Code Name

IX

Almost a week passes. I can still hear some murmurs about strategies eliminations, and bets from some of the seniors through the light beige walls. Although me and Becca aren't the main talk anymore, we've still gotten thirty more bucks in bets. As of late, eliminations have been slow. Everyone seemed to be working at a regular pace and trigger happy people have faded to the background for now. As of late, the others and I have sat on the black pyramid with eased minds. The only thing different from recent days about lunch is the small poster in Becca's grasp. She lets a small laugh out while still having a tint of disgust in her expression.

"Danny-boy," she says to me as i begin to take my seat beside her on the pyramid. "Check out this piece of crap." She extends the poster to me.

I look over the edgy font. and read it aloud:

Blonde before the Weekend. Live at The Apex Theatre. September 27th at 8. One night only. Autograph signing and after party following the show.

"Don't you think it's kinda weird for Mike to play at an adult club?"

Trent speaks up from the other side of Becca. "It's not really a club. The city built a community center with a stage, arcade, and everything else. Eventually, nobody showed up anymore. But then a guy, Mr. Kade took it over and revamped it into a young adult lounge. He kept the stage, put in a snack bar, some tables, and it just took off. Blonde before the Weekend has played there every other month. The one night only thing is just promotional bull shit."

Becca turns to him. "God. You're like a walking encyclopedia." She then takes the poster from my hand and crumples it to a ball. "Their music sucks anyway." Becca then tosses the paper across campus and away from our sight. "He's so stuck up."

"Who?" Nate asks from the lower step.

"Mike. Who else? He thinks he's hot shit. His music is generic. The lyrics are pretentious. They appeal to simple-minded assholes. Then Mike is just egotistical. He keeps saying that he's gotten four eliminations but it was all Josh while sitting in the background with his dumb guitar. He does nothing and hides behind Josh the whole time!"

"Speak of the devil," a voice chuckles to my left. All of us turn to see the giant that is Josh. Although he's on ground level, he's nearly face to face with Becca and the rest of us. His smile making him not seem as an opponent but as a long lost friend. "Hey, Becky-girl."

"Hi, we're here too," Tracy says.

"I wouldn't forget you guys. It's been a while but I kinda want to talk to Becca."

"I don't see why we should talk. We're not in an alliance. We have no reason to talk to each other. Sorry, Josh."

"Bec, I just want to talk. Plus, We're at school. There's no eliminating on campus. Please."

Becca is still for a moment. It's almost as if she's making a pros and cons list in her mind. I'm wondering what Josh would have to say to Becca, why he seems so anxious to talk about it, and why Becca is so reluctant to discuss anything.

Finally, Becca stands up and looks back at Tracy. "If something goes wrong, kick Mike in the nuts for me."

Tracy just laughs at this. "You'll be fine."

Becca then turns to me and leans over to give me a deep and heavy kiss.I quickly realize it's to show off in front of Josh. "See you in a few, Danny-boy." She then turns to Josh. "Let's go." The two of them walk towards the auditorium steps and away from us.

Tracy then turns to me, "You worried, Daniel?"

"Should i be?"

"I'm not sure what they had, but it was something big about a year ago. The two were inseparable. Somewhere down the line, they just stopped talking. Becca never talked about it and just kept her distance from Josh when she could. She didn't really avoid him, but she prefered not to be around him."

I turn over and see Josh wrapping his arms around Becca tightly with his head over her's. A slight cold wind travels up my spine. Nate then tries to snap me out of it.

"Hey, don't worry about it. Becca isn't like that. And, judging by that kiss, Josh has some stiff competition if he wants to get with her."

"Yeah," Tracy continues to try to lighten the mood. "Don't stress yourself out about it. We promise nothing will happen."

"It's okay,"

Tracy then sees through me. "Let's do something to take your mind off of it. Have you been to Lake Ankle yet?"

"Lake Ankle?"

Trent burst out yet again. "Lake Ankle. It's a swimming hole outside the city. It was a pretty big hot spot. The called it Lake Ankle because people had a fifty-fifty chance of breaking your legs if you jumped off the cliff. Birthday parties, barbeques, everything. It was all done at the picnic tables on top of one of the cliffs. People became hesitant to visit because of the assassins. People would hide in the bushes and spoil everyone's fun. If you want a fight, you go to Lake Ankle."

"Then let's go," Tracy said. "I'll send a message over the blog's forum and challenge people to come. We can get there early and sneak up on anyone who comes along."

"You think it'll be that easy?" Nate asks.

"She has a point," I say as I notice how much i actually want to go through with this. "We could get the jump on some guys and maybe earn some bets in the process. If things go south, we'll sneak out through the trees."

"Great," Tracy beams as the bell rings. "I'll tell them five over the forum so everyone be there by four."

"Got it," me and the rest of the guys say as we part our ways to get to class. I do my best not to look in Becca and Josh's direction.