught up with him near the gym. Lenny stopped short in front of the open doors. I heard the sounds of the basketball team practicing inside.
Uh-oh, I thought, Lenny’s really going to lose it now.
His hands balled into fists. His face shone bright red with fury.
“Are you all right?” I asked.
“You were wrong, Diane,” he said through gritted teeth.
“What happened with Mr. Crowell?” I demanded.
“He said I was wasting his time. He said I would never change.” Lenny’s voice shook with rage. “He called me a loser.”
“So you lost it? You blew up at him?”
Lenny’s head whipped around. He glared at me. “What was I supposed to do?” he shouted. “Just stand there and let him call me names?”
Jordan ran off the basketball court and came to the doors. He caught Lenny’s eye and they nodded at each other.
I felt a chill sweep through my body. I had never seen Jordan and Lenny so grim. So determined. So angry.
“What will you do?” I whispered. I gripped his hand.
He squeezed my fingers so hard it hurt.
“One more Night Game, Diane,” Lenny said through clenched teeth. “One more visit to Mr. Crowell’s house.”