“Wanna come over to my house?” CJ asked as they made a right and then a left, heading toward home. “We can play my X-Box. Ma’s working late, and she already said she won’t mind.”
Devon thought a moment. Memaw had been good this morning, had been sitting at the kitchen table with a bowl of cereal when he’d left for camp, almost like the old days. She had taken to wearing her faded blue bathrobe around the house all the time now instead of the housedresses she normally favored, said she had a chill, though how anyone could have a chill in the summertime was beyond him. She looked extra old these days, and her hair wasn’t right, like she didn’t really bother with it, but she was up, and that’s what mattered. She was up and around and not laying all day in the bed like before. She was talking better, too.
“Yeah, I’ll come for a little while. Gotta help Memaw, but maybe I can come for an hour or so.”
“Awesome!” CJ grinned, and for a second Devon felt like a normal kid. “My cousin gave me Lego Jurassic World cause he got tired of it. It’s amazing.”
Devon bit back a smile as they pedaled and CJ went on and on about the game and how you could experiment with DNA and create your own dinosaurs, even. CJ was obsessed with dinosaurs, had gone around for years saying he wanted to be a paleontologist while the rest of the kids were all into firefighters or Army superheroes or whatever. They rounded the corner, still smiling as CJ went on and on about the game, until Devon noticed CJ had suddenly grown quiet and stopped talking all together.
There, ahead, were Marquis, Johnny Vasquez, and Big Ty. They were standing in the middle of the street, arms crossed and shoulder-to-shoulder, staring them down. Marquis’s basketball rested at his feet. Oh, man. They were waiting. Just for them.
Almost in unison, CJ and Devon stopped pedaling, gears whirring as they coasted way, way down.
“Let’s go,” Devon muttered, already circling back. They could always go the long way, back down Baker toward Washington and over, cut through the trailer park and Old Mr. Sellers’s backyard.
But to his surprise, CJ had stopped his bike smack in the center of the street. And now he was getting off it, setting the bike down. Standing up straight.
“CJ, what are you doing?” Devon asked in a low voice.
“I’m tired of this, Dev.” As he watched, CJ began to walk toward the trio. “Sick and tired.”
Marquis smirked as CJ approached. “Aw, look. Buddy boy wants to play. Miss all our fun from last summer?”
Johnny Vasquez cracked his knuckles, and Big Ty narrowed his eyes and stood, frozen, as CJ walked closer.
Devon looked around. There was no one in sight, no one within earshot. The houses looked closed up and empty, everyone either at work or inside, resting. From somewhere far off a dog barked, one of those snarling, vicious-sounding dogs, and Devon’s heart began to thud. What is he doing? Is he trying to get himself killed?
“I’m not scared of you anymore,” CJ called out to them, lifting his chin. “I’m tired of running and tired of hiding. So let’s get it over with. You wanna beat me up? Have your fun?”
He’s gone crazy. Devon swallowed, trying to get the nerve to say something, figure out the words to stop all this, or at least hit pause. He couldn’t leave CJ there alone to fend for himself, couldn’t go for help and return fast enough, but if he stuck around, they’d jump him, too.
“Actually,” Johnny Vasquez said, hitching his pants and tucking his bandanna into his back pocket, “that sounds like the right idea to me.”
Johnny took a step back, like he was getting into some karate position or something, but Marquis had stopped smirking and was staring at CJ like CJ was from another planet.
“What are you doing?” Marquis demanded, eyes wide.
CJ said nothing, just got within three or four feet of them andstopped. For the first time, Devon realized CJ had shot up a few inches. Instead of flab, he had muscles.
“Dude, I said what do you think you’re doing?” Marquis sounded both mad as all get-out and completely confused. “You do know these guys’ll turn you into a human pretzel.”
CJ shook his head, stared at Big Ty. “No. I don’t think so.”
Big Ty stared back for a long, long moment. Devon held his breath.
And then, as Devon stared, Big Ty socked Vasquez hard in the bicep.
“Oww.” It was Vasquez’s turn to stare.
“Leave him alone,” Big Ty said in a deep voice. “We got better things to do. I’m hungry.”
Devon watched as Big Ty turned on his heel and slowly walked off, headed in the direction of the corner store. Marquis shot CJ a baffled look and followed, and then Vasquez, with one last knuckle-crack, finally did the same.
After they were halfway down the street, Devon wheeled over to CJ.
“What in the world.”
But CJ just smiled, like he didn’t have a worry in the world.
