Hit Squad Read Free Page B

that he wasn’t one of them, that he was a Creekside kid.
    Birgit turned to Peter. “And Peter is mean and tough when he needs to be.”
    Peter grinned, like a well-fed cat. Mickey half expected him to purr.
    Whisper hadn’t taken his eyes off Birgit. “We’re tough. So what? Why are we here?”
    â€œBefore I answer that,” said Birgit, “let me ask a question: Do you think this is a good school?”
    Whisper cracked his knuckles. “It’s okay, I guess.”
    â€œMichael?” Birgit uncrossed her legs.
    Mickey shrugged. He was starting to discover that Grandview wasn’t too much different from Creekside. He didn’t say anything; Birgit had him tongue-tied.
    Peter jumped in. “Grandview’s a zoo! That’s what I think!”
    Whisper’s grin disappeared for a moment while he nodded thoughtfully. “Peter’s right, it’s a friggin’ zoo.” He looked across at Mickey for the first time. “Ain’t that the truth? A friggin’ zoo?” Deep furrows in his worried brow.
    Mickey shrugged again. He didn’t like Whisper too much. The way he cracked his knuckles. The way he talked, like he was Tony Soprano.
    â€œIn what way is it a zoo?” Birgit asked Whisper.
    â€œWell,” Whisper said slowly, his grin reappearing, “this year there’s more bullying going on; you see it every day. Some of it’s racial, but not all of it. Kids are getting mugged for their lunch money. Girls are just as bad. Sometimes they’re worse. An eighth-grade girl was bullied into writing another kid’s essay. Can you believe it?”
    Peter cut in. “The terrorists are in charge. There are kids who’ve stopped coming to school because they’re so scared of the bullies. My brother went to this school. It’s changed since he was here. It used to be such a great place, but now they’re letting all kinds of lowlife…” He stopped.
    There was an uncomfortable silence for several seconds. Mickey knew just what the others were thinking. They were thinking of how there were no longer any school boundaries. They were thinking of how kids from places like Creekside were now allowed into Grandview. Theywere remembering that Mickey was from Creekside.
    Whisper said to Birgit, “But I don’t see how it’s our problem. Why should we care? Do your time and then get out. That’s what I say.”
    Birgit’s face flushed pink. “You make it sound like a prison.”
    â€œThat’s what it is,” said Whisper, cracking his knuckles.
    â€œGrandview never used to be like this,” said Birgit. “Why should we care, you ask? Well I care because the animals are taking over. The low-class bullies are in charge. Why should we let them rule our lives?”
    Whisper, without taking his eyes off Birgit, chomped his teeth into an apple.
    Birgit looked at Mickey. “What do you think, Michael?”
    He felt a squeeze under his heart. With her beautiful eyes on him he couldn’t think of anything to say. It was like his brain had been vacuumed. All he could do was shrug his shoulders. But she was right about thebullies. Last night he had tried to think of a way of getting back at those two fat slobs who bruised his ear, ribs and ego. And who stole his lunch. His ear still wasn’t right.
    â€œThe school’s a war zone, so what?” Whisper chipped in. He took his eyes off Birgit and glanced at his watch. He reached for his cell phone.
    â€œOkay.” Birgit’s eyes flashed. “I’ll tell you
so what
.” She drew in a breath. Mickey watched her, mesmerized, unable to take his eyes from her face.
    Whisper was also captivated by Birgit’s fire. He returned the cell phone to his pocket.
    â€œI called this meeting,” said Birgit passionately, “because I want to do something about this zoo. I called this meeting because I want Grandview to be