The Scavengers Strike Back

by Marcus Emerson

  Victor leaned to the side to get a better look at the storage garage door. ‘What’ve you got in there?’

  ‘Nothing,’ I said quickly. I didn’t want Victor to know about the entryway. ‘I was just, um … practising some … dance moves …’

  Nailed it.

  ‘Dance moves, huh?’ Victor asked. ‘Whatever, dude.’

  From the look on his face, I could tell he totally bought it. I stepped around the leader of the Scavengers, ending our conversation.

  As I walked towards the school, I expected Victor to shout at me, the same way Wyatt did whenever I turned my back on him, but Victor didn’t. He was different from Wyatt, and that terrified me.

  My phone vibrated in my front pocket. I unlocked it and saw one unread message from Brody Valentine.

  Not sure when you’ll get 2 school, but if u have time, I’m in the library. Find me. It’s important.

  Pushing my phone back into my pocket, I felt a chill run all the way to my toes. Hopefully Brody had good news. I really needed some good news.

  I turned to look back at the garage, to see if Victor was still there, but he wasn’t. He was gone.

  Five minutes later, I was in the library, keeping an eye out for any library zombies that might’ve been in there. You know the type – kids who hang out in the library to study, but instead text their friends, obsess over their online profiles, and watch videos of kittens so adorable it turns their brains to mush.

  Luckily for me, it was too early for library zombies. The library was mostly empty, except for the librarian and a few teachers sipping coffee and reading news on their laptops.

  Brody was the only student in the library, sitting at a gigantic table by himself, studying a bunch of photos spread out in front of him.

  ‘Valentine,’ I said menacingly.

  ‘Cooper,’ Brody replied. He tried spinning his chair like an evil villain, but the chair didn’t spin. Instead, he just gripped the sides and leaned his body far enough that the chair bobbed back and forth until finally facing me. Instead of looking like a villain, he looked like a bobble-head.

  ‘Whassup?’ I asked, taking a seat across from him.

  ‘Good news!’ Brody said with a smile, but then his smile turned into a frown. ‘Then bad news, and then I think even worse news …’

  ‘Nice,’ I sighed.

  Brody slid a stack of photos across the table to me. ‘After we found out that part of the security video had been deleted, I searched a bunch of other video feeds to see if any other cameras saw anything.’

  I pulled the photos closer. They were screenshots from another video he must’ve found. The timestamp in the corner showed that each photo was about three seconds apart. The one on top was of the empty lobby, after the kid with the fake tattoos had broken the statue.

  ‘Those are from a camera further down the hall,’ Brody explained. ‘The video is zoomed in, but it’s still too far away to see the kid’s face, but … there’s more.’

  I flipped through the stack of photos, watching the kid with the fake tattoos pick up the pieces of the broken statue and toss them into the rubbish bin.

  After that, he took his cart and wheeled it away in the opposite direction.

  The timestamp said that it was about a minute later when another student showed up in the lobby, and headed straight towards the rubbish bin. It was like he knew exactly what was in there.

  The kid was covered in shadow, which made it hard to see his face.

  ‘Who is that?’ I asked Brody.

  Brody scratched his eyebrow. ‘Keep going,’ he said softly.

  I flipped each photo over, watching the screenshots play out like a glitchy movie.

  The boy reached into the rubbish bin, bending in half so he could grab it from the bottom. Then he pulled out the three pieces, carefully pushing them so that they fit where they belonged.

  After that, he stuffed the statue’s head into his book bag, zipped it up, and walked down the hallway, towards the camera that was filming him.

  The shadows on his face crept upwards as he got closer and closer until finally, I could see who it was …

  It was Brayden.

  Brayden took the statue from the rubbish bin.

  ‘I’m sorry,’ Brody said.

  ‘I don’t understand,’ I whispered.

  ‘I don’t either,’ Brody said. ‘But keep going.’

  Glancing up, I spoke in a hushed whisper. ‘There’s more?’

  Brody nodded.

  I kept flipping through the photos. The camera had changed from one inside the school to one outside by the dumpsters.

  ‘No, dude,’ I said, remembering the camera I had seen when I went to visit with Victor.

  The printed photos continued to show me what I didn’t want to see. Brayden walked out of the cafeteria doors, looking around to make sure he was alone. Then he stopped about a metre and a half away from the dumpsters.

  That’s when a girl walked out to meet him. It was Naomi. She was holding her new phone in front of her. Victor soon appeared further back. Brayden took two pieces of the statue out of his book bag. In the last photo, handed them to Naomi. He handed them to Naomi!

  ‘Victor and Naomi are dangerous kids,’ Brody said. ‘And Brayden is right there talking to them.’

  ‘I don’t know what I’m looking at,’ I said. ‘What happened?’

  Brody shrugged his shoulders. ‘It looks like your buddy is playing along with Naomi and Victor. Did you notice that Brayden kept one of the broken pieces in his bag?’

  ‘What do you know about Victor?’ I asked.

  ‘Nothing,’ Brody said, shaking his head. ‘Just that he’s a bad apple. That’s what Linus and Maddie told me, but they didn’t tell me why. They said I need to stay away from him and from Naomi.’

  I nodded. ‘They’re right.’ It wasn’t my place to tell Brody what was going on. He had helped me out enough, and the less he knew about the Scavengers, the better.

  Sinking in my chair, I exhaled slowly, afraid that I was going to pass out.

  Brody took the stack of photos and stuffed them into his book bag. He apologised again, and headed out of the library.

  I couldn’t believe how everything had flipped around. Victor hardly did anything at all, but I felt like he had won. I felt like the Scavengers had won. His revenge wasn’t loud or explosive. It was far worse – subtle and totally destructive.

  I wasn’t a good leader, and he proved that by taking my ninjas away, one by one until I was alone. But the worst part was that he got Brayden on his team.

  I thought if there was anyone who had my back no matter what, it was Brayden. I guess I was wrong.

  There it was … the last nail in my coffin. I was done. I couldn’t see any point in fighting after that. Without my friends, there wasn’t any reason. The Scavengers had won, and they barely even tried.

  I sat in the library, stewing in self-pity, for a few minutes before deciding to take my little party to the cafeteria. Plus, I felt awkward being all alone in the middle of the library.

  The cafeteria was better, but not by much. I claimed a table in the corner and watched kids stuff their faces with cinnamon rolls and sausages. I wished I could eat breakfast in blissful ignorance too.

  A few minutes before breakfast was over, Jesse roped off the breakfast queue so nobody else could get in. Then he turned around and gave me one of the most evil-eyed stares I had ever seen. It was so angry that I could sense it from all the way across the cafeteria.

  Wonderful. Someone else was upset with me. What more was this week going to bring?

  Jesse stomped across to my table. His sleeves were still stained with black grime. Punching his angry fists down, he shouted. ‘You soaked me with chocolate milk yesterday!’

  I shook my head, baffled. ‘What are you talking about? No, I didn’t!’

  ‘Yes, you did!’ Jesse said. ‘Right before you ran out of the cafeteria, you threw your tray at me!’

  ‘Oh, right,�
�� I said, remembering that I had rushed to get to Gidget before she went into the principal’s office. ‘Sorry, dude, it was an accident.’

  But Jesse wasn’t listening. ‘I can’t believe you just wasted that whole carton of chocolate milk! You hardly took a sip! Get a drink of water from the fountain if all you want is a sip!’

  Something in me snapped and I just wanted him to leave me alone. ‘I didn’t drink it because you left grimy money dirt all over the bottom of the carton!’ I said louder than I had meant to. ‘Look at your sleeves, dude! They’re caked with dirt! At least pull them up when you’re working the register!’

  Jesse looked at me like I was stupid. And then he pulled both sleeves up on his forearms, realising what I was upset about. ‘Sorry, man,’ he said, his tone changing instantly. ‘These smears aren’t from dirty money. Sometimes I get bored and doodle on my arms. My mum hates it because all my clothes are gross with ink.’

  I stared at Jesse’s forearms. He had drawn on every inch of them. Little smiley faces, stars, and skulls were sprawled across the canvas of his skin.

  I sat there silently as the whole cafeteria stared at Jesse and me.

  Even Principal Davis was walking towards us, probably because he heard me shouting and wanted to make sure there wasn’t any trouble.

  Jesse stood at the foot of my table, trying to apologise for the marker smudge on the bottom of my milk. And I was frozen because I knew I had just caught the kid who broke the head off the statue that was in the lobby. He was the mystery student with the fake tats on his arms.

  ‘Uhhhh,’ Jesse said. ‘Hello?’

  ‘You broke the head off the statue,’ I said, my voice shaking.

  Jesse’s face went white. He let out a laugh. ‘What?’ he said. ‘What are you ta—’

  ‘You broke the head off the statue!’ I said louder.

  Jesse coughed out a guilty laugh. ‘That’s crazy! You’re crazy!’

  ‘I saw you in the video!’ I said. ‘You bumped into it with your cart and the head fell off! And then you dumped the pieces in the bin! What was under the sheet? What was in your cart?’

  Jesse forced out another laugh, but he didn’t look happy.

  ‘What’s this all about?’ Principal Davis asked, standing next to us.

  I looked at Jesse, who was sweating like crazy. And then I looked at Principal Davis.

  Jesse looked at me, and then at Principal Davis, and then back to me.

  Nobody said a word.

  Finally, Jesse spun around, sprinting away, but it wasn’t far. The cafeteria table behind him did a pretty good job of stopping him in his tracks.

  Jesse dropped to the ground, moaning in pain as he held his arms around his stomach.

  ‘Son, are you alright?’ Principal Davis asked as he helped Jesse to his feet.

  Jesse’s eye caught mine again. I pressed my lips together and shook my head.

  The guilt must have been too much for him.

  ‘Fine!’ he roared. ‘I did it, alright? I broke the head off the statue! It was me, okay? You happy now?’

  Principal Davis furrowed his brow, shocked.

  I was just as surprised that Jesse was confessing.

  ‘But it was an accident!’ Jesse said. ‘I swear! I didn’t mean to break it!’

  Principal Davis was staring straight ahead, trying to make sense of the situation. ‘What are you talking about?’

  ‘The head of the statue!’ Jesse said. ‘I broke it off when I bumped into it wheeling that stupid printer around!’

  Suddenly, a woman screeched from across the room. ‘My printer! You stole the printer from the maintenance closet! You little thief!’ Ms Chen-Jung howled, running across the cafeteria.

  Principal Davis put his hand up to calm her. ‘Slow down, Ms Chen-Jung,’ he said. ‘Give him some room to talk.’

  Jesse paused, sitting on top of the table. The cafeteria was silent. ‘I nailed the statue with the printer.’

  ‘The stolen printer!’ Ms Chen-Jung said harshly.

  ‘I borrowed it!’ Jesse said defensively.

  ‘What for?’ Ms Chen-Jung asked.

  ‘To print free-lunch vouchers,’ Jesse admitted.

  Principal Davis scratched his head. ‘Why would you print those?’

  ‘Because the registers have been broken all week,’ I said, speaking for Jesse.

  ‘No,’ Jesse said. ‘I just said that to keep people from asking too many questions. I’ve been … I’ve been ringing everyone’s lunch up as free, and then pocketing the money. I used the printer to print those free-lunch vouchers so I wouldn’t get caught.’

  The principal shook his head.

  Jesse covered his face. ‘I can’t do it anymore,’ he said. ‘I only wanted eighty bucks for a new skateboard! Honestly, eighty bucks and that was it! But I never counted the money until about halfway through the week! I thought, y’know, it would take a while to get eighty bucks, but after the third day, I counted up all the money, and …’

  ‘And how much was it?’ Principal Davis asked.

  ‘Six thousand dollars!’ Jesse said, burying his face in his hands.

  Half the kids in the cafeteria gasped, shocked.

  Jesse went on. ‘I feel terrible about it. And for those guys who are in detention because the pieces kept falling out of their backpacks! I just … I just … I’m sorry.’

  I couldn’t say I didn’t feel bad for the kid. He might’ve stolen a ton of money, but it was obvious he was torn up about it.

  Even Ms Chen-Jung felt sorry for him. She awkwardly patted his shoulder. ‘There, there, human child.’

  Principal Davis walked Jesse out of the cafeteria. Anything else he wanted to say would have to wait until he was in the principal’s office with his parents.

  I sat back down and took a deep breath, wondering why the heck I didn’t feel any better.

  I finally figured out who was behind the cracked statue, which meant that my friends would be out of detention within the hour. That should’ve been great news!

  But then I remembered the screenshots from the security cameras. Brayden was free from detention, but now I knew he was working with the Scavengers. And sooner or later, I’d have to ask him why.

  I wasn’t surprised to see a new face behind the register during lunch. Her name tag said Beatrice. She took my lunch money and placed a mini cupcake on my tray. ‘Thank you,’ she said.

  ‘Um,’ I said, staring at the tiny cupcake. ‘What’s the deal with the small baked item?’

  ‘Oh,’ Beatrice said, smiling. ‘I’m part of Cupcake Kids. We’re a club for kids – we take classes, and go on trips and stuff. We’ll be having a bake sale in a few weeks, and these cupcakes are a sample of what we’ll have there.’

  I stared at the cupcake on my tray. ‘Huh,’ I grunted. ‘I’ve never heard of Cupcake Kids before.’

  Beatrice smiled. ‘We’re pretty new,’ she said. ‘I’m sure you’ll hear more about us soon.’

  ‘Thanks for the cupcake,’ I said.

  ‘No,’ Beatrice said. ‘Thank you.’

  Before picking my tray up from the conveyor belt, I asked, ‘Do you know what happened to Jesse?’

  ‘His fate is in the hands of the school now,’ Beatrice said sadly. But then added, ‘Just kidding. As long as he returns every dollar he stole, he’ll only get suspended for a week.’

  ‘Oh, good,’ I said, relieved.

  I was happy to hear that Jesse was gonna be alright. Suspension is pretty bad, but it could’ve been much worse for him. Six thousand dollars isn’t exactly a small amount of money. If he had kept it, Jesse could’ve been nailed with juvie.

  I scanned the cafeteria for a place to sit. There was an empty table right in the middle. It wouldn’t have been my first choice, but since it was my only one, I made my way down the aisle.

  Brayden, Gidget and Slug were nowhere to be seen, which was good news for me. My brain was still spinning because of the photos Brody showed me in the library. If I had to tal
k to Brayden right now, I’m not sure what I’d say.

  Finally, I set my tray down on the empty table. At almost the same instant, a kid sat on the other side of the table, across from me.

  It was Naomi.

  I sighed, leaning my head against my hand, jabbing at my food with my fork. I was too drained to care.

  Naomi took her phone from her pocket and started filming me again.

  ‘Seriously?’ I said. ‘Give it a rest.’

  Naomi’s mouth tightened into an embarrassed smile. ‘Sorry,’ she said, setting her phone face-up on the table. ‘I’m just so pumped about this phone.’

  ‘I can tell,’ I said.

  ‘Don’t take it personally,’ Naomi said, lifting her book bag and setting it next to her lunch tray. Something inside made a CLINK sound. ‘I’ve been filming everything.’

  ‘Riiiight,’ I said. ‘Because you’re a Scavenger, and Scavengers spy on everyone everywhere.’

  Naomi didn’t say anything. She unzipped her bag and reached in, fishing around for something.

  I took the cupcake that Beatrice had given me, and popped the whole thing into my mouth. ‘Mmm,’ I said with cheeks full of dry cupcake. ‘These are not good. How was yours?’

  ‘I’d love to tell you it was totes sweet, but I guess I wouldn’t know,’ Naomi said, and then arched her neck so she was looking back at the kitchen. ‘Would I, Beatrice?’

  ‘She forgot to give you one?’ I asked.

  ‘Right.’ Naomi said. ‘Forgot.’

  ‘Why are you sitting with me?’

  Naomi blinked, like she was trying to think of a good way to answer. ‘I don’t know,’ she said honestly. ‘The past couple of weeks have been tough on me.’

  I laughed. ‘Tough on you? What about me? What about everything that’s happened to me since learning about your little club of creepy spies?’

  ‘I know,’ Naomi murmured. ‘I guess I just want things to feel normal.’

  ‘What’s normal?’ I asked, setting my fork down.

  ‘Sitting with you during lunch,’ Naomi said. ‘Talking about nothing. Giving each other a hard time.’