Don't Get Caught(46)

“I’m not sure, but we can’t let him get away.”

“Why?”

“Because he’s about to bust Wheeler.”





Chapter 16


Being right sucks.

Ellie and I watch from behind a locker as Stranko goes into Mr. Fleiger’s room and escorts a stone-faced Wheeler to his office with Mr. Fleiger following.

“What do you think he did?” Ellie says.

The possibilities:

a. Wheeler got caught planning a prank.

b. Wheeler got caught pulling a prank.

c. Wheeler got caught cheating.

d. Wheeler got caught with Stranko’s phone.

e. All of the above.

Everyone knows when you don’t know the answer you’re supposed to choose C, but in this case, I fear it’s D.

“We need to let the others know,” I say. “If this is all about to go to hell, they need to be prepared, maybe even leave the country.”

Heist Rule #18: Protect your crew.

Ellie sends a text to Adleta and Malone, and we take up surveillance in the lobby, sitting on a ratty couch across from the receptionist’s desk. While we wait, Mrs. Wheeler comes through the front doors and heads straight for Stranko’s office. It’s not two minutes before Adleta and Malone show up, walking and talking together as they approach. No chance this scene would have happened a year ago. Funny how that happens.

“Anything yet?” Adleta asks.

“They’re still in there,” I say. “Wheeler’s mom just showed up.”

“But we don’t know why?” Malone says.

“No, but it can’t be good.”

We all stare pointlessly at the office for a few seconds, as if the answer will suddenly appear on the glass.

“By the way, nice prank, Ellie,” Malone says. “Suicidal Zippy should be the cover of the yearbook.”

Adleta says, “People in my homeroom were going crazy. Even Mrs. Bross was laughing.”

“Thanks, guys. Max deserves some of the credit too. He took the pictures.”

I scowl and wave off the recognition.

“What’s wrong with you?” Malone says.

“This isn’t going to end well.”

“Seriously? You’re such a Debbie Downer. You don’t know why they’re in there. For all you know, Wheeler called Fleiger an *.”

“No, Stranko’s onto us.”

I tell them about going to film Stranko in his office and his asking me what I know about his missing phone.

“And you denied it, right?” Malone says.

“Of course.”

“Then that’s all you need to do.”

“That’s not the point. He suspects us. We need to be careful.”

It’s another ten minutes before Stranko’s door opens and Wheeler and his mom come out. Wheeler struts like he doesn’t care about whatever just happened, but his mom looks just the opposite, even pointing an angry finger back toward Stranko’s office.

“Man, she’s pissed,” Adleta says.

“No Stranko though. That’s a good sign for us,” Ellie says.

I give Wheeler a low whistle that draws his attention.

“Any bets?” Adleta says.

“I’ll go with cheating,” Malone says.

She’s probably right. But considering all the work he’s been doing lately to turn things around, the thought makes me feel like the world’s worst friend.

“Hey, guys,” Wheeler says.

“Hey, guys? That’s it?” Malone says. “What happened?”

“Fleiger accused me of cheating, and I called him a dick.”

Malone looks at us with I-told-you-so eyes.

“So why does he think you cheated?” Ellie says.

“Because I got a B on his stupid exam.”

“He knows that already?”

“Yeah, it was a Scantron test.”

Ah, the Scantron, the lazy teacher’s test format. So easy a chimp can grade it.

“The thing is, I didn’t cheat,” Wheeler says. “I studied my ass off for that exam. It’s not my fault that for review, Fleiger read off every question straight from the test. I just wrote them all down.”

“Did you tell him that?” Ellis asks.

“Yeah, and all he could say is there was no way I could do that well after screwing around all semester. Finally, I just lost it.”

“And called him a dick,” Malone says.

“A shriveled dick, but yeah.”

“So what happened in the office?”

“Mom took my side, of course. She knows how much I’ve been studying. By the end of the meeting, she wanted to call both of them dicks too.”

“You mean shriveled dicks,” Adleta says.

“The thing is I don’t blame Fleiger for accusing me. It’s not like I have the cleanest record. But Stranko really pushed that I was cheating and even called Mrs. Nally to grade my first-period exam and let me know how I did. He’s really after me. Now I have to take a different exam from Fleiger tomorrow. You just know he’s going to make it impossibly hard so I fail.”

“How’s that fair?” Malone says.

“Stranko called it a ‘compromise.’ I think he was just trying to get my mom out of the office before she put him through the wall.”