‘I think you should at least check it out, man,’ Q said. ‘What’s the harm?’
‘I really think we should tell Mr. Curtis,’ Jackie repeated.
Teddy gave her a look. She never spoke to him during school. They moved in different circles. He didn’t care about being popular, but if he could show the cheerleader he wasn’t a wimp, then he might land on her good side for the rest of their academic career together.
Chairs scraped against the floor behind him as the others followed.
‘What’s your favorite book?’ Cece asked, coming up beside him. They shared several classes together and like Jackie, rarely uttered a word to each other unless they had to. She was pretty but not his type, but he’d take any action these days. He knew he’d probably graduate as a virgin, but he still had another year to go. Anything could happen.
‘Carrie,’ Teddy and Zoe said at the same time.
He looked at her. She bit down a smile, but he knew it was there. The others glanced at her too.
‘How did you know that?’ Q asked, his eyes narrowed.
‘We used to be friends,’ Zoe said.
Teddy swallowed his hurt as he turned down the third stack of bookshelves. He spent the majority of his reading in the horror genre. Mom devoured those books during every spare moment she had, turning Teddy on to the genre. When he was younger, they would sit under the blankets of his bed with a flashlight reading scary stories.
He’d never told anyone that. It was something he shared with his mom alone. So why did this person think he knew his favorite book? Other than the tattered copy under his mattress, not many people in his life knew.
‘Carrie?’ Holly asked.
‘Stephen King,’ Q said, ‘not the book I was thinking for you, nerd.’
Teddy ground his teeth together. ‘I prefer modern fiction to the classics. And don’t call me that.’
Q laughed and slapped a hand on Teddy’s shoulder. ‘I think I like you a little more now.’
Teddy stiffened at his touch.
‘Chill out, man. I’m just messing around,’ Q added.
They all filtered down the aisle, following Teddy.
Teddy found the book. There was only one copy. It didn’t have a sticker on the spine, so it wasn’t a library copy. The paperback shook in his hands. The worn edges reminded him of his personal copy. He imagined seeing the name Bert handwritten on the inside. His mom purchased the book second-hand. There was writing in the margins from the Bert guy. While reading, Teddy felt as if he knew this stranger more than he knew his own father.
No, it wasn’t possible.
He couldn’t bear to look. Instead, he focused on the piece of red paper sticking out from the pages. Teddy touched the edge of the paper and slid it out.
Scrawled letters in a thick black marker stared up at him.
‘You take from others for personal gain. Now it’s time someone took from you. The one thing you cherish. Money. You will hold ten one-hundred-dollar bills, a small sample of your growing bank account. You will destroy them, or I will take away everything. You have ten minutes.’
Teddy’s palms dampened as his trembling hands opened the book wider. A hole was cut in the middle of the pages, just big enough for a stack of cash to fit inside. He cringed at the idea of someone purposefully cutting the pages. Especially since this was his book.
He dropped the note, and it fluttered to the floor.
Q picked it up and read it aloud. Everyone peered over Teddy’s shoulder to take a look at the cash.
‘Is that your money?’ Jackie asked. Her eyes were wide saucers.
Teddy closed the book and held it against him. ‘No.’
He had the urge to protect the book and the money inside. He knew the money wasn’t his. It couldn’t be. There was no way anyone could have access to his account. He used the savings account his grandmother had opened for him when he was a kid to store everything he earned. Even if this person knew how much he had, the bills in the book were probably fake.
He wanted to check the money and count it, but not with his classmates ogling the cash. They already knew too much.
‘So, he wants you to destroy that money?’ Cece asked.
‘Where did you get all that, anyway?’ Q asked.
‘This isn’t real,’ Teddy said. ‘Someone is messing with me.’ He opened the book again and picked up the top bill, a crisp hundred-dollar note. He held it up to the light and saw the security thread in the paper. This bill wasn’t counterfeit.
Teddy’s grip on the book tightened.
Q lifted a lighter from his pocket and held it out. ‘If it’s not real then you shouldn’t have any trouble destroying it as the note said.’
‘This is stupid.’ Teddy snatched the note from Q and headed back toward the table. He tucked the note into the book and closed it.
‘What are you doing?’ Zoe asked.
‘What does it look like?’ Teddy said. ‘I’m going to finish this chain and then get ahead in my reading for next week.’ At least then he’d have more time to stay out tonight if he completed his work early. He started for the table.
‘You’re not going to destroy that money?’ Jackie asked.
‘Why should I?’ Teddy asked. It was real, and it was a thousand dollars. He wanted to stash it away in his account, just as he did with every other spare hundred he earned.
‘Are you sure?’ Q asked.
Teddy glared at Q. ‘I’m sure.’
‘You have, like, eight minutes left,’ Jackie said.
‘Then in eight minutes you’ll see I’m right,’ Teddy said. He wished everyone would get off his back. He hated that they knew about his money. It was the only thing he had to himself.
‘Let me see the cash,’ Q said.
‘What?’ Teddy asked. ‘No way.’
Q lunged for the book, and Teddy snatched it away.
‘Stop,’ Teddy said.
‘If this is a prank then you shouldn’t be worried about anything,’ Q said. ‘Unless you know more than you’re letting on.’
‘Guys, enough,’ Holly said.
Q’s eyes narrowed. ‘You said it wasn’t real. Prove it.’
Teddy sat down and placed the book on the table.
Big mistake.
Q was quicker and grabbed the book.
Teddy launched up from his chair. He wasn’t sure what Q was going to do, but he wouldn’t risk it. ‘Give that back.’
‘Who the hell is Bert?’ Q asked, looking at the inside cover of the book.
Teddy’s heart plummeted. It was his copy.
‘My mom got it at a book sale,’ Teddy said, not wanting to delve into his personal history with the novel.
Q wasn’t going to listen. Teddy reached for the book and grabbed the back half.
‘Stop,’ Teddy warned.
‘What’s the big deal?’ Q held on and pulled back.
Teddy pulled harder and felt the book strain under the pressure. Then the spine split in half, leaving a part of the book in each of their hands.
‘Dude,’