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David’s sto inside out

"Keep walkin’, Scraps," a Varsity said from the darkness

They ascended the stairs and reached the first floor Two Varsity guys, in full pads with lacrosse sticks, stood on either side of entrance They were Rhodes Dixon and George Diaz

There was a tiuys about stupid stuff, farts and nickna at him

"Ooo, check it out, Rhodes, look at their faces"

"I can’t, Diaz," Rhodes said with a uys cracked up David ignored theonna die, Thorpe," Rhodes called out like a song after hi Nelson hyperventilated behind hi words into Nelson’s funnel David looked at Lucy She forced a s but a flat line David checked on the rest of the group

There were only eight of the hiainst a hundred He hated the deserters for ju," Will said beside hie and Dorothy and some of the other onesthey never left the basement"

David scanned past Will A Varsity in a football helmet with a tinted visor stepped into the hall frolanced to the other side of the hall where another one stood, holding a position beside the opposite row of lockers It was the saures stepped out from classroom doorways and from locker rows

They barked and hissed and spit as David and the gang walked past David’s gang huddled closer together Each Varsity they passed joined the growing pack, led by Rhodes and George, that followed at their heels

David stepped through the wide open doors to the quad

Every gang was represented: the redheaded Sluts in their spikes and chrome; the Nerds in their khakis; the Freaks in black with their blue hair; the Pretty Ones in their pristine whites The Band Geeks wore their ragged regalia and set up their instruments in one corner to score the bloody affair

Soht Most were there for the show

Conversation burst through the crohen they saw David What had they come to see? A bloodbath? He wanted to run Like a coward He wanted to hide in the trash like S sure his strides were long and confident The crowd hushed

Hundreds and hundreds of eyes were on him, riveted by his presence What did they think? That he was an idiot for even showing up? That he knew so they didn’t? David fixated on a brokenon the far wall so that no one’s gaze could throw hied to the sound of Nelson throwing up So

He saw a ss stood He led his crew to it They stood close together in that spot, their backs to the wall As David faced the quad, he realized that their spot being vacant was no coincidence Varsity was assembled directly across the quad fro hel each other in the chest There were solooked fro to pop off

"Look at the fat one!" a voice declared frohs

"No fair! Elephants aren’t allowed to fight at the drop!" Varsity laughed louder

People in other gangs covered theirSah the crowd’s rabble

"I heard there was a new gang!"

Sath of steel chain in his hand

"I could have sworn I heard that I’hed right on cue Some of the crowd did too

"All I see is nine Scraps with a death wish" The thup-thup-thup of helicopter blades floated in from far away It was almost tiht was that he could make them chase him Sam only wanted him If David ran out of the quad and into the school, maybe he could lose them, maybe he couldn’t, but Will and Lucy and the others would be spared

David scanned the Varsity line, focusing on their best run-ners He knew Keith Anderson was definitely faster than him And Wesley James was at least equal his speed, probably faster with David’s lack of sleep and nourishnaled Anthony Smith and the other linebackers

They hustled to each exit and stood guard Shit Sa off the quad now

There was no way out of this He was going to die here

A new sound drowned out the distant sound of the helicopter It was the rhythmic crack of Varsity’s baseball bats on a brick wall They’d be cracking David’s head next