our kids don't get into trouble!"
"C'mon, Mr. Greene, what kind of trouble could kids like us get into?"
"Kids like who?"
"Like me, and Cheryl, and Jason Perez, and O.P. Han, and . . ." I stopped as soon as I realized what I was doing. He'd tricked me! He'd tricked me into leaking out information about the club! If I said one word too many, I could have been signing the Shadow Club's death warrant.
"Jason and O.P. are in this club?"
I didn't say a word.
Greene leaned back in his chair, and rocked a bit, like he had the whole world in the palms of his hands. Until that day, I sort of liked Mr. Greene; of course he never talked to me much, but he seemed like a nice guy. Now, sitting there at that desk, he seemed mean. He seemed nasty. He seemed like the one person who could destroy the Shadow Club just because we were having a good time. I suddenly realized that I hated Mr. Greene. I wished he had never been born.
"I'll tell you what, Jared," he said, "you don't have to tell me anything else about your club. You've never gotten into trouble before, and your teachers always have good things to say about you, so I'll trust you . . . but there's one condition."
"What?"
Mr. Greene leaned a bit closer. "I want you to let Tyson join your club."
I backed away as if I had been slapped in the face. "No!" I said straight out. "No way! He can't!"
"Jared, I'm asking you a favor. It would mean a lot to him."
"You don't understand," I said. "He can't because . . ."
"Because what?"
"Because he can't!" I said. "It's a special club, and only certain kids are allowed in it!"
"I can't accept that. If your club is just a social club, like you say it is, then you can let Tyson in. Or is there something about your club you'd rather I didn't know?"
"No!"
"Then let Tyson join."
"No!"
"But, Jared . . ."
"No! No! No!" I said. "No!" Period. The end. "No!"
I stood up, and nearly smashed my fist on the desk, I was so angry. Mr. Greene, on the other hand, couldn't have been calmer. He just leaned back in his chair, twiddling his thumbs again. He stared at me for a long time, like vice principals do. This time, I didn't look back at him.
"Can I go now?" I asked.
"Close the door on your way out, Jared" was all he said.
I stood there for a moment longer, but he didn't say anything else, so I turned and went to the door. Just as my hand touched the doorknob I heard him speak.
"Answer me one question, Jared," he said. I didn't look at him; I kept my eyes fixed on the doorknob. "Has the Shadow Club done anything wrong?"
I still looked down at the doorknob. "No," I said.
"OK, fine . . . but I want you to know, Jared, that I'm keeping my eye on you. I don't like this club of yours; there's something about it that smells. I'm going to be watching you like a hawk, and if you're lying to me, Jared, you'll be in a lot of trouble."
I left, closing the door behind me as quickly as I could, and ran down the hall to get far, far away from that horrible little man in his horrible little office.
What Ralphy Said
WHEN THINGS GET bad, boy, do they get bad. I thought that maybe— maybe —if the Shadow Club laid low for a while and didn't play any tricks, then Greene might leave us alone; maybe everything would be all right. But things weren't all right.
I had hoped that David Berger's flattened trumpet would be the last of the mysterious pranks, but it was not. Someone was terrorizing the unbeatables; someone who didn't care how much the unbeatables got hurt, or how much property was destroyed, and this person, whoever it was, thought they could get away with it by blaming the Shadow Club. There was only one person who knew enough about the Shadow Club to do that: Tyson McGaw.
"I say we give him what he deserves," said Randall, as we sat around Stonehenge at our next meeting.
"Yeah," said Darren. "We should beat the daylights out of him, and force him to confess!"
"And then get him expelled from school for it," added Jason.
"C'mon, Mr. Greene, what kind of trouble could kids like us get into?"
"Kids like who?"
"Like me, and Cheryl, and Jason Perez, and O.P. Han, and . . ." I stopped as soon as I realized what I was doing. He'd tricked me! He'd tricked me into leaking out information about the club! If I said one word too many, I could have been signing the Shadow Club's death warrant.
"Jason and O.P. are in this club?"
I didn't say a word.
Greene leaned back in his chair, and rocked a bit, like he had the whole world in the palms of his hands. Until that day, I sort of liked Mr. Greene; of course he never talked to me much, but he seemed like a nice guy. Now, sitting there at that desk, he seemed mean. He seemed nasty. He seemed like the one person who could destroy the Shadow Club just because we were having a good time. I suddenly realized that I hated Mr. Greene. I wished he had never been born.
"I'll tell you what, Jared," he said, "you don't have to tell me anything else about your club. You've never gotten into trouble before, and your teachers always have good things to say about you, so I'll trust you . . . but there's one condition."
"What?"
Mr. Greene leaned a bit closer. "I want you to let Tyson join your club."
I backed away as if I had been slapped in the face. "No!" I said straight out. "No way! He can't!"
"Jared, I'm asking you a favor. It would mean a lot to him."
"You don't understand," I said. "He can't because . . ."
"Because what?"
"Because he can't!" I said. "It's a special club, and only certain kids are allowed in it!"
"I can't accept that. If your club is just a social club, like you say it is, then you can let Tyson in. Or is there something about your club you'd rather I didn't know?"
"No!"
"Then let Tyson join."
"No!"
"But, Jared . . ."
"No! No! No!" I said. "No!" Period. The end. "No!"
I stood up, and nearly smashed my fist on the desk, I was so angry. Mr. Greene, on the other hand, couldn't have been calmer. He just leaned back in his chair, twiddling his thumbs again. He stared at me for a long time, like vice principals do. This time, I didn't look back at him.
"Can I go now?" I asked.
"Close the door on your way out, Jared" was all he said.
I stood there for a moment longer, but he didn't say anything else, so I turned and went to the door. Just as my hand touched the doorknob I heard him speak.
"Answer me one question, Jared," he said. I didn't look at him; I kept my eyes fixed on the doorknob. "Has the Shadow Club done anything wrong?"
I still looked down at the doorknob. "No," I said.
"OK, fine . . . but I want you to know, Jared, that I'm keeping my eye on you. I don't like this club of yours; there's something about it that smells. I'm going to be watching you like a hawk, and if you're lying to me, Jared, you'll be in a lot of trouble."
I left, closing the door behind me as quickly as I could, and ran down the hall to get far, far away from that horrible little man in his horrible little office.
What Ralphy Said
WHEN THINGS GET bad, boy, do they get bad. I thought that maybe— maybe —if the Shadow Club laid low for a while and didn't play any tricks, then Greene might leave us alone; maybe everything would be all right. But things weren't all right.
I had hoped that David Berger's flattened trumpet would be the last of the mysterious pranks, but it was not. Someone was terrorizing the unbeatables; someone who didn't care how much the unbeatables got hurt, or how much property was destroyed, and this person, whoever it was, thought they could get away with it by blaming the Shadow Club. There was only one person who knew enough about the Shadow Club to do that: Tyson McGaw.
"I say we give him what he deserves," said Randall, as we sat around Stonehenge at our next meeting.
"Yeah," said Darren. "We should beat the daylights out of him, and force him to confess!"
"And then get him expelled from school for it," added Jason.
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