Beneath the Surface (On Hold)

Chapter 7

Drew...

Lexi and Jacob just srood there, in front of the computer lab door, not saying anything. Jacob looked like he was about to have a panic attack but Lexi just crossed her arms and looked at me defiantly.

"What we do is none of your business. " She said.

"Well it is if I decide that I want to go and tell Principal Johnson who snuck into the coputer lab." I said with a triumphant smile.

She just stared back, her face expressionless until she took a step forward and began talking, "And tell me, who would believe you? There aren't any security cameras in this hallway. You have no proof." She said.

"But tell me this, who would believe you? You're the troublemaker. They will always take my word over yours." I said. Check and mate.

"What's your price?" She asked, defeated. Jacob just stood there, his mouth open, staring daggers at Lexi but she didn't seem to notice.

"I want in." I said almost immediately. But then I thought about what I had just said for a second. Did I want in on whatever it was that Lexi and Jacob were doing? Did I want to risk getting into trouble, because by the looks of things that was a pretty big risk. And I realized, yes, I did want in. I wanted to be apart of something other than a sports team. I wanted to help.

"You can't ask me that. I'm doing this because he asked me to." She said gesturing to Jacob.

I looked at him and he thought for a minute. Then he nodded and said, "Yeah, you're in. But you need the whole story." He said.

"Let's go somewhere else for that." I said. And for the first time, they agreed.

We walked along the outskirts of the gym, staying out of the way of the girls that were playing.

"I have an idea," I said and led them out of the gym, into the lobby, and out onto the street, "there's a cafe down the street. It's usually busy, noisy. We can talk there." I started leading them down the street that for some strange reason, was almost completely empty. Lexi walked in between Jacob and I, Jacob closest to the street, all three of us completely silent.

When we reached the cafe Lexi walked in first and picked a table at the back. She brushed through her hair with her fingers, shaking out the loose snow that had fallen into it while we had been walking, and sat down at the table. Jacob and I sat down after her, both looking at her expectantly. She looked back and forth, from me, to Jacob, back to me, and then back to Jacob.

"What are you looking at me for?" She exclaimed, "It's your story, you tell it." She said looking at Jacob.

"All right here goes..." Jacob said taking a deep breath and then launchhing into the whole story. He told me everything. Even that he had blackmailed Lexi into doing this but she had eventually began to do it voluntarily. Then as the conclusion, Jacob told me what Lexi had shown him today in the computer lab, the address of the fireman that had been the first responder and chief to the fire

"So when are you guys going to find the firefighter?" I asked them.

"We haven't figured that out yet. You caught us before we could talk about it." Jacob said glancing at Lexi who wasn't even paying attention to the conversation, but looking out the window of the cafe.

I followed her gaze. She was looking at a kid that looked to be about my age, maybe Lexi's age. He had black hair like Lexi's just without the red dye and he had icy blue eyes instead of the electric and bright green color of Lexi's eyes. Otherwise, he and Lexi could have been twins. She was looking at him and he was looking at her. But he was smiling like he knew a secret.