Chapter Six

Part 4

The second the bell rang, I was out the door. I had spent Mr. Weeks’s entire lecture concocting a plan, and now that I had one, I wanted to execute it as quickly as possible. It was time to take corrective action. It was time to put the old Mike Riley back into play before it was too late.

“Hey, football star!” Winter greeted me, pushing away from the wall by my locker as I breezed by. She stopped me and wrapped her arms around my neck. “What’s going on?”

“Hey,” I said, giving her a perfunctory kiss and extricating myself from her grip. I knew I should stop and give her a little attention. After all, she had spent most of Saturday night trying to cheer me up after my abysmal game, but I didn’t have time just now. “Sorry. I got something I have to do.”

“Nice to blow me off!” she admonished, calling after me.

“I’ll be right back!” I called over my shoulder.

I just hoped Dominic would be where I expected him to be. I jogged down the main corridor and around the corner into the hallway where the junior lockers were housed. Sure enough, there they were. Dominic and Marcy making out against the wall by her locker. Total creatures of habit. I took a deep breath and walked over to them, my fingers automatically curling into fists.

“Hey, guys!” I said loudly by way of salutation. They sprang apart and Marcy looked at me, disconcerted.

“Mike! Don’t make a scene,” Marcy said querulously. She probably thought I wanted to fight Dominic or something. So the last thing on my mind.

“That’s not why I’m here,” I said. “In fact, I’m sorry to interrupt, but Dom, can I talk to you for a second?”

He looked at me, baffled, as if my talking to him was tantamount to a miracle, which I suppose it was. Last week if you had told me I would be seeking out Dominic Thomas, I would have laughed. But now, I had my reasons.

“What’s up?” Dom asked, eyeing me with suspicion as we stepped away from Marcy. He noticed my fists and put a little distance between himself and them. I forced myself to relax my fingers.

“Have you heard about our Wednesday night game?” I asked him pleasantly.

“Yeah,” he replied. “Why?”

“Well I was wondering if you wanted to come this week,” I told him. “We had a great time last week. I figured you—”

“Yeah, I heard about your great time,” he interjected with a smirk. “Didn’t my friends go home with all your money?”

My temper flared and my hands curled up again, but I couldn’t let his incendiary comment get to me. I was here for a reason. I had a plan, maybe not the most ingenious plan in the world, but a plan nonetheless. And Dominic was an integral part. I shoved my hands into my pockets to hide my aggression.

“Yeah, well, regardless . . . I think you should come,” I said. “High stakes. It’s a lot of fun . . .”

“Thanks anyway, dude,” he said, turning away from me. “I’m not much of a gambler. Last week was kind of a fluke for me.”

Okay, this was not how this was supposed to go. I needed Dominic to come to that game. He was the only guy I was totally sure I could beat. He was the only sure way to get back my money. There was only one thing I could do.

“What’s the matter? Afraid I’ll school you again?” I asked.

It was so obviously calculating that I was sure he would see right through me. But he paused right in the middle of the hall. Apparently Dominic Thomas was not intractable in his resistance to gambling. Thank God. Marcy watched us curiously, twiddling her hair around her finger.

“Dude. Don’t even go there,” he said, looking at me over his shoulder.

“What?” I said with a shrug. “I understand. You’re just being pragmatic. I admire it, actually,” I said, knowing my wise tone would exacerbate his irritation. “Hold on to your money. Play it safe. If that’s the kind of guy you are, that’s the kind of guy you are.”

Dominic turned around and shook his head at me. He knew exactly what I was doing, but it was working anyway. And we both knew it. There was no way Dominic was going to stand there with all those people milling around and let me basically call him a wuss. He stepped right up to me and tipped his chin, staring up into my eyes with a cocky expression.

“All right, man. I’ll be there. And this time, you’ll be the one getting schooled,” he said.

Yeah, right, I thought. “Can’t wait,” I told him.

I waited for him to return to Marcy’s welcoming arms before turning around and heading back to my locker. My mind was about a million times more tranquil now that I had put my plan into play. Dom was an abysmal poker player. If I could get him to pony up the big bucks, all I’d have to do was win a few hands and everything would be fine. I was on the road to recovery.

Winter was still waiting for me, but I could tell she was vexed.

“Hey there!” I said, laying it on thick and wrapping my arms around her as if nothing had happened. I planted a big kiss on her, and she pulled away.

“What’s your problem?” she asked.

“What?” I replied with a grin.

“One second you ostracize me, and the next you think you can just come over here and I’ll fall at your feet?” she demanded. “Maybe your old girlfriend was all puppy dog like that, but you’re with me now.”

“Geez. Freak out a little why don’t you?” I said. “Who knew you were so high-maintenance?” I joked.

I was in a good mood, feeling lighter than I had in days, and I expected her to pick up on it—to laugh and joke back. But instead her eyes clouded over.

“Ha ha,” she said flatly. “Why don’t you give me a call when you get that discombobulated head of yours in order?”

Then she turned around and strutted down the hall, leaving me slack-jawed behind her. What on earth had just happened here?