Blood Bath

Chapter 10

Colton stopped at his locker and looked for Lacie. She stood next to her locker and waved for him to come to her. He grinned and walked down the hall, stopping in front of her. His face was a few inches from hers.

"Well?" she asked.

"Do I get a kiss?" he asked.

She smile and kissed him on the forehead. "Like that?" she asked.

"No. Like this," he said as he kissed her lips.

"Oh. Yes! That's nice, Colton. So, how was your paper route this morning?" she asked.

Colton leaned back against the wall of lockers and said, "Interesting. I think I might have witnessed a robbery, and I talked to Tony Lopez, the illegal immigrant kid I helped last month. Tony says he needs my help again. Someone kidnapped his grandmother in Mexico as a way to force his dad to drop charges against the creep who tried to molest his sister. I'm not sure how I can help him. As for the robbery, I'm not certain that's what I witnessed so I didn't call the police. I don't always have to get involved."

"But if you saw a robbery, you should have called the police," responded Lacie with a puzzled look on her face. "Why would you think it was correct to avoid reporting a robbery to the police?"

"Because every time I call them when I'm on my route, it seems like I'm the one who gets criticized. I get in trouble and have to explain to everyone what I did and prove to them I didn't do what they think I did. Earlier this morning I did report the robbery to your Uncle Ned. He said he would look into it and thanked me for keeping my eyes open."

Colton had convinced himself that he took the right action by not calling the police to report the robbery, but now Lacie was questioning his actions. "You think I should have tried to stop them? You know, I would have waited an hour for the police to arrive. By the time the police got there, the crooks would have already left and I would have to convince the police I wasn't drunk or on drugs. Lacie, I can't win!"

"Awe, I think you need a hug, Colton," she said as she put her arms around his shoulders. "Everything will be OK. I'm just glad you called Uncle Ned."

"I also needed to talk to the police about Tony Lopez. His family is being blackmailed. Bill Smittwell, the guy who was keeping all the immigrants in his farmhouse, is out of jail and he's back to his old tricks."

"Hey, lovebirds, take it outside," chided Seth, as he approached the couple. "You know you're not supposed to be touching each other in the hallways. I think it's a school rule."

"You're just jealous, Seth," said Lacie, as she pulled her arms away from Colton. "I have to make my way down the hall for my first hour class. So now you boys can play by yourselves. Have fun in Bad Axe."

"Bye, Lacie," said Colton. "I'll text you when I find out what's happening with the old lady."

"That reminds me, Seth. We have to go to the office to get a permission slip to leave our second hour class."

The two walked down the halls toward the school office. As they walked, it seemed like everyone wanted to give Colton a high-five, or congratulate him. It's nice being a star football player, he thought.

The first bell rang, just as Colton and Seth walked into the office. Miss Downer, the school secretary, handed the two a permission slip to leave early. "I'm sure this is what you boys want," she said. "Now, get to class or you'll need a late pass too."

***

When Colton entered Mr. Sellerman's classroom, he handed him the permit to leave early.