Silver Read Free Page B

it to him.
    He accepted it with a casualness that said
this wasn’t the first time it had happened. At my questioning look,
he shrugged and tossed the sign in the garbage can by the school
doors. “Hey, at least they notice me,” he said with a wry grin.
    Two students shoved out the door past us.
Anger flared in my chest and I turned, but stopped when I
recognized Chet’s cronies. They continued walking, but one looked
back at me and gave a twisted smile. I forced myself to continue
down the hall despite the rage that made me want to phase and teach
them a lesson.
    “ Man, they sure don’t like
you,” Brock said.
    “ The feeling’s
mutual.”
    “ You don’t want to mess
with Chet’s group. They’re trouble.” Brock sounded
worried.
    I fought back a grimace. “So I’ve been
told.” We stopped at my locker and I twisted the combination
several times. After more than a few failed attempts, I fished the
tiny slip of paper with the combination out of my pocket and tried
it again. It opened with a squeak to reveal pictures of someone’s
girlfriend.
    Brock laughed. “Guess they moved on.” He
took one off the door and gave it a critical look. “She’s not bad.”
He put it in his jacket pocket. At my look, he grinned. “You never
know when you might need an imaginary girlfriend to fend off some
ugly chick.”
    “ Is that something you do
often?”
    “ It never hurts to be
prepared.”
    I shook my head, threw my books in, and shut
the door.
    It was Brock’s turn to stare. “Not one for
studying?”
    I shrugged. “Later.”
    “ What are you doing after
school?”
    “ We’ve still got a lot of
unpacking to do. My mom’ll be home late, so I’m going to try to get
as much done as I can.”
    “ Sounds fun,” Brock said in
an unconvinced tone.
    I gave a wry smile. “Oh, it is; believe
me.”
    “ Well, beats working at
Mack’s to pay for a car I don’t even get to drive.”
    I laughed. “Yeah, that sucks.”
    We walked out the front doors into the cool
afternoon air. The parking lot quickly emptied as students and
teachers rushed to leave school. We made our way along the row of
buses to the side road.
    I turned toward home, “See ya later.”
    “ Hey,” Brock said over his
shoulder. “If you get bored, come by the shop.”
    I paused on the sidewalk. “You walking
there?”
    He grinned. “No license, remember? Besides,
it’s not that far.”
    I thought about it. If Mom’s job search
didn’t go well, she might be out late anyway and I definitely
didn’t have anything else to do. I nodded. “I might stop by.”
    “ It’s just up Main past
First Street.”
    “ Got it.”
    He shoved his hands in his pockets and
continued down the road.
    I made my way toward home, but a few streets
later realized that was the last place I wanted to go. Nothing was
more depressing than a house full of boxes. Mom wouldn’t mind if I
unpacked later.
    I jogged west through some apartment
buildings and up a road between rundown brick warehouses so I could
meet up with Brock before he reached the shop. Someone yelled and I
stopped short. I strained my ears to hear the voice again.
    “ What do you want with me?”
Brock’s words were strained.
    I ran through an alley on my left in time to
see Brock back up against a wall with his hands raised. Two boys
and a big animal stood with their backs to me. I recognized two of
Chet’s followers and realized with a jolt of surprise that the
animal with them was a werewolf already phased to wolf form.
    “ Chet wants to know about
that Jaze kid. You’ve been hanging around him all day like a
lovesick puppy.”
    “ No!” Brock shook his head.
“I don’t know anything, I swear.”
    The first boy grinned. “I don’t believe you.
And Chet said to get answers any way we could.” He took a step
forward. The wolf beside him lowered its head. A fierce growl
ripped from its throat.
    “ Whoa.” Brock leaned back
against the wall, his eyes wide. “I don’t know what you