Crush Culture [M.Wheeler]

[02] THE FREAKSHOW

"That's weird. I don't see him." Mike comments, noticing Will's absence.

"I'm telling you, his mom's right. He probably just went to class early again." Lucas says, trying to reason with the boy.

"Yeah, he's always paranoid Mr. Gursky's gonna give him another pop quiz." Nori nods.

"Step right up, ladies and gentlemen." The obnoxious voice of Troy sounds behind them, causing the four of them to turn around.

"Step right up and get your tickets for the freak show."

"Yeah, And which freak is gonna perform first? You or James?" Nori sasses, causing Dustin to let out a laugh, before Troy glares at him. Dustin coughs to cover it up, backing away behind his friend.

"Who do you think would make more money in a freak show?" Troy asks, nudging James. "Midnight, Frogface, Midget, or Toothless?" He asks, hitting each of them just above their shoulders.

James huffs, placing his hand on his chin as if he were thinking long and hard. "I'd go with Toothless." He grins, mimicking the boy's lisp.

"I told you a million times, my teeth are coming in. It's called cleidocranial dysplasia." Dustin explains frustratedly.

"I told you a million times." He mimics again. "Do the arm thing." Troy orders, pointing to Dustin. Dustin sighs, shaking his head.

"Do it, freak." James shouts. He slowly slips off his jacket, setting it down on the grass, before demonstrating, his bones cracking.

They both groan. "God, it gets me every time." Troy gags, pushing through lucas and Mike, while James shoves in between Dustin and Nori.

"Assholes." Lucas rolls his eyes.

"Tell me about it." Nori sighs.

"I think it's kinda cool. It's like you have superpowers or something. Like Mr. Fantastic." Mike says, attempting to lighten the mood.

"Yeah, except I can't fight evil with it." Dustin argues.

"That's not true, Dustin. Troy and James are pretty evil. It seemed to scare them away." Nori chimes in, wrapping an arm around the boy.

"They're not supervillains, they're just super douchebags." Dustin playfully rolls his eyes.

***

"Remember, finish chapter 12 and answer 12.3 on the difference between an experiment and other forms of science investigation. This will be on the test, which will cover chapters 10 through 12. It will be multiple choice with an essay question." Mr. Clarke trails off, watching as most of the students pile out into the hallways.

Once he turns back, he finds Dustin, Mike, Lucas, and Nori looking to him excitedly. "So, did it come?" Mike asks hopefully.

"Sorry, Kids. I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but..." he sighs, trailing off, leading them to believe it was bad news. "It came." He grins.

The three boys excitedly pile into the AV ro while Nori slowly follows behind them. "Yes!" Mike whispers, seating himself down in front of the radio.