call.”
“What happened?” I asked,
dispensing with the small talk. “What’s going on, Gaby?”
“It’s worse than we
thought, Madison.”
“What is?”
“You know when I came by
tonight, I told you about Elise and her gang…”
“Yes, so? Did they
contact you?”
She shook her head. “No,
and maybe they never will – I just hope they won’t.”
“How do you mean?”
“It’s just that I did
what you said … about talking to Gill…”
“And?”
“And he was aware that
they were buying some ecstasy from
some woman or a girl at the chemistry lab. She’s an assistant apparently. But
Gill says she’s got access to all sorts of pills at a job she’s got in a
pharmacy.”
“But how did Gill learn
about all this?”
“He heard guys talk about
it before. Besides, he says that some of the guys asked him if he wanted some
steroids – you know to build his muscles – just to tell him and he could get
him some. I guess that’s how he learned about the drug trade at school.”
“Okay, I hear what you’re
saying Gaby. But why are you crying? Has Gill said anything about you seeing
the girls?”
“He just said that I
should go to the police. Since I’m a witness, maybe they can stop that
trafficker from getting into our school.”
“That’s a good idea. But
I don’t know what Elise’s reaction will be when she finds out who ratted her
out.”
“Exactly what I said to
Gill. They saw me Madison. And even if they think nothing of it right now, when
the police come knocking, Elise would put two and two together in no time.”
“What do you plan to do
then?” I could see the problem turning into a terrible ordeal in no time flat.
“I don’t know Madison. I’m
damned if I talk; I’m damned if I don’t.”
“What about if Gill goes
to the police with you in the morning?”
“He can’t; he’s got a
basketball training camp all weekend. I know he would if I’d asked him. But I’m
not sure that I want to do that though.”
“Why don’t we wait until
Monday and see what is going to happen with Elise then?”
“Yes, I think that’s a
better idea. And maybe you should talk about this with Daniel…”
“Why? You didn’t want to
say anything to him when you were here this evening. What changed your mind?” I
asked Gaby.
“It’s Gill…”
“What do you mean? Does
he think Daniel is involved?” I was horrified at the thought. But was that what he had over the girls? Was
he blackmailing them?
“Gill said that Daniel
has heard the rumors, the same as he has; so I thought maybe there shouldn’t be
any secrets between us – like the four of us should be aware of what the other
knows. What do you think?”
“Yeah, maybe you’re
right. I don’t know if Daniel is still awake, but if he is, I’ll get him to
talk to you.”
“Why me?” Gaby asked as I
got up from my seat.
“It’s better that you
tell him – you’re the one who saw the girls.”
“Okay, okay – you two are
still not on speaking terms, are you?”
“No, we’re trying to stay
out of each other’s way.” And with these words, I left my room to go knocking
on Daniel’s door.
I banged on it actually.
If he had his earphones on he wouldn’t hear a light rapping. I didn’t have to
bang on the door but once, for he flung it open while I still had my hand up in
the air.
“Sorry to bother you,
Daniel,” I said matter-of-factly, taking his hand in mine, “but I’ve got Gaby on
the line and she needs to tell you exactly what happened tonight.”
“Okay, no problem,” he
replied, squeezing my hand and trotting behind me to my room.
“Here he is,” I said to
Gaby, as Daniel sat in my chair in front of the screen.
“Hey there, how you doing?”
he said, smiling at a still frightened Gaby.
“Not very well. I’m
sorry, but I should have talked to you earlier when I came to your place…”
“Don’t worry, I know
girls want…”
“That’s not it, Daniel,”
Gaby interrupted. “I