Hurricane Power by Sigmund Brouwer Read Free Book Online Page B

it.”
    I shrugged. It wasn’t like they would kill me or anything. I’d just make sure I stayed in places where there were other people around.
    I dug into my pocket and pulled out some money.
    â€œHere,” I said. “This is yours.”
    He scrunched up his face, making it into a question mark.
    â€œFrom the other day,” I said. I explained the thing about the water pistol. I hoped he would find it funny.
    He didn’t laugh. And he didn’t take the money.
    â€œI don’t get it,” I said. “It doesn’t matter that I didn’t really pull a gun on you?”
    â€œYou don’t get it,” he said. “This isn’t just about a few dollars. You think maybe you’re the big hero, chasing me down to give this to me. But what you’ve done just makes things worse for me. You think I won’t have to answer to those guys later?”
    â€œAnswer for what?” I asked.
    He wiped all expression from his face.
    â€œNothing,” he said. “Now, if you don’t mind, I got to go.”
    â€œLook,” I said. “If I can help you...”
    â€œYou’ve done enough,” he said. He didn’t mean it like a thank-you.
    Jennifer finally spoke. “Carlos, my dad is a teacher here and the coach of the track team. He’d love it if you came out and ran for the Hurricanes. Maybe he can help—”
    â€œThe two of you are crazy. All I want is for you to leave me alone. You think maybe you can do that for me?”
    I was slow to answer. So was Jennifer.
    He took our silence to mean yes.
    He walked away.
    â€œOh,” I said to Jennifer. The money was still in my hand. “That sure didn’t go the way I planned.”
    â€œYou did your best,” Jennifer said.
    I brightened. “Yeah, at least I got rid of the other two. And in a hurry.”
    Jennifer shook her head. She held up a little plastic tube.
    â€œBefore you start thinking you’re Superman,” she said with a smile, “you’d better get one of these. You’ll need it if they show up again.”
    I squinted.
    â€œWhat is it?” I asked.
    â€œJust breath spray,” she answered with a grin.
    â€œOh,” I said, “so I can attack their bad breath?”
    She laughed at my confusion.
    â€œNo,” she said, “but it also looks like mace. While you were playing tough guy, I walked up and held it behind your head. Like I was going to spray them. I figured guys who played with switchblades would assume I had mace. And I was right. They backed off in a hurry.”
    Wonderful. So much for being impressive. I had been rescued by a girl armed with breath spray.

chapter sixteen
    Our doorbell rang and woke me up. It was still dark out. The bell rang three times, quickly, like someone was in a hurry to get the door answered.
    I sat up. My alarm clock read five minutes past three. Who’d show up at five minutes past three in the morning?
    I heard footsteps in the hallway. Heavy footsteps. Dad, not Mom.
    It was so strange that I got out of bed and put on my jeans. I was used to phone calls inthe middle of the night—Dad was a doctor. But who could be at the door?
    I stepped into the hallway as I pulled on my sweatshirt. Dad was already walking back toward me.
    â€œDavid,” he said, “some kid is downstairs. Wants to talk to you. Says his name is Carlos.”
    Carlos?
    I felt my heart bump into a higher gear.
    Carlos. After school, I’d made sure I was never alone in the hallways, and I kept an eye out for those two guys with the tattoos. During practice, I’d hardly noticed my sore feet. I’d even secured my place to race on Saturday. But I’d spent most of my energy thinking and worrying about getting caught alone at some point. The only good thing was that some of the guys on the team had been friendlier to me. A couple had even pulled me into some of the joking around between sprints.
    I