This is nuts,” Gordy said, hustling to keep up with him. “Think she suspects us?”
“Not us. Me.”
“Why just you?”
“The letter made it sound like I was alone. She’s looking for only one person.”
“Think you’re at the top of her suspect list?”
Cooper chanced a look over his shoulder to make sure she wasn’t following. “I don’t know why, but by the way she looks at me … yeah.”
“Top of Hammer’s list. Top of Ferrand’s list. Ditching her won’t help any.”
“Thanks for the reminder. I only need to buy some time.”
They hustled into the cafeteria side by side. Cooper stopped and pulled a sweatshirt from his backpack and pulled it over his head.
Gordy gave him a questioning look. “What are you doing?”
“Changing how I look a bit. I wouldn’t be surprised if Miss Ferrand comes looking for me during lunch.”
“Tell me you’re not going to pull the hood up.”
Cooper smiled and kept walking.
“I wish Hiro was here,” Gordy said.
Hiro. Cooper’s heart sunk. “Me too.”
“Ferrand will expect us to sit together. Think we should split up?”
“Might help.” Cooper scanned the lunchroom. “See you on the bus.”
Gordy nodded and headed for the hot lunch line. Cooper pulled his bag lunch from his backpack and looked for someplace to sit. He wanted to find a spot all to himself so he could think. And keep an eye out for Miss Ferrand. But sitting alone somewhere was a little obvious. The smart thing would be to sit somewhere he wouldn’t normally consider sitting. Like under a table.
A burst of laughter from a table full of girls caught his attention, and probably every other person in the cafeteria. Julie VonMoose had an empty spot next to her, but he didn’t feel that desperate.
Cooper looked over his shoulder and checked the entrance. Still gobs of kids piling in, but no Miss Ferrand. He couldn’t keep standing in the middle of the aisle. If she walked through the doorway he’d be dead.
Steiner, Tellshow, and Demel pushed through, talking loud and tough. Clearly wishing they were a part of the unfolding drama around the robbery, and trying to make up for the fact that they weren’t.
Cooper started toward a table at an opposite corner of the cafeteria than he usually sat. He’d get a good view of the cafeteria, and an exit door was just a matter of feet away. There were several empty spaces. Cooper swung a leg over the bench and sat quickly, keeping an eye on the entrance. He pulled out his sandwich and took a bite.
“Hey, MacKinnon. Have a fight with Gordo or something?”
Lunk’s voice. Cooper’s stomach tightened. He hoped he would just keep going.
No such luck. Lunk swung a leg over the bench and sat across from him with a tray loaded nearly as heavy as Gordy’s normally was.
Lunk eyed him through shaggy black hair. “So why aren’t you sitting with Gordo and Yaki-dodo?”
“Yakimoto. Hiroko Yakimoto.” Cooper chomped another hunk of sandwich. “Hiro isn’t here today. Must be sick.”
“She’s always sick.” Lunk smiled. “Wants to be a cop. Right? Definitely something sick with that girl.”
Cooper looked past him. Miss Ferrand stood just inside the cafeteria doors scanning the room.
Lunk followed Cooper’s gaze, then studied him, eyes squinting just a bit. “Waiting for someone?”
“Uh-uh.” Cooper lowered his head just a bit and focused on his peanut butter sandwich.
Miss Ferrand started walking. Slowly, like a prison guard pacing the cell block, watching the inmates. He could see her scanning the tables. Not a routine, making sure everything is under control type scan. She was looking for someone. Him.
Lunch wasn’t even close to being over. Was she going to walk around the entire perimeter of the room like this? She reminded him of a cat he’d seen stalking a bird in their backyard. The cat moved slowly. Deliberately. Getting closer and closer to the little chickadee that was busily tearing into bread Mom had thrown out in the yard. Cooper envisioned the cat pouncing on the unsuspecting bird at any moment. He’d pulled off his shoe and threw it at the cat just in time.
Cooper saw Gordy come out of the hot lunch line. He walked to the usual table with his tray in front of him and sat down. Ferrand was on him like the paparazzi. Gordy shrugged and looked around the room, while he talked to her. Miss Ferrand nodded briefly, and resumed her search. Whatever Gordy told her must have worked.
Miss Ferrand got closer. Arms folded across her chest, her claws painted red. A cat on the prowl. And Cooper was the bird.
“Avoiding someone?” Lunk leaned in closer. The corner of his mouth turned up in a smile. The kind of smile that said he knew.
Hammer had singled him out. Ferrand was zeroing in. Now Lunk. Was everyone psychic or was he that easy to read?
Cooper ignored Lunk and tried not to look at Miss Ferrand. He couldn’t help but steal a glance. She’d rounded the corner and slowly patrolled his way. He needed a shoe.
“You in some kind of trouble?” Lunk’s voice was low.
Cooper didn’t answer. He needed some quick, witty remark. A comeback that would get him off the hook. But he couldn’t think. His brain seemed as mushy as the peanut butter sandwich in his stomach.
“I’m taking that as a yes,” Lunk said. He looked down the aisle. “You want to get out of here?”
Cooper stared at his lunch bag. What’s the worst that could happen if Miss Ferrand had a little talk with him? She’d ask some questions. He’d hatch more lies. He was getting pretty good at avoiding the truth. The real issue was whether she would see through him. And if she did, would she talk to the principal, or Detective Hammer? All the Detective needed was a decent reason to single him out for questioning. Ferrand might be able to supply that if she could get him one-on-one.
The course seemed clear. Avoid the talk. Stall it off. No good could come of it, and her snooping around could threaten the Code.
“Not in a very talkative mood, are you, MacKinnon?” Lunk said.
“My stomach,” Cooper said. “A little messed up.”
“Anything to do with Ferrand?”
Cooper glanced over. She couldn’t have been more than thirty feet away. She’d stopped walking for the moment, giving the room another visual sweep from that vantage point. She still didn’t see him, but it was only a matter of seconds now. He braced himself. Told himself to relax. Stay calm.
“I’ll distract her,” Lunk said.
“What?” Cooper looked at him.
Lunk nodded toward the side exit. “Hit the washroom around the corner until the end of the period. You’ll be safe there.”
Without waiting for a response, Lunk stood and grabbed his tray. He plowed past some students standing in the aisle—and right into Miss Ferrand.
His tray crashed to the floor, the sound echoing off the cinder block walls. Miss Ferrand stood with her hands out to her side looking at ketchup blotches on her clothes.
Kids jumped up from their seats for a better view. Riley Steiner and his boys stood on a bench leading the entire cafeteria in whistles, claps, and cheers.
“Sorry, Miss Ferrand.” Lunk’s voice sounded sincere over all the other noise.
Cooper jumped from his seat, and stumbled over his backpack. A black permanent marker spilled out. And the phone. He shouldered the pack, scooped up the phone and marker and jammed them in his pocket as he hustled for the exit. Once around the corner he ran for the men’s room. He kept running until he locked himself in the handicapped stall.
Had Miss Ferrand seen him scoot out of the lunchroom? What would she think now? If she did see him, he’d be on her most wanted list for sure. And what about Lunk? He owed him some kind of explanation—but what?
Cooper hung his backpack on the hook behind the door. Pulling the phone from his pocket, he turned it on. The phone came to life. A little part of him wished it didn’t. If it was broken, he wouldn’t have to worry about getting a call from the police. He turned the phone off as quickly as he could, fearing the police might try calling early.
He wondered what Miss Ferrand was doing now. Mopping herself up in the ladies room? Escorting Lunk to the office? Either of these would keep her distracted. What if she was talking to Gordy? Pumping him with questions. Watching his eyes.
Hiro picked a lousy day to stay home. She’d abandoned them. If she’d been here, at least he wouldn’t have to worry about Gordy taking on Miss Ferrand by himself.
But he’d escaped another potential trap. Barely. This was crazy. He leaned against the stall and waited for the period bell to ring. He was innocent. He hadn’t done anything wrong, yet here he was hiding in the bathroom. He wanted to shout it out loud. Over the school PA system. Tell everyone he didn’t do anything wrong.
The stall partitions had been painted over who knows how many times, erasing brainless messages guys wrote. The current paint was about the color of buckskin. Not the smartest shade to discourage guys who were into graffiti. Cooper had never written on a wall before. He stared at it. And pulled the permanent marker from his pocket.
When the bell rang, he stepped back and looked at the inside of the wall like he was seeing it for the first time. Written in three inch black letters were the words “I did nothing wrong! I didn’t do it!”
What was I thinking? Cooper grabbed a piece of toilet paper and rubbed one of the letters. It didn’t even smudge. Idiot. He grabbed his backpack, slung it over his shoulder, and used the toilet paper to open the latch.
The outer door of the bathroom opened. He heard voices. Cooper hurried to the sink to wash. Two guys walked in, but didn’t even look at Cooper. Lunk was right behind them.
Cooper saw him in the mirror. Lunk looked at him, and then at the stall door yawning open. Cooper wanted to say thanks, but the words didn’t come. Instead, he stepped away from the sink, and without bothering to dry his hands, went for the door.
He totally expected Lunk to follow him. When he sensed that he was pushing through the door alone, he felt a measure of relief. Cooper glanced over his shoulder and tensed. Lunk disappeared into the handicapped stall.