In school on Friday morning, Alex and Lacie were quiet. Lacie's usually laughter and jokes were gone and she was serious for once in her life. The sarcastic, I-can-do-anything smirk had faded from Alex's face. Christina saw them in the halls and glanced warily at them before walking to the senior wing for her first period class.
I knew what happened last night at the police station. I can't imagine what I would do if I ever got in police trouble. My parents would kill me, for one thing, and for another I would probably start crying or something. Imperfections aren't something I handle well.
I took my History binder out of my locker and slammed it shut, walking down the junior hall. History was all the way on the other side of the building. I walked with my head down. I didn't feel like getting jumped because some Columbus guy thought I gave him a funny look or something.
"Elle!" I heard a voice behind me.
"Oh, hey, Derek." I said, looking up. Derek was Caleb's older brother, tall and dark haired and tough.
"Hey." He fell into step next to me.
"How are you doing?" I asked.
"Not great." He answered truthfully. "Then again, who is?"
I nodded in agreement. "Is Caleb out today? He wasn't in home room this morning." Caleb wasn't just my crush. He was my friend.
Derek's face darkened. "Caleb's in the hospital, Ellie." His eyebrows furrowed. "I'm surprised nobody told you."
I stopped walking abruptly, feeling like I had been punched somewhere in the stomach. "Why?" I asked. "What happened?"
"Some guys got him pretty bad." Derek's eyes were angry. "They broke his arm and he got some deep cuts. They had a knife on them."
"Why didn't anyone tell me?" I shivered thinking about it. "I have to go see him." I said abruptly. "Right now."
"Elle, we're in school. We have class..."
"I need to go see him. You still have your truck, don't you?"
"Yeah." Derek shrugged.
"Come on. Please, Derek." I said pleadingly. "I want to go talk to him."
He seemed conflicted for a few seconds, but finally shook his head as if in defeat. "Alright, let's go." We turned around and walked to the fire escape window in the hall. Derek cracked open the window and let me slide out onto the fire escape. He followed, and we swung down from the second story from the rusted wrought iron escape stairs. I had never cut class like this before---I usually left that to Lacie and Alex---and it was exhilarating and strange to escape from the school.
We crossed the parking lot, my heart pounding in my chest, and climbed into Derek's rusty pickup truck. He cranked the key in ignition and it roared to life. We pulled out of the school parking lot and sped away down the Main Street. I twisted my hands in my lap nervously.
Caleb had been my friend since middle school. Last year I had starting liking him as, you know, something more. He was in band with me. He was one of the tough guys, and sometimes he seemed like a bit of an asshole, but he was really nice once you got to know him. He was great. And now he was hurt because of the Columbus gang. It made me angry that they did that to us, that they could hurt even tough guys, and they did it just because they could.
"I hate the Columbus gang." I said out loud. "I really fucking hate them." The swear word sounded weird coming out of my mouth. I didn't usually curse and the word "fuck" didn't sound right coming from my mouth. But it made me sound like I really meant it. Maybe that's why my friends cursed. It made people believe them.
