I KNOW THE door from the street is going to be unlocked when I get to Ray-Ray’s. And those stairs still creep me out.

But when I get up to his apartment door, that’s open, too. Which is weird. Usually, Ray-Ray and Nicky keep that one locked.

That’s when I see the knob is broken off. The door frame is busted up, too. I’m thinking maybe I should just turn around and go tell G-ma.

Until I hear someone crying inside.

Now I feel really weird, but I can’t just leave. So I push that door open a little more and look in.

“Hello?” I say.

Ray-Ray sits up quick. He’s on his mattress on the floor, and obviously he was the one crying. But he tries to act cool now.

“Wassup?” he says.

“That’s what I was going to ask you,” I say. When I look over, that padlock on Nicky’s door is busted, too. And there’s no sign of Nicky, either.

“Ray-Ray, what happened here, dude?” I say.

Ray-Ray takes a deep breath. I’ve seen him mad before, and happy, and hyper, and confused. I just don’t think I’ve ever seen him sad.

“Nicky got locked up,” he says. Just like that. “He was gone when I came home, and his room’s all messed up. But there’s a message on my phone. Police came and took him away.”

“What’d he do?” I say.

Ray-Ray shrugs. “He never told me what he was up to. Maybe on purpose.”

I don’t have a good reason to be scared, but I kind of am now. I’m not sure what to say, or even what to think.

Finally, I ask Ray-Ray, “What happens next?”

“I dunno,” he says. “They’re probably going to put me in a home or something. I’m kind of out here by myself.”

“Nah, man. You’ve got me,” I say, and I sit down next to him. “And you’ve got G-ma, too.”

Ray-Ray just looks at the floor. He doesn’t have anything left to say. And while I’m sitting there, I start thinking about G-ma and her starfish story.

The truth is, I don’t know when things are going to get better at Union Middle School. Maybe it will be soon, and maybe not. But in the meantime, there’s one thing I know I can do for sure. And I don’t have to wait another second to get it done.

So I stand up and put out my hand. “Come on,” I say to Ray-Ray. “Get your stuff. Right now.”

“Where are we going?” he asks me when he gets up.

“Where do you think?” I say. “We’re late for dinner.”