Silver by Cheree Alsop Page B

his fist. “You’re more than welcome.”
    I bumped his knuckles with my own.
“Thanks.”
    Nikki grabbed my arm after they drifted
away. “Chet’s gang normally doesn’t fight with knives. He’s not
that way.” Her eyes were serious, pleading for me to believe
her.
    I shrugged. “Maybe someone dropped it and I
rolled on it.” I swallowed my sarcastic tone at the worried look in
her eyes. “Don’t worry, I’m not going to get them in trouble or
anything. Besides, the Principal seems to think there’s something
funny about them anyway.”
    This time, her eyes tightened at the corners
and she looked away. “They can be dangerous, Jaze. You need to stay
away from them.”
    “ Why? What’s so dangerous
about them?” She stared at me, and I thought for a minute that she
was going to confess, but then someone yelled, ‘head’s up’, and we
both ducked to avoid the puck that flew past.
    After the mad scramble of hockey players
passed, Nikki looked down at her watch. “I’ve got to get home
before my parents miss me.”
    “ Your parents miss you?” I
asked.
    She slapped my shoulder and pulled me to my
feet. “Come on,” she said.
    I shook my head, shoving my hands in my
pockets. “Fine, I wouldn’t want your parents thinking you’d been
kidnapped or whatever the curfew is supposed to prevent.”
    She grinned at me and walked past the
tables. We said goodbye to a few of the students and promised to
return the next evening. My heart slowed when one of them mentioned
that they would be there every night but on a full moon.
    The walk home was quiet and uneventful.
There was no sign of the security guard when we crossed the parking
lot. The stars lit our path and gave a friendly hue to the midnight
shadows. Nikki and I climbed our fences and said quiet
goodbyes.
    I entered my empty house and sat on the
couch, thinking about Chet and his gang. There was something there,
something that wasn’t quite right, but I couldn’t put a finger on
it. I finally gave up and went to bed, leaving on a few lights for
Mom.
     
     

Chapter 8
     
    “ I need your help with
something,” I told Brock on the way to school the next
morning.
    His face lit up. “Anything, man. Just name
it!”
    A car passed us slowly, its windows tinted
too dark to see through. I watched until it turned the corner ahead
of us and drove out of sight. “I need to see some of the student
files.”
    Brock glanced at me, his expression curious.
“Sure. The Administrators have a meeting right after school and I
told them I’d watch the front desk. That’d be a good time.”
    “ Perfect,” I replied
distractedly. My attention was on the car again. It had circled the
block and then pulled to a stop at the curb on our side of the
street not far ahead.
    “ They leave me the keys and
it’ll be no problem. . .” he noticed I wasn’t paying attention and
followed my gaze. “Jaze, what’s up?”
    “ That car.” The passenger
side door opened and a man of medium build wearing a faded jean
jacket and a black baseball hat got out. My heart slowed. “Brock,
we’ve got to find another way to school.”
    I looked around, wondering if it was too
late for Brock to hide. Maybe he could go ahead and pretend he
wasn’t with me. I discarded the idea as quickly as it came. It was
too dangerous if they had already linked us together. The other
occupants stayed in the car, but I could see silhouettes of the
driver and two more men in the back seat. I fought to keep my
breathing even.
    The man in the baseball hat turned. We were
close enough to see the smile he gave that showed too many teeth. A
breeze brushed past him to us and I fought down the urge to
growl.
    “ Jaze, how fortunate to
meet you here!” he said. His tone was casual, but his eyes studied
me intently.
    “ Uncle Mason, what are you
doing here?” I forced the words out lightly despite the knot in my
throat. It was all I could do to keep my face expressionless, let
alone look happy to see