Quarantine: The Loners by Lex Thomas

was David’s daily routine. It wasn’t what he wanted to do; nothing about it was fun, and there was no end to it. It was what he had to do to keep them alive; this was his job.
    Naturally, Will did nothing to help. He did push-ups in the corner. Again.
    “If you’re not watching the door, help me wash,” David said.
    “I’m watchin’ it.”
    “You’re staring at the floor.”
    Will groaned.
    “What good does it do anyway? Not like there’s a back exit,” Will said. He sprang to his feet. “If a gang finds us, they’ll jump us. If they don’t, they won’t.”
    “Right, right. If we starve, then we starve, why worry?” Will stayed silent. He interlocked his fingers behind his back and stretched his chest.
    “Do something for once. Humor me,” David said.
    “On it,” Will said. He flexed his triceps at himself in the mirror.
    David sighed, Will was never going to learn. He bore down on a brown stain, scrubbing the blouse’s fabric into itself and grinding in the gritty salt.
    “When I graduate,” David said, “you’re not gonna have anybody to mooch off of.”
    Will rolled his eyes.
    “You’re gonna need a trade. Lemme teach you my system.”
    “I don’t want to learn your system.”
    But he sure loved eating the system this bought.
    “You gonna flex for food?” David said.
    “I’ll come up with something. Something good.”
    “One person can’t survive off only what they get at the drops. You’re not Gonzalo.”
    “Whatever I do,” Will said, “it won’t be washing blood out of other people’s clothes.”
    David stood, squared his shoulders to Will. Tossed the garment aside.
    “Hey,” David said, “Straight up. I want you to answer me.” Will tensed up, ready to defend himself.
    “Was it the top hat that turned you on?” David said.
    Will managed a laugh, but he was still keyed up.
    “Yeah, fine. Fine. I hooked up with Weird Peggy,” Will said.
    “You happy? It’s your fault.”
    “Interesting. Explain that to me.”
    “Tell me who I’m supposed to date. Can’t date girls in gangs.
    And that’s pretty much every girl. Off limits. Whose fault is that?”
    He didn’t say it like a joke; his words had teeth. He wondered if Will would ever forgive him for the life they had to lead.
    “So,” Will continued, “there’s Scraps. Weird little losers scattered through the school, hiding in their holes, probably eating their shoes, and hoping no one hits them that day.
    That’s who I get to pick from. Thanks.”
    Will returned to the corner and dropped to the floor to knock out reps. David’s desire to win the argument died somewhere during Will’s speech. David faced himself in the mirror. He examined his white hair, the stained clothes in his hands, the filthy bathroom behind him; it was just nasty enough that no one else would want to use it, a place where David could feel safe that no mob of kids would wander in and rob him. He could handle these indignities for the handful of months he had left. But he knew Will couldn’t, he knew Will wouldn’t try. And he was scared of what Will would try when David was no longer around.

6
    THE WET CLOTHES WERE HUNG UP TO DRY where no one would find them, and David’s dry deliveries were folded and packed into his bag, ready to be exchanged for food and essentials. Will and David stood at the mouth of the bustling market.
    It was a wide hallway, with classrooms on either side. Each gang transformed their own room into a trading post, in which they offered their particular goods and services. The floor was marred with dirt, tracked in from the quad. All the ceiling lights worked, a rarity in McKinley. Other than in the trading rooms, the gangs did not mix. Each stayed with their own and traveled in large groups from room to room until their shopping was done.
    David had deliveries to make to the Geeks and the Sluts. He strode into the market, with Will a step behind. A surly group of Skaters stepped out of a classroom and crossed