Just Another Hero Read online

  Then, when darkness had dropped, Grendel

  Went up….….….

  ….….….…The monster’s

  Thoughts were as quick as his greed or his claws:

  He slipped through the door and there in the silence

  Snatched up thirty men, smashed them

  Unknowing in their beds and ran out with their bodies,

  The blood dripping behind him, back

  To his lair, delighted with his night’s slaughter.

  In the middle of her presentation, the classroom door burst open and a cold wind whooshed through the room. A few kids jumped, half-expecting, perhaps, the fiend Grendel to appear.

  Standing in the doorway, a toothpick hanging from the side of his lips, a sneer on his face, was not a monster, however. It was Eddie Mahoney, who had spent most of last year at a juvenile detention center. Dana stifled a scream.

  Wearing an oversize black T-shirt and baggy jeans, Eddie looked around the room as if daring someone to say something. But even Mrs. Witherspoon was speechless.

  “It’s been a while, Eddie,” she finally said, jumping off the table and removing the crown. To the rest of the class, she said, “You guys go ahead and work on your PowerPoint presentations on Beowulf. You know what to do.”

  Kofi had no intention of doing any classwork. He slid over to Dana’s table and sat down next to her. He took her right hand in his—it was shaking. He bent close. “Don’t you worry, Dana. If Eddie Mahoney so much as looks at you the wrong way, I swear I’ll kill him.”

  “Don’t talk like that, Kofi!” Dana whispered anxiously.

  “I’ll hurt him bad. I’m not gonna let him touch you. I promise,” Kofi swore.

  “I got your back, too,” added Jericho, leaning across the table. “Big-time.”

  “You think he blames me that he got sent away?” she whispered. “It was my testimony that convicted him.”

  “He deserved all he got and more!” Kofi whispered fiercely. “He hurt you!”

  November sat on the other side of Dana, squeezing her left hand.

  Kofi leaned forward to hear what Eddie and the teacher were saying.

  “So, Eddie,” Mrs. Witherspoon began, looking at the papers he had handed her. “It seems you had some good teachers up there at the center. I’m surprised they sent you back to this school, however. Usually a new school is preferable.” She typed some information into her computer. Kofi thought she looked nervous.

  “I asked to come back here. I told them all my friends were here.” He laughed his gravelly laugh, but there was no humor in it.

  “Well, as you can see, we’re in the middle of Beowulf,” Mrs. Witherspoon told him, “and I—”

  “I already read it while I was in lockup. Macbeth and Hamlet, too. I like those old stories. Everybody dies at the end.” His eyes never left the teacher’s face.

  “Well, I absolutely refuse to allow any trouble in my classroom, Eddie. Do you understand me?” Mrs. Witherspoon was short, and Eddie towered over her, but it was clear she meant business.

  He nodded as if she amused him. “No sweat, Spoon. I just wanna get my credits so I can graduate.”

  Kofi noticed that when most kids called her “Spoon,” it was a term of endearment for the teacher who would loan a kid lunch money or help a girl buy that prom dress she couldn’t quite afford. But in Eddie’s mouth the nickname sounded somehow disrespectful…dirty.

  Eddie took a seat near Osrick, who looked like he was about to throw up. His coat was back on.

  Eddie ignored him, took out two pencils from his book bag, and began to beat the erasers on the desk top in a soft, steady rhythm. Bop-boppa-bop-bop. Rop-doppa-dop-dop. Bop-boppa-bop-bop. Rop-doppa-dop-dop.

  He did it quietly, yet it was maddeningly annoying. Kofi felt like grabbing the pencils and shoving them down Eddie’s throat.

  As if he could sense Kofi’s thoughts, Eddie turned and looked at him. Then he set his gaze on Dana.

  ARIELLE

  CHAPTER 7

  TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 8

  ARIELLE HATED THE SCHOOL LUNCHROOM. It was always hot and sweaty and smelled of vegetable soup and old french fry grease, regardless of what had been cooked that day. Last year, when Jericho had been pledging to get into the Warriors of Distinction, she’d hung with November and Dana at lunch. November had been dating Josh, Dana and Kofi had been tight since birth, it seemed, and she had Jericho. They’d giggled together and swapped clothes and shoes and stories about the guys.

  But this year was all different. Jericho was hooked up with his honey bear Olivia, Josh was gone, and the girls avoided her. She didn’t blame them. It took her a while, but in the end she realized she’d been a real bitch—there was no nicer word to describe it. She knew she deserved the cold shoulders they gave her.

  She’d broken up with several boyfriends since then, and, even though she figured she had to be one of the cutest girls in the school, nobody was clogging up her cell phone to ask her out.

  It’s senior year, and I’m going to be home playing Scrabble with my mother instead of going to the prom, she thought miserably, grabbing a salad and juice box and heading to the empty table where she usually sat.

  “Hey, Arielle!”

  She turned to see who was calling her.

  “Over here!” November waved from two tables over. “You gonna eat, or what?”

  Is she serious? Arielle couldn’t believe her ears. Still, she walked over to where November sat with Dana and Olivia, trying to look casual, daring to feel hopeful. She stood there, hesitating, holding her tray in front of her.

  “Well, sit down. Don’t just stand there lookin’ all ghetto-fabulous,” Dana said with a smile. “I really like your outfit,” she added.

  “Thanks,” said Arielle quietly, sliding onto the cafeteria bench. “I got it on sale at T.J. Maxx.”

  “My favorite place to shop!” November said. “I need new clothes like a madman! Nothing fits me anymore!”

  “Aren’t you tired of sitting by yourself at lunch every day?” Dana asked Arielle.

  “Yes, but I just figured…” Her voice trailed off, and she looked away.

  “Get over it, and get over yourself,” Olivia said. “I ain’t mad at you—or anybody else these days.”

  “I’m really sorry, Olivia,” Arielle began.

  “I said, get over yourself,” Olivia repeated emphatically. “If I had wanted to hurt you, I woulda sat on your skinny little behind a long time ago.” She laughed, then stopped when she saw the look on Arielle’s face. “Relax, girlfriend. Life goes on. So, anybody seen Crazy Jack today?”

  “He came to art class,” said Dana. “He wasn’t acting any goofier than usual.”

  “Maybe we ought to get him a chemistry tutor—at least until the weather gets warmer,” November said. “My first day back and I spent it outside in the cold. I coulda done that at home!”

  “Uh, how’s the baby, November?” Arielle asked. She nibbled uneasily at her food. She kept waiting for them to try to pay her back for all the horrible things she’d done to them last year—like throwing spaghetti on Olivia or talking bad about the pregnant November, or just for thinking she was all that. The list went on and on in Arielle’s mind.

  “Sunshine is doing really great. Of course, sometimes she decides that three a.m. is playtime, so I’m always sleepy.” November rubbed her eyes.

  “Can I see a picture?” Arielle asked shyly. She realized she was probably one of the only kids in their class who hadn’t even had a glimpse of the baby yet. She’d almost thrown five years of friendship down the drain.

  But November happily whipped out her photo album. Arielle was stunned at how pretty the baby was. Even though she was tiny, shades of Josh could be seen in her face and smile.

  “She’s so beautiful,” said Arielle in a reverential whisper.

  “Yeah, I’m pretty proud,” November said, beaming. “And she’s a really good baby, which is great since my mother says the baby is my responsibili
ty, so I’m the one who has to get up at night to feed her and change her. I’m the one who has to buy her formula and clothes and diapers.”

  “Your mom doesn’t help you?” Arielle asked in disbelief.

  “Tough love, she calls it,” November explained. “It was my choice to come back to school to try to graduate, and my job to find a place for the baby to stay and the money to pay for it.”

  “Deep,” said Arielle.

  “That reminds me,” Dana said. “You heard from Josh’s parents lately? I know they gave up trying to adopt the baby, but do they see her or help you at all?”

  November made a face. “Not much. They only wanted her if she was healthy, and when she wasn’t, they disappeared.”

  “That’s so crazy. They were breakin’ down your door with lawyers and money when you were pregnant, and now…”

  “They’ve only been to see her once. They didn’t stay long, and neither of them would pick her up. It was so weird. Mr. Prescott tried to give me some money, but I wouldn’t take it. I mean, c’mon. How lame is that?”

  “Good for you!” Arielle said, hoping she sounded positive and encouraging. She felt like a foreigner at the table.

  “So, who’s your latest honey, Arielle?” November asked. “I’ve been out of the loop for a few months. I have no idea who’s hooked up with who.”

  “Nobody, actually,” Arielle admitted. “I think the boys around here put my name on a ‘Do Not Call’ list.” She shrugged. “But that’s fine with me. I guess I’ve got a lot of bridges to rebuild.”

  Arielle glanced at Olivia, then looked away.

  After a moment Olivia said, changing the subject, “Everybody’s getting college letters, seems like. You decided where you’re going?”

  Arielle breathed out slowly, thankful the conversation had turned. “I applied to Stanford and Cornell and a couple of schools here in Ohio, but I haven’t heard anything yet. What about you?”

  “I’ve applied to a few places with rockin’ marching bands and great pre-med programs. I should know something real soon,” Olivia replied.

  “I’m going to Florida A&M,” Dana said with attitude. “I’m gonna love that Florida sun. They got a dynamite political science program. Dana the Wolfe for the defense, Your Honor. My client is innocent!”

  “I’d be scared to be the lawyer for the other side,” Olivia joked. “You can be fierce, girlfriend.”

  Dana sat taller on the lunch bench. Arielle noticed a glint of pride in her eyes. “You’re already accepted?” she asked, a little surprised.

  “Yep. Early decision. Grants and loans in place. Feels great to have that worry off me. All I gotta do is pack.”

  “What about Kofi?” asked November.

  “He’s gotta find a way to pay for MIT, but he’s filled out lots of scholarship applications. Something will come through for him. It’s just got to.”

  “Does it worry you that you won’t be at the same school?” Arielle asked her.

  “It looks like we’re gonna need good cell phone plans,” Dana replied with a shrug.

  “What about you, November?” asked Arielle.

  November sighed. “Maybe you’ll get my spot at Cornell. That’s where I was headed until I got pregnant. For now, I hope I can enroll in a couple of evening classes at Cincinnati State, but lots will depend on Sunshine’s health and my job. Right now I’d just love to have some clothes that fit!” Her laugh fell flat.

  “Well, maybe we can all take November shopping this weekend,” Dana suggested. “You want to come, Arielle?”

  “That’d be cool,” Arielle said, trying really hard to hide how happy she was to be included once more.

  “So what’s up with Eddie?” November asked Dana. “How’d they let him back here?”

  Dana stiffened. “After he burned me with that wire hanger and dipped my head in pee, I hoped I’d never have to see him again.”

  “I guess you don’t get life in prison for hazing a kid during pledge stunts,” Olivia reasoned.

  “Too bad,” said Dana, her eyes hard.

  “What happens now?” Arielle wondered.

  Dana thought for a moment. “I’m not sure. I thought being the only girl to pledge the Warriors of Distinction would be the straight-up highlight of my high school career. But it turned into a total disaster.”

  “Are you scared now that he’s back in school?” Olivia asked.

  “No. Angry.” She drummed her fingers on the table.

  “You’ll be a great lawyer,” November told Dana.

  “I know.”

  Trying to fill the uncomfortable silence that followed, Arielle spoke up. “Hey, I want to show you all something. I got that new iPhone for my birthday last week. My stepfather got it for me.” She dug down into her book bag.

  “I so want one of those!” Olivia said. “They are, like, way cool. They do everything—Internet and e-mail and all the music in the world as well. But it will be ancient and obsolete by the time I ever get one.”

  Arielle continued to dig in her bag.

  “Yeah, like those old-time ugly black phones with cords and dials,” November added with a laugh.

  “Or those old typewriters that you had to put paper into, then roll the paper down each time you wanted to start a new line,” Dana said. “My mom still has one of those in the basement.”

  “Or record players that required a needle that scratched in the grooves of a giant big black record that turned around and around,” said Olivia.

  The three girls laughed, but Arielle looked worried as she dumped the entire contents of both her book bag and her purse onto the lunch table.

  She sorted through lip gloss and makeup and nail polish and pens and hair ribbons. She tossed her wallet, her keys, a calculator, a small bottle of cologne spray, and an apple out of the way. She stacked four notebooks, three textbooks, an assignment pad, and her laptop in front of them. Both bags were empty, with only crumbs from an old cookie wrapper left inside one of them. There was no iPhone.

  “It’s not here!” Arielle cried out when everything was spread out on the table.

  “Maybe you left it at home,” Olivia suggested.

  Arielle was near tears. “No, I listened to it this morning during study hall while I was writing some stuff on my laptop. The earphones are here, but the iPhone is gone! My stepfather is gonna kill me! He told me not to bring it to school!”

  November, in a calming voice, said, “Let’s think backward. When did you last see it?”

  Arielle’s face had turned a hot pink. “First bell.”

  “You’ve had four classes since then—which ones?” Olivia asked.

  “Uh, math, art, chemistry, and world history,” she said, her hands shaking. “Do you know how much he paid for that thing? My life is over!” She picked up a notebook and shook it, just in case the iPhone had wedged itself between the pages.

  “Do you put your book bag on the back of your desk, or under it?” asked Dana.

  “Usually behind me.” She paused. “Do you think someone took it?”

  “Well, let’s figure out who sits behind you in each class,” November reasoned.

  “I don’t know! I can’t think!” Arielle cried out. “Wait. In math, it’s Roscoe Robinson. He’s actually in my chemistry class too, but he sits on the other side of the room in there. He’s cool, even though I think he copies my math papers. But he wouldn’t have taken it—he told me he got one for Christmas.”

  “Lucky dude,” Olivia said. “What about art class?”

  “We put our bags on a shelf on one side of the room. They’re in full view of everybody all the time.”

  “Okay, what about chemistry—you got Pringle, right?” Dana asked. “Who sits behind you in there?”

  “Kofi,” she said, looking away.

  Dana inhaled. “Hey, look, my Kofi is scrapin’ quarters together right now, but he’s no thief,” she snapped.

  “Oh, I know that, Dana! I wasn’t implying…” Her heart sank even fu
rther—she didn’t want to make Dana mad at her on the day she decided to reach out and make up.

  Dana looked at her sharply. “Just so we’re straight.”

  Arielle nodded vigorously. “Let’s see—today Miss Pringle had us doing labs, trying to make up the time we lost during the fire drill. Everybody was out of their seats, walking around most of the period.”

  “That’s not good. It could have been anybody.”

  “So that just leaves world history. Who sits behind you in there?” asked Olivia.

  “Osrick Wardley.” Arielle’s thoughts flashed to Osrick lying stripped and humiliated, Osrick huddled in his coat. She really hoped the poor guy wasn’t the thief.

  ARIELLE

  CHAPTER 8

  TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 8

  ARIELLE STUFFED EVERYTHING BACK INTO her book bag. “I’m going to report this to the principal.” She hesitated, and then looked at the girls who had extended that thin thread of friendship. She wasn’t sure how far to test it. “Will you come with me? Please?” she added.

  “We’re here for you, girlfriend,” Dana said, as if speaking for the group. “Let’s go.”

  “Thank you. You don’t know how much this means to me.” She was near tears. She hoped they didn’t notice.

  “You think it was Weird Osrick?” November asked as they stood to leave. “I’ve known him since sixth grade. He’s a little different, but I’ve never known him to steal anything.”

  “He likes electronic stuff—maybe it was too much of a temptation,” Arielle said slowly, thinking it through.

  “Osrick could probably build an iPhone from bubble gum and batteries if he wanted to,” said Olivia. “The kid is a genius. I heard his IQ is pushin’ something like two hundred.”

  “All I know is he was probably the last to see it, and now it’s gone,” Arielle said as they got to the principal’s office. The thought made her increasingly uncomfortable.

  “You’re not a hundred percent sure of that, Arielle,” Olivia said, voicing Arielle’s very thoughts.