He thinks about checking the news, but he can’t stand it. Can’t read about it anymore. He knows what he’ll find: an avalanche of hate and blame directed at Brandon, at the church, at David John and Earl, and even though he hasn’t been named, not explicitly, not yet, he won’t be able to read it knowing that some of it is directed at him.
He’s about to try texting Deanne again when he gets a text from Wyatt:
my mom says you’ve got police parked outside
bomb threat at school. mentioned me. they’re on like a security detail or something. just to be safe
whoa
yeah
everybody okay?
I guess. mom’s pretty upset
think there’s school tomorrow?
cop in driveway said she thinks so
you going?
Jessup pauses. He hasn’t thought about it. Hasn’t gone that far ahead. Friday night, when he’d thought about school on Monday, he’d thought about returning triumphant. A playoff win. That hit on Corson and the fumble recovery, six points and putting the game out of reach, Jessup with the game ball. But too much had changed. Going back would be something different. People looking away, conversations stopping, teachers hesitant. And Deanne. He’ll see her in the cafeteria, in the hallway. And practice. Coach Diggins. Would he even be allowed at practice?
don’t know
yeah. you hear about the rally?
for football?
wait. really?
no. jk.
haha.
you mean brandon’s rally, right?
libtards have counterrally planned against us
No, Jessup thinks. Not us. There will be a rally downtown, but he can’t think of it as us. But he doesn’t type that. Doesn’t reply. After a minute or two, Wyatt sends another text:
Brandon gave an interview from the hospital
he’s okay?
got released earlier. didn’t even need surgery. he’s crowing about it. assassination attempt. says it’s a war wound. war to save white identity. says the radical left trying to stop him. says they fired the first shot and if they think whites are scared of standing up for what’s theirs they’ve got another thing coming. he’s calling the rally tomorrow night a unite the movement kind of moment. watershed. he’s all over the news. been on like everything. fox and nbc and cnn and everywhere. message boards going nuts. got people flying in from all over and driving up. people already driving in from Tennessee, South Carolina, Virginia. Probably two hundred people already said they are coming to represent, plus whoever comes from church.
seriously?
going to be huge. you going?
to school?
no, dumbass. the rally. represent. pride, man. pride.