Haze Read Free

weight slowly. The room seemed to shrink. “If you what?”
    He shook his head. “I’ll make sure nothing happens. It’s time to come clean about what happened to Marcus. I’ve talked to some of the other guys—”
    The door swung open as he was speaking. It was Steven. Nate was right behind him. Jeremy’s face went white.
    â€œDon’t let us interrupt,” Steven said.
    Jeremy straightened. “We were just talking about Bram’s kick. It needs work.”
    My eyebrows reached for my hairline.
    Nate shrugged. “Kid hasn’t made the team yet. Worry about it when he does.”
    It was like I wasn’t even in the room. “Uh, hello? Still here,” I said.
    â€œWatch your tone, pond scum,” Steven said. “Drop and give me fifty.” He turned to Jeremy. “We need to talk. Privately.”
    We weren’t at the pool. So technically, he couldn’t boss me around. But I didn’t want to get into it with him. I held his eyes until he glanced away, then I got down on the floor.
    I took my time with the push-ups. All the way up and all the way down, so slowly my arms shook. If Steven wanted to talk to Jeremy privately, I wasn’t going to make it easy for him.
    When I finished, Nate grinned. “Nicely done, pond scum. You made your point,” he said. “Now give us a sec, okay? Shark business.”
    I stood up and looked at Jeremy. “You want me to leave?”
    â€œIt’s fine,” he said. “See you in the morning for our run?”
    What run? “Uh, sure,” I said, as he jerked his head toward Nate and Steven.
    â€œSix o’clock. Out front, by the flagpole. Don’t be late,” he said.
    I waited outside the weight room. If I heard anything like a struggle, I was going back in.
    Jeremy was the first one out. He frowned when he saw me standing there. “What are you doing?”
    â€œNothing,” I said, stung. Didn’t he realize I had waited for him?
    Jeremy opened his mouth to say something, but the door opened again, letting Nate and Steven out. Nate winked at me. “Good kid.”
    I’d had enough of all three of them. “You done? Can I use the room? Some of us have training to do.”
    A look flickered across Jeremy’s face. It vanished too quickly for me to read it. “Remember what I told you,” he said. “Less weight. It might make a difference.”
    I headed inside and made a few attempts to get started, but my head wasn’t in it.
    Time to come clean . Maybe. But I was here to swim. I didn’t want to be part of anybody’s crusade. Not even for Jeremy.

chapter four
    I woke up to loud beeping. My head felt thick, like I was still half stuck in a dream.
    I sat up and rubbed my eyes. Time to meet Jeremy. Time to find out what he was going to tell me before Steven had interrupted. And time to let Jeremy know that, whatever he was planning to do, I couldn’t be a part of it.
    Droid sighed and rolled over as I smacked the alarm. His side of the room was all Star Wars posters and glowing computer equipment. That, and a giant Mexican flag over his headboard.
    I dressed in the dark while planning what to say to Jeremy. I needed a spot on this team. The Sharks were jerks, but I couldn’t afford to piss them off, or Coach. What happened to Marcus was tragic, but it was in the past. The police had done their bit. If anyone was at fault, it would have been dealt with by now. Jeremy needed to move on.
    Maybe I wouldn’t say that last bit to his face.
    I jammed a ballcap over my bed-head and jogged downstairs.
    At Strathmore, we were allowed to go for early morning runs or walks as long as we signed out and got back in time for breakfast. The sign-out book sat on a dark wooden table outside the headmaster’s office. I flipped to a new page, wrote today’s date at the top and signed my name. Jeremy hadn’t signed out yet.
    Outside, I