Lost Game Notes (Novel)

Chapter 9: Deals And Directions

 Alex ducked around the school halls, tightening his grip on the straps of his backpack. He was sure he had seen someone following him, and he needed to get away as quickly as possible.

Last night he had come up with a risky solution to the problem of loosing Jude's drugs. Alex would never admit it, but he was nervous of what Jude might do if six pm arrived that evening and found him empty-handed.

That led him to his grand idea. He had some money saved, the stash that neither Lawrence nor Dawn knew about. The stash he had hidden in a box behind a slat in his wall that slid upwards after some prying. If he ever needed to run away, which he had seriously considered multiple times, he had something to tide him over.

Alex wasn't sure how much five ounces of meth cost, but he was sure the money he had taken that morning was enough.

The excessively large, red-headed boy named Elmo wasn't a likely person you would pin as a drug peddler. Alex wouldn't have found out himself if he hadn't seen Elmo negotiating at the back of the school with another student.

Alex had agreed to meet Elmo behind the school building five minutes after school ended. But first, he needed to loose whoever was following him. He didn't have much time. He took a detour around the halls, merging into a throng of students and pausing at his locker to retrieve some books he didn't need. He stepped through the doors without a sound, his shoulders slumping when he heard footsteps clattering down the hall.

"Hey, Alex!" A girl's voice chirped.

Alex looked over his shoulder. The girl was short, her round eyes like two bright headlights searching his soul. Two long, auburn braids graced her shoulders.

"What?" Alex groused with venom.

The girl rocked on her heels, seemingly unaffected by his sharp voice. "I'm Erin, the new girl. I noticed you walk home alone and was wondering if I could walk with you. My house is not far, just on the street beyond yours."

"No, I don't think so." Alex felt almost satisfied when Erin's expression crumpled.

She shrugged her lean shoulders. "I suppose some other day, then." She turned and began to walk away.

Alex didn't stop her. She could go and waste her time on some other boy. Jude, even. He didn't care one bit. Especially not now, not now when he was running late. He jogged around the school and spotted Elmo right away, perched on a short brick wall, munching on candy. There wasn't much room for expression on his face, but what was there was sour.

"What took you so long?" He asked, his British accent prominent, stubby brows drawing together as if to enhance his question.

"Like that matters to you," Alex replied in a huff. "You should be glad in buying some of your stuff."

Elmo lifted his double chin, his eyes as far from each other as the east is from the west fixed on Alex. "We agreed to meet five minutes after school. Ten has passed."

Alex feigned a surprised look, quickly back-pedaling. Surprising. Is seemed like Elmo wasn't one who wouldn't succumb so easily to Alex's foxy ways. Alex would have to tread carefully. "I just ran into some trouble, is all."

Elmo grunted. "Well, we've got to make this snappy. You said you needed some meth. How much?"

"Five ounces."

Elmo nodded, then dug a hand into the front of his pants.

Alex stared slack-jawed. "What the heck are you doing?"

"The best place, mate." His small eyes crinkled as he grinned at Alex's expression. "No one suspects anything, unless they stare for too long."

Alex was about to turn away, then squared his shoulders and steeled himself. He had a deadline to meet and no clue as to what exactly Jude had up his sleeve.

"How many bucks?" Alex asked.

"Eighty dollars," Elmo promptly replied. "And I'm cheap."

Alex felt his face scowl. "That's way too much. I'll pay fifty." He had brought a hundred, but who said he needed to spend it all, especially when he could save some?

Elmo shook his head. "It's either you take it or leave it."

Alex inhaled sharply. This pig was unbelievable— no, too confident. Clenching his teeth, he turned away to retrieve the money from the inner pocket of his hoodie, but a folded piece of paper fell out instead. He handed the wad of crisp dollar notes to Elmo, then stooped to pick it up. He curled the paper in a fist and gingerly accepted the bag of meth, dropping it into his backpack with a shiver. "You should find a better place to keep this stuff," he grouched.

"I found the best place a long time ago, I told you." Elmo grunted with the effort of scooting off the short brick wall.

Alex knew it was no use arguing with him. Besides, this was the first and last time he was doing business with the bloke. He was beginning to turn away, about to unfold the note, when Elmo said,

"I'll be expecting to do business with you again, sometime soon. You don't complain about the price like the rest of them. You're lucky your father is a lawyer."

Alex continued down the side walk. Elmo didn't need to know how wrong his was. He unfolded the note and glanced over the crooked, shimmering pink ink. It was the note he had forgotten to read yesterday after hurriedly stashing it away.

A thought occurred to Alex. What if one, or any of the notes were found by someone else? What if he lost one of them? He had to take better care of the notes if it meant finding his damn sister, stupid enough to go traipsing off into the unknown at a time like this... When Alex did find her, however, he was going to give her a good, long lecture even he would get weary off.

Thinking of finding Dawn, he was getting closer to doing so. Friday, Saturday and Sunday had whizzed by, and now Monday was almost over. Three more days to go, totaling seven days, and she should be back—or so she had written into the letter.

Alex unfolded the note and saw a number four at the top. He wondered how many notes there actually were. If three days passed by and he hadn't found all the notes, how could he find wherever she was? There must be only a few notes left.

He tried to read the words, which were smudged almost beyond recognition:

Behind rival residence
Below the bare tree
Open up a door
A big reveal you'll see

Once again, Alex wished Dawn had told him face to face all the secrets she knew, instead of sending him on a crazy goose chase. But that was obviously what Dawn wanted. At least she had given directions, never mind that there were a thousand bare trees in Juniper Hills. Nonetheless, rival residence sounded accurately like Jude's house.

Alex stopped dead in his tracks. Jude's house, of all the places in Juniper Hills!

Now he wanted to tear his hair out. Sighing in frustration, he slumped against the trunk of a tree and closed his eyes, kneading his palms against them. Sky's face flashed in his mind, the fear in his dim, grey eyes haunting; the same fear buried deep within Alex, underneath layers of thick skin.

Would he ever get Sky to understand how much he cared? He was always putting his own feelings above that of Sky's, too scared to be vulnerable, too scared to share in Sky's grief.

A buzz in his pocket jarred Sky's expressionless face from Alex's mind, and he straightened, pulling out phone. The caller ID on the screen said Lawrence. He picked it up.

"Hullo?"

The line was quiet for a moment at the other end before Lawrence spoke. "Are you still at school, Alexander?"

Lawrence always corrected Alex's impoliteness. Why not this time? "Why?"

"I'm having a guest over for dinner, and I'd like you to meet them." He paused. "Can you make it in ten minutes? I'm sure school is over by now."

"I suppose." An idea struck Alex, and he added, "Make that fifteen."

Hesitation again. "Fine. But you must be here by then." Lawrence's voice sounded taut.

"Yeah." Alex hung up and put his phone away. He glanced at his watch. The note clearly stated where the next one was, and if he was quick, he might just have enough time to find it—behind Jude's house, that was.