Matt didn’t care about that. Taking down Colton and eliminating Mike Huebsch had been the goal all along: run for, and win vice, knocking Huebsch out of SGA. Then slide into the presidency once Colton got expelled. It had been a two-fer.
Matt had paid Huebsch a visit the day after Colton’s expulsion.
Huebsch had been surprised to see him.
Matt had walked into the creep’s dorm room unbidden, closed the door. “Take a seat, Toady.”
Huebsch had remained standing. “If you think I’m going to congratulate you, you’re mistaken.”
Matt had laughed. “You have no idea how little your opinion matters to me. Besides, we both know you’re incapable of graciousness or sportsmanship.”
“Then why are you here?”
“To play chess.”
Huebsch had frowned. “I thought soccer was your game.”
“It is, but now that I’m president of SGA, I thought I should learn the Game of Kings. You played with Paul a few times, right? You know, when you pretended to be his friend and then blackmailed him?”
Huebsch’s eyes had widened slightly. He shrank back as though he were worried about being hit. “I was just following Colton’s orders. It wasn’t personal.”
“I’m not going to pop you,” Matt had soothed. “Like I said, I’m here to play chess with you. I played Colton Friday evening and beat him soundly. Now it’s your turn.”
Huebsch had backed into the room’s cinderblock wall, could not retreat any further. “Colton was arrested Friday evening. Everyone knows that. It’s been in the papers. So, you’re either saying that you played him in jail, or—”
“Or what?”
“—Or you’re not talking about a literal game of chess,” Huebsch had said.
“Bingo!”
Matt had leaned in close, crowding Huebsch’s personal space, whispered in his ear. “Colton didn’t drive Bella to that old farm road Friday night. I tricked him into driving there, lured him with what’s known in chess as a queen sacrifice. By the time he realized what was going on, the game was over—except for the part where he puked and shit himself and cried for his mommy.”
Huebsch had squirmed away from Matt. “I’ll report this to the police. You’ll be arrested.”
“Go ahead and try,” Matt had said. “You don’t have any proof. You’d just sound like the sore loser that you are.”
“So, what do you want?”
“Like I said: ‘Chess.’ We’re already a couple of moves into the game. We’re at the point where I’ve made a king’s gambit. Look it up later on your own time. The point is that you have a choice to make. Choose wrong, and it’s checkmate.”
“What’s my choice?” Huebsch had asked. He sounded deflated.
“Drop out of MCU immediately or…”
“Or what?”
“That’s the thing about the ‘or what,’” Matt had said. “You won’t know what your particular ‘or what’ is ‘til it happens. But if you want to know what I’m capable of, just read the papers.”
Huebsch had blanched. “Can’t I at least finish the semester? Then transfer to another school? Please? I’ll lose my scholarships otherwise.”
Matt had shaken his head. “I don’t seem to recall your having any concern for Paul’s scholarships. I’ll give you the same timeline you gave him. Three days. Be gone in 72 hours or be the poster boy for MCU’s next scandal.”
Debbie’s voice pulled Matt out of his reverie.
“Pity about that business with Colton Langley and that female impersonator,” she observed. “Attempted rape! I never would have pegged Colton as a homosexual. But then, what do I know? You were in SGA with him. What did you think?”
What Matt thought was that this was a loaded question. They both knew Debbie’s gaydar had been faulty where her ex-husband was concerned, so no surprise that she hadn’t spotted Colton for the self-hating gay that he was. Beyond that, the landscape was a minefield of truth bombs primed to reveal Matt’ssecrets as well.
