Page 5 of Still Bruised
At the endof the day, Jude raced down the hallway, keeping to himself until he could push through an outer door into the courtyard. Fuck detention. He wasn’t going. Jude smiled as he approached his motley assortment of friends waiting for him on one of the crumbling picnic tables outside.
“Thankgod,”Mia said, climbing off the top of the picnic table to give him a hug and a peck on the cheek. “Let’s get the fuck out of this shithole.”
Anton, Paula, and Roan slowly rose and pulled on their backpacks before they marched toward the parking lot and Jude’s beater parked there.
Mia held out her hand to Jude. “Gimme the bag.”
“Can’t you wait until we’re off campus?” Jude asked, glancing around.
“No. It’s been a shitty day, and I don’t want to remember it tomorrow,” Mia said. She pushed her hand closer, insistent. “Gimme the bag.”
Jude reached into his zippered pocket but came up empty. He searched another and came to a halt when he found that one empty, too. Standing in the middle of the parking lot, he searched every single one of his many, many zippers, but found nothing. After a dig through his backpack, he came to the conclusion the weed was gone.
Fuck.
“Don’t tell me you lost it?” Mia asked, her eyes wide.
“There’s no way I lost it,” Jude murmured, checking the pocket he was sure he’d put it in again. He replayed the day in his head—and the fight came to mind. Had it fallen out of his pocket somehow?
He’d have seen it on the floor, though. Wouldn’t he?
Unless someone else snatched it.
He closed his eyes and groaned.
Rick.
Jude seethed thinking of that guy taking it.
Fucking Rick. He wanted to smash the motherfucker’s face in.
He turned toward the football field where the team was running out to begin practice. They’d be busy for a couple of hours, at least, right? It was probably sitting in the locker room, unattended. “I think I know where it might be.” He tossed his keys to Mia. “Get in, but don’t you fucking drive it.”
“Chill,”Mia said.
He grabbed Roan by the arm and pulled him a few feet away. “Can you come with me and break into a locker or two?”
“You know if I’m caught again I’ll be expelled,” Roan said.
“I’ll take the heat if we’re caught. I’ll say I did it and you weren’t a part of it.”
Roan shook his head. “No way they’d believe that. If I get expelled, my dad’s threatened military school.Again.”He dug into his bag and came out a few seconds later with a key.
“What’s that?”
“The janitor’s master locker key,” Roan said, a smile stretching across his face.
“Are you fucking kidding me?” Jude asked, swiping it. “You stole his key?”
“Made a copy,”Roan whispered. “Just in case.”
“I seriously worry about you and your future, man,” Jude said. “I promise I’ll visit you in prison.”
Jude shook his head at Roan’s wicked grin before he bolted across the parking lot. Hiding himself by walking behind the bleachers, he slipped into the hallway that led to the team’s locker room. As soon as he walked in, he cringed and held his breath. With its smell of mildew and jock itch, he couldn’t imagine spending any time there. He hadn’t taken a gym class since sophomore year when it was mandatory, and he didn’t miss that odor at all.
Besides, hefting hundreds of pounds of animal carcasses in his dad’s butcher shop on the weekends was enough of a workout for him.
He scanned the inside of the locker room and didn’t see anyone around. As quietly as he could, he opened one of the lockers and peeked into a backpack to see who’s it was. Not Rick’s, so he closed it and moved on. On the fourth locker, he found Foster Price’s stuff. Foster and Rick were pals, so there was a possibility the guy was holding. Jude dragged out Foster’s backpack and rummaged through it, looking for the baggy.
