Six Little Secrets(30)

Everyone shuffled inside, and Q’s mood darkened. He should have known that this wasn’t luck. It was a tease. He couldn’t take the bathroom pass to escape a second time.

He was the last of his class to enter the school. He took extra slow steps, so he was far behind his classmates. They were all inside when he heard his name.

He turned and came face to face with Curtis. What did he want? Q didn’t fall for Curtis’s persona like the rest of the school.

‘Can I help you?’ Q asked.

‘Quentin,’ Curtis said. ‘I saw you leaving class right before that fire alarm went off.’

Q shrugged. ‘So?’

Curtis glanced over his shoulder before turning back to Q. ‘Setting off the fire alarm is a serious offense.’

‘You think I did it?’ Q wasn’t stupid. He’d never pull the alarm. But he couldn’t help but smile. His reputation reached his teachers as well. Sweet.

‘Did you?’

Q lifted his chin and flashed the bathroom pass. ‘I had to pee.’

Curtis sighed. ‘I think you need to serve detention this weekend.’

‘For what?’ Q asked.

‘I think you could use some constructive time to think over your actions,’ he said.

He really didn’t want to get up early on the weekend, but it wasn’t as if he had anything better to do. Going to detention would tick his dad off, though.

‘Whatever,’ Q said. ‘Can I get back to class now?’

Q turned away and walked into class. He dropped the pass on Mr. Powell’s desk and headed to his seat. He caught Jackie’s hazel eyes, and they held steady for a second too long before her lip curled and she looked down at the quiz on her desk.

Detention. That wasn’t something he’d served in a while. Most of the time his teachers didn’t bother with the punishment. He couldn’t wait to see the look on his dad’s face. Maybe then he might pay some attention to his son.





CHAPTER FIFTEEN




Q



Saturday


Q clenched his jaw, keeping his cool. Everyone’s eyes were on him. When the slip had fallen out of his hands into the drawer, he had a feeling it was his turn. Call it intuition or the fact that it was inevitable. Either way, he wanted to succeed as Jackie did. She proved it was possible, even though she suffered for it. On any other day, watching her get knocked down a notch would have made him happy, but not this time. Jacob had put her in her place, and it wasn’t satisfying to watch.

What if she had a worse physical reaction? He remembered the first time Mom had an anaphylactic reaction in front of him. It had been terrifying. He was relieved that Jackie only suffered from a skin reaction and not something more serious.

‘Read it,’ Jackie said.

He looked at her. Really looked at her this time. He always thought she was pretty, but her attitude left a lot to be desired. Today was the most she’d ever spoken to him. He saw a strength and determination in her that made him want to succeed.

He flipped the slip around and read it aloud. ‘Fire burns everything around you. I want you to experience the heat first hand. Take a smoke break in the theater. This one’s on me.’

‘You smoke?’ Cece asked, wrinkling her nose.

Q rolled his eyes. ‘Sometimes.’

‘There’s no time limit on yours,’ Jackie said.

Q stood up from his seat. ‘There’s no reason to drag it out, though. Curtis is gone. This is the best chance I’ll get. I’ll be right back.’

‘What if Mr. Curtis comes back?’ Zoe asked.

‘Tell him I took my five-minute bathroom break,’ Q said. ‘I won’t be gone long.’

‘How do you know that?’ Jackie asked.

‘Because I won’t hesitate like the rest of you,’ Q said.

‘You should have someone come with you,’ Holly said. ‘To keep a lookout. I’ll go. I’m tired of looking at these yearbooks anyway.’

Holly stood, and Q nodded at her. He would have preferred Jackie to come with him, but she’d already taken part in her own task, it wouldn’t be fair to include her in another so soon.

‘Cover for me?’ Q said to the rest.

They nodded, agreeing to help. He turned away and thought how strange it had been for all of them to become a team as quickly as they did. He knew it wouldn’t last if they ever made it passed detention. It was a bond forged by convenience and survival.

A door at the back of the library gave access to a short hallway that led to the backstage of the theater.

Q set the pace for the both of them, moving down the hall quickly and silently. He was happy that Holly wasn’t wearing heels today as that annoying clacking would have given them away.

‘This is all crazy, right?’ Holly said. Her heavy breathing made it seem as if they were running instead of walking.

‘It needs to be over,’ Q said.

‘There’s only two left,’ Holly said.

‘After me,’ he said.

Q never stuck around school long enough to see it devoid of life. Even though they were quiet, their movements seemed much louder in the empty space.

Soon enough they reached the door to the backstage of the theater. Whoever brought them together into detention had wanted Q to be separate from the rest.