I nodded once just to acknowledge his presence. Next to him, Olive was chomping away on chewing gum like she was trying to be annoying. She had so much gum in her mouth that she could barely chew with her mouth closed! If she wasn’t chewing so loudly, I probably would’ve been impressed.
I looked around, hoping a teacher was nearby because chewing gum was strictly forbidden at school. If it gets in the carpet, it’s nearly impossible to get out. Unsurprisingly, there wasn’t a teacher in sight.
‘Looks like we’ll be sitting together this week,’ Wyatt said, smirking.
I opened my mouth to speak, but Wyatt cut across me in a loud voice.
‘Hey, listen,’ he said, closing his eyes. ‘Now that I’m the school VP, I think it’s safe to say I’m not going to try anything, okay? You can cool it, turbo.’
I had to literally bite my tongue. If I was going to spend a week next to him, it would probably be best if I didn’t say anything I’d regret.
I nodded again at him. ‘Deal.’
Nobody else at our table had noticed our short conversation. They were all busy scratching their pencils on the test sheet, filling in circles. Wyatt and Olive had started doing the same. I breathed a sigh of relief. Maybe this week wouldn’t be so bad after all.
I scanned the questions and had to laugh at a few of them.
Would you rather a) TRAIN an army of baby kangaroos, or b) FIGHT an army of baby kangaroos?
Would you say you were a) a morning person, b) a night owl, or c) a machine sent back in time to fight the resistance?
If you could fist fight a zombie, would you? a) Yes, or b) No.
I know, right? There were a hundred of these bizarre questions!
After about twenty minutes of listening to Olive’s chewing, I finally finished the test. I flipped it over, spun around on the bench and faced the rest of the room, watching the other students finished their questionnaires as well.
A few kids began walking aimlessly around the cafeteria. It wasn’t like there wasn’t anything to do. The staff had put up a bunch of workstations so kids could participate in different activities, which kept most of the kids busy.
I glanced across the room to see what Brayden and Gavin were doing, but they weren’t at their table anymore. I finally saw them huddled with some other kids near the centre of the cafeteria. Gavin had his brow furrowed in concern, but I’m pretty sure he always looked like that. It wasn’t until I saw Brayden pull the same expression that I knew something was wrong.
I stood up and joined the crowd of students. I was on the outside of the circle, so I couldn’t tell what was going on yet.
‘What’s up?’ I asked Brayden.
Brayden shrugged. ‘Somebody stole something, I think.’
Gavin leaned over and stood on his tippy toes. ‘Not somebody, a lot of bodies. A few kids had some things stolen.’
‘Okay,’ I said, ‘so why isn’t anyone speaking up about it? Why the weird huddle of whispers and secrets?’
‘Because it was gum that was stolen,’ Faith said, stepping out of the circle to join our conversation.
Zoe was right behind her. ‘Someone stole gum from ten kids.’
‘Ah,’ Brayden sighed. ‘So it’s not like they’d get help to begin with. They’d be asked why they even had gum in the first place.’
‘Exactly,’ Faith said, rubbing her arms like she was cold.
‘Someone managed to get away with stealing gum from ten kids?’ I whispered.
Faith nodded. ‘It was taken right out of some of their pockets!’
‘That’s crazy! That’s …’ I trailed off. I wanted to say it sounded like the work of a ninja.
‘What’s crazy is that some of these kids said they still had their gum before answering the questions on that career test,’ Faith added. ‘That was only, like, twenty minutes ago.’
Zoe narrowed her eyes at Wyatt as he approached. ‘It was you, wasn’t it?’
‘What was me?’ Wyatt asked, annoyed.
As much as I didn’t want to, I knew I had to speak up because it was the honourable thing to do.
‘No,’ I said, coming to Wyatt’s defence. ‘He was with me the entire time, before and after the career test. He never left my sight.’ I pointed at Olive, who was still chomping away. ‘She was with him too, so it wasn’t her either. Even though it looks like she’s chewing enough gum for a football team, she was chewing on it before the career test.’
Olive pushed the wad of gum into her cheek and stuck her tongue out at Zoe.
‘Nice,’ Zoe said, disgusted and crinkling her nose.
Wyatt looked over his shoulder. It looked like he was hiding something. Knowing Wyatt, he probably was.
Without saying another word, the leader of the red ninja clan turned and walked away with Olive by his side.
Gavin folded his arms, scowling. He spoke. ‘If it were just one kid with the problem, I’d be inclined to ignore it, but since it’s ten kids, there’s a strange pattern goin’ on, ain’t there?’
‘Yeah, we should investigate,’ I said.
Zoe immediately chimed in. ‘No way! How about just living a normal sixth grader life for once? No mysteries, no clues, no action, no adventure?’
‘Right,’ I grumbled. ‘Because that’s a bajillion times more fun.’
‘Bajillion’s not a word,’ Zoe snipped.
I lowered my head and mumbled, ‘Is too.’
‘Is not,’ Zoe replied.
I paused, sitting in awkward silence for at least five seconds as our friends stood around. Finally, I whispered quieter than anyone could hear, ‘Is too.’
Gavin raised his hands as if he were giving up. ‘Looks like I’m out,’ he said. ‘It’s alright though. It’s just a bit of stolen gum.’
Just a bit of stolen gum? Didn’t Gavin understand that the item that was stolen wasn’t the point? The point was that something was stolen!
As Zoe and Gavin walked away, the front pocket of my pants vibrated. I jumped, afraid that a bug was crawling up my leg, before I realised it was my phone going off. I looked at the screen to see who the message was from, but it was a number I didn’t recognise.
I unlocked my phone and read the message.
Meet me backstage asap. Come alone.
—Wyatt
A girl snickered right next to me. It was Naomi, one of the most devoted members of my ninja clan. ‘Yeah, because that sounds like a good idea.’
I clicked the button on top of my phone, locking it. Gavin was already on the other side of the room. Brayden was talking with Faith at another table. Naomi was the only one who knew I got a text from Wyatt. Slipping my phone back into my front pocket, I said something that surprised even me. ‘I think I’m gonna see what he wants.’
Naomi’s jaw dropped like a DJ dropping the bass. ‘Are you kidding me?’ she cried out.
Everyone nearby looked to see what she had screamed about.
Scratching the back of my head, I faked a laugh and led Naomi aside. When we were away from the nosy students, I said, ‘I understand that my history with Wyatt hasn’t been the best.’
Naomi folded her arms. ‘You win understatement of the year award, congratulations! What do you plan on spending your prize money on?’
I laughed at her sarcasm.
Naomi’s face switched from anger to concern. ‘You’re not seriously going to meet him, are you? He’s so… evil!’
I paused for a second. ‘I’m just going to see what he wants, is that so bad?’
Naomi’s eyes grew fierce. ‘I’m going with you.’
‘That’s not necessary,’ I said. ‘I’ll be fine, really.’
To my surprise, Naomi grabbed my arm and dragged me along with her. ‘I saw what he did to you during that first week of school, and I know what he’s capable of. You’re gonna need a friend if he snaps again.’
‘He’s not gonna snap again,’ I said, but an uncomfortable feeling washed over me. What if he did snap again? I remembered Wyatt’s
fist connecting with my face. ‘Alright, maybe it’s a good idea for you to come.’
Naomi turned her head and smiled. ‘Going alone was never an option.’
Naomi and I decided to pull our ninja masks on when we were out of the sight of the rest of the students in the cafeteria. Since there was so much activity going on, none of the teachers saw us sneak through the heavy velvet stage curtains.
‘After you,’ Naomi said, her voice muffled by her mask. She held her hand out, gesturing across the dark stage.
I crouched, taking the lead. ‘As your ninja leader, I’d have thought you’d want to go first to make sure everything was clear.’
Naomi laughed. ‘Yeah, right. You’re not that great of a leader.’
‘Kay,’ I said. ‘Just give me a minute. Sometimes when I’m nervous, it helps me to just sit still for a minute and count the seconds.’
Naomi’s eyes narrowed. ‘Whatever you say.’
I shut my eyes and inhaled deeply. Feeling the muscles in my body relax, I began the countdown. ‘One hundred, ninety-nine, ninety-eight, ninety-seven—’
‘I thought you only counted a minute!’ Naomi hissed.
‘I do!’ I replied, annoyed by her interruption.
‘But you started at a hundred!’
‘Yeah, a minute.’
Naomi glared at me until it finally clicked.
‘Oh right,’ I said, feeling silly. ‘Sixty seconds. Not a hundred.’
Naomi covered her mouth, holding in her laughter.
‘Whatever,’ I said. ‘Let’s just go.’
As we approached the back of the stage, I saw a soft red light coming from around the far corner of the stage, as if it was guiding us, telling us where to go.
When we made it to the centre, I glanced up, studying the curtain that loomed over us.
Naomi read my thoughts. ‘You’re thinking about the white ninja, aren’t you?’
‘Mmhmm,’ I hummed.
The white ninja had saved me from the red ninjas. The first time, he pulled me up and away from harm when I was getting chased. The second time, he dumped the curtain on a pack of red ninjas during the school’s talent show just before they were about to beat the living daylights out of me.
‘Do you know who it is?’ Naomi asked.
‘No idea,’ I replied. ‘But I think he’s on our side.’
‘What makes you think that?’
‘Because he saved me…twice.’
‘That’s doesn’t mean anything,’ Naomi grunted. ‘Maybe he’s playing you, making you think he’s on your side.’
‘Why would he do that?’
‘Who knows?’ she answered. ‘I just think you should keep your guard up. This school seems to have it out for you.’
‘Right?!’ I said. ‘Like President Buchanan is haunting the halls of the school and trying to ruin my life?’
Naomi rolled her eyes. ‘Riiiiiiight,’ she sang. ‘I’m actually not surprised you believe that.’
We made it to the far side of the stage, where the soft red light turned the corner. Carefully, I stepped down the short staircase and into the small hallway stacked with boxes from the drama club.
As soon as my foot touched the ground, the red light clicked brighter. About three metres away from Naomi and me was an old leather chair, facing away from us. Above the chair was a red light bulb swinging slowly through the air, making the shadows on the floor expand and shrink. There was a weird burning smell in the air and I suddenly felt like a character in an ’80s horror movie who’d stupidly walked into a trap.
‘This is it,’ I whispered, my stomach dropping. ‘This is how I die…’
The chair spun around, scaring the spew out of me. I jumped backwards, bumping into Naomi.
‘Our fearless leader,’ she joked.
The red light bulb flickered a couple of times before switching to a bright white. I squinted, trying to see who was in the chair.
‘Dude,’ Wyatt said, leaning back in the leather chair. He wasn’t wearing his ninja outfit. ‘Relax, it’s me. I mean, you knew it was gonna be me, right? I signed the text message with my name.’
‘You didn’t have to make it feel like I was walking into a freaky nightmare!’ I said.
Wyatt chuckled. ‘Right, sorry about that,’ he said, pointing at the light. ‘That old bulb really needs to be replaced.’ He spun in his chair again, raising a hand to someone hiding in the darkness. ‘Is it ready yet?’
I thought maybe it was Olive, but it wasn’t.
‘Almost, sir,’ a boy’s voice said from the shadows.
I pulled my mask off and tucked it away in the hood of my sweatshirt. ‘What is this? What’s that smell?’
In answer, a boy wearing a suit stepped out of the shadows, handing Wyatt a porcelain plate. A Belgian waffle sat on it, steaming hot and fresh.
Let me say that again in case you missed it … a Belgian waffle.
‘Would you like one?’ Wyatt asked, as if getting handed a freshly cooked waffle backstage and in the middle of the school day was a totally normal thing to happen. I guess being vice president had its perks.
The boy in the suit sprayed whipped cream onto the top of Wyatt’s waffle. I seriously felt like I was losing my mind. I shook my head, remembering why I was there. ‘Why did you text me? What do you want?’
Wyatt took a bite. With a cheek full of waffle, he pointed his fork at Naomi and said, ‘I told you to come alone.’
‘You’re lucky I’m here at all,’ I said.
Wyatt stopped chewing and looked at me, head tilted like a confused dog. ‘I’m sorry, what did you say? I couldn’t hear you over the sound of my own awesomeness.’
‘You mean the sound of you chewing with your mouth fully open?’ Naomi said. ‘I’m shocked no food has fallen out.’
‘If you want to talk to me,’ I said boldly, ‘then Naomi stays.’
Swallowing his bite, Wyatt nodded. ‘Fine,’ he said. ‘Naomi is cool. She’s a good ninja. I remember her from when I was the leader of your clan.’
‘You mean when you were the leader for, like, less than a week?’ Naomi said scornfully. It was obvious that she wasn’t afraid of Wyatt, and her little remarks made me feel more comfortable with this whole situation.
‘You fool!’ Wyatt snapped, like some kind of villain. ‘Don’t you realise your insults only make me stronger?’
Naomi giggled at Wyatt’s little outburst.
Wyatt held out his plate of food as he inhaled slowly, calming himself down. The boy in the suit took it from him, replacing it with a tiny green item.
‘I want to call a truce,’ Wyatt said as he held it out for me to see. It was a four-leaf clover. ‘I assume you remember the first task I ever assigned to you?’
I stared at the clover. ‘You said if I wanted to join your ninja clan, I had to return to the hideout with one of those.’
‘Exactly,’ Wyatt nodded. ‘And that’s why I’m presenting it to you right now – to show you I’m serious about the truce.’
I glanced at Naomi. She was staring at the clover too, unsure of what to make of it.
‘What?’ I asked sternly. ‘A truce? Why? Do you think I’m dumb?’
‘No,’ Wyatt answered straight-faced. ‘I don’t think you’re dumb. In fact, I know you’re more clever than I am, which is why you’re here.’
‘Get to the point,’ Naomi demanded.
Wyatt grunted, staring at her, and then turned back to me. ‘The gum theft has sparked my interest, and I’m asking for a truce so that the two of us can work together to find the … bandit. It’s obvious that there’s something fishy going on, and I’d like to get to the bottom of it. You know that Olive and I are together, and you know how much she loves her gum. I’d like to figure this out…to keep her from becoming a victim of the Buchanan bandit.’ Wyatt paused. ‘Clever, right? Buchanan bandit? I just thought of that. Like, right now.’
‘You want our clans to team up?’ I asked, dumbfounded.
W
yatt shook his head. ‘No, not our clans. Just us. You and me. Two people.’
I didn’t need to waste another second thinking about it. ‘No way,’ I said coldly. ‘There’s no way I can trust you. You’ve burned me too many times for that.’
Clenching his jaw, Wyatt spoke through his teeth. ‘I believe this bandit situation is bigger than any of us know. Don’t come running back to me when this whole thing blows up in your face.’
‘Right. This whole thing is gonna blow up in my face,’ I replied with as much sarcasm as I could muster. I turned my back on him and headed back to the cafeteria. Naomi followed, leaving Wyatt in the beat-up leather chair with his waffle cook.
‘You’ll be sorry,’ Wyatt sneered as we walked away.
It took all my strength to look like I had it together, but the truth was that I didn’t. With my history at Buchanan, the entire situation could blow up in my face, and that was a scary thought.
Naomi playfully punched my arm and said I had made the right decision before heading back to her table. Deep down I knew that I had, but I still couldn’t shake the feeling that I had made a mistake.
I took a seat on the edge of the stage, staring at nothing, going over every word of Wyatt’s conversation in my head. Was Wyatt really offering a truce? And if he was, what then? Was I supposed to forget everything that’s happened? Is that what adults mean when they say to forgive and forget?
The problem was that I still didn’t fully trust him. Can you blame me? One afternoon and a Belgian waffle was supposed to make us BFFs?
‘Something’s wrong,’ Zoe said.
I rubbed my eyes, bringing my head down from the clouds. ‘Huh?’ I grunted. ‘What’s the matter? What’s wrong?’
‘No,’ Zoe said, letting out a breath of air through her nose. She took a spot next to me. Together, we watched the students in the cafeteria live their totally normal lives in a school they didn’t realise wasn’t so normal. ‘I mean, something’s wrong with you.’
Zoe could read me like a book – I guess that’s what happens with cousins. I debated whether or not to tell her about Wyatt, but ultimately decided it was best if she didn’t know… at least for now. ‘Yeah, I mean, no,’ I said. ‘Nothing’s wrong.’
Buchanan Bandits Page 2