He had some idea why she cut all of her hair off but never asked.
‘Sorry,’ Teddy said.
Zoe pushed passed him and down the hall.
He hung his head. After every interaction with her, he felt worse. There was so much he wanted to say.
His phone buzzed in his pocket. He waited until he got to his locker before he looked at it.
Pick me up at 4.
Teddy spun the combination on the lock. He was about to open it when someone touched his shoulder.
He flinched and whirled around.
‘Whoa!’ Kevin Jensen said, scratching at his acne-ridden cheek. ‘Didn’t mean to scare you.’
‘You didn’t,’ Teddy said. Without asking, he knew what Kevin wanted. It was the same conversation after each big exam.
‘What did you get on the test?’ Kevin asked, his mouth spread into a wide grin.
And Teddy went with his usual response. ‘That’s none of your business.’
‘Aw, come on,’ Kevin said. ‘I bet I got a higher grade.’
‘Ninety-five,’ Teddy said.
Kevin clicked his tongue. ‘I got a ninety-nine. You’re slacking.’
Teddy received a perfect score. He wanted to stick it to Kevin. Make him relax. Then Teddy could be valedictorian. His ticket out of this one-horse town.
‘I have to go,’ Teddy said. He didn’t have time for Kevin today. And he hoped to stop at home before meeting Declan. It was the only time he could see Mom.
‘Don’t study too hard,’ Kevin said with a laugh.
Teddy opened his mouth to say the first thing that came to his mind. He stopped short, not wanting to continue any conversation with his academic rival.
Another text from Declan came through.
I need some $$.
He sighed and pressed the HOME button. He clicked on his bank’s mobile app and made sure he had enough to lend Declan.
There was always enough, but knowing the exact numbers eased his mind.
He flipped over to his messages and responded to his cousin: I want it back in a week. Or I’m charging interest.
He ground his teeth together. He wouldn’t have much time to go home and catch up with Mom now. Declan most likely needed the money right away. He always waited until the last minute, leaving Teddy to be the responsible one.
‘Mr. James,’ a female voice said to his right.
Teddy looked up from his phone. He stashed it away in his pocket by reflex.
His AP English teacher, Mrs. Hathaway, smiled at him. ‘You can use your phone. Classes are over for the day.’
Teddy chuckled. ‘Force of habit.’
She held her smile. ‘I wanted to discuss the possibility of joining our tutoring program. I have one student in mind for you to work with.’
‘I’m not sure if I have time to tutor other students,’ Teddy said. ‘My homework takes up a lot of my time.’ It wasn’t a complete lie. He had a lot of homework, but he had to keep his nights and weekends free for his extracurricular activity. The one that would get him and his mom out of dodge.
‘That’s a shame,’ she said, her lips tugging at the corners. ‘You would be a great asset.’
Teddy nodded. He knew he would be. He almost felt sorry about not accepting the offer. It would be great on his college application, but he couldn’t risk it. He needed the money more.
‘Well, I won’t bother you about it,’ she said, adjusting the collar of her white button-down. ‘Next year you might have more free time, so do let me know if you change your mind.’
‘I will.’ He spun the combination lock again. The straps of his bag dug into his shoulders, and he needed to unload some books.
He lifted the handle to his locker, and something fell onto the floor by his feet.
‘Oh, I’ll get that,’ Mrs. Hathaway said, bending over.
Teddy wasn’t sure how anything would fall out of his locker without seriously injuring anyone. His textbooks were massive.
When Mrs. Hathaway stood up, her lips puckered as if someone had shoved a lemon in her mouth. ‘What is this?’
Teddy swallowed. He knew exactly what it was. And what its street value was, just by looking at it.
‘Is this marijuana?’ she asked.
Teddy reached for it, but she pulled her hand away from him. ‘That’s not mine.’
What the hell? He glanced around him, but no one paid attention to the academic and his teacher.
‘Mr. James, I think you need to come with me to Principal Killian’s office right now.’
‘Theodore, you are the first to play the game,’ Teddy read off the red slip of paper. ‘Your instructions are hidden in your favorite novel. You have fifteen minutes to fulfill the task, or you fail.’
The room fell silent. The echo of Teddy’s task hung in the air.
He blinked, unsure of what was going on.
All eyes turned to Teddy. Heat moved under his skin as the sound of his given name echoed in his head. No one called him Theodore, except for his late grandmother. The formality of the note struck him, almost as if someone was playing to his childhood self. The self that was most vulnerable. Over the years, he went from a shy kid to someone stronger with thicker skin. But not at school. No, that other ‘self’ was for a different part of his life.
Or was someone messing with him? Not even his teachers had called him Theodore since kindergarten.
‘That was creepy as hell,’ Q said.
Teddy’s mouth flattened, hoping the others wouldn’t see the quiver in his lips. ‘Well, he got my name wrong.’
‘Your task is to find a book?’ Zoe asked.
Teddy wasn’t sure what to do. The last five minutes had been surreal.
‘I think we should tell Mr. Curtis,’ Jackie said. ‘I didn’t ask to be a part of this.’
‘A part of what?’ Q asked. ‘He has to read a book. Big deal.’
‘It’s just a dumb prank,’ Teddy said.
‘Who would mess with perfect Teddy?’ Q asked.
Teddy winced at the word ‘perfect’. It was how everyone at school described him. Trouble had never found him in school. Until this week.
Why was he a target? And twice in one week. First the weed in his locker. Now, this? He didn’t even do drugs. Sure, he’d been around them. The small bag wasn’t enough to get the police involved, but it was sufficient to land him in detention. Principal Killian had gone easy on him. It helped that he’d never been in trouble before. Though, now that record was marred by this situation.
Teddy could have talked himself out of it if Mrs. Hathaway had kept her mouth shut. She was appalled by the situation. Her hysterics