I hid behind my locker door to swap out my history book and notebook the next morning. Part one of the new plan wasn’t so different than the one I had on my first day. Sort of. If I squinted and looked at it sideways.
I was supposed to keep a low profile at school, faithfully attending morning classes—so I wasn’t risking a call home that would screw things up.
My intention was to fly so far under the radar that I avoided anyone’s detection until after my trip to the lab. I was making like a stealth student (instead of a stealth bomber), and would try to keep my distance from the other Scoopers as much as possible too. I’d purposely structured the plan so that if it failed—please don’t let it fail—any blame would rest squarely with me.
So in one of the brief moments when I was at an easily-pinned-down-and-accosted location like my locker, Maddy showed up right next to me, vibrating with nervous energy. Her band T-shirt today was even more meta than the norm. The hot pink graffiti font on the gray shirt proclaimed My New Band Name.
They hadn’t been on the playlist either.
Before I could ask about it or Maddy could so much as say hello, Principal Butler oozed over and stopped beside us. He was wearing the most self-satisfied version of his oily smile that I had seen yet. His suit today must have cost a month’s salary, a faint blue pinstripe and a salmon tie, both in fabrics that shouted designer label.
“Miss Lane,” he said, “I was surprised to get your note. Apology accepted. With this change of heart, I think you may do all right here after all.”
Maddy’s jaw dropped open, but thankfully she didn’t say anything. I had neglected to fill the crew in on my apologetic smoke screen.
“Me too. Thanks for . . . ” I swallowed. Got to get out the words. Don’t want him to suspect you’re up to something. “Thanks for being willing to do the bygones thing.”
“The slate is clean,” he said.
It seemed like the conversation should be over, but he lingered, unfortunately.
Maddy continued to gape at our exchange, although there was no indication he noticed she was there.
Good. Better if he forgot Maddy was associated with me. This truce was destined to be short-lived, whether by implosion or explosion.
But I needed it to hold for now.
“Was there something else?” I asked, chipper.
“Your dad wasn’t angry at me that you got in trouble, was he?” he asked.
“Only at me, so you’re safe,” I said. “You really sold him on the school. And how much you care about the students.”
A soft snort came from Maddy’s general vicinity.
“Glad to hear it,” Principal Butler said. He meant it too. His self-satisfaction spiked, his shark-like quality in full effect. “I’d love to take him out for dinner—your whole family—welcome you to Metropolis.”
Nightmare.
“I’ll tell Dad. But we better get to class now,” I said, shutting my locker door on the conversation. “Don’t want to be late.”
“Now that’s model student behavior,” Butler said, beaming.
ARGH, no. Don’t say anything, don’t say anything.
The bell for first period rang and I pasted on a frozen smile and grabbed Maddy’s arm, towing her away.
My smile stayed frozen when we ran smack into the Warheads. This time it was Maddy who did the pulling, tugging me over by the lockers to give them plenty of room to pass.
Anavi was in the middle of the pack, her face as smoothly blank as the rest, and . . . and . . . and . . .
Devin was behind her. Wearing black. Facial expression schooled into submission.
He gave every appearance of being assimilated. It was his role in the plan.
That didn’t make it any easier to watch.
Especially since I was no longer convinced that my attempt would succeed at breaking the Hydra’s neural bonds—not without SmallvilleGuy’s participation. Devin was in real danger. We all were.
I couldn’t wave away a surge of doubt. What if Devin’s bland expression wasn’t an act, but legitimately blank like the rest because they had him? Brain, line, and sinker. We should have worked out a signal.
He didn’t even seem to notice Maddy and me. If the other Warheads did, they didn’t bother to stop and mock. They glided past like slimy eels swimming toward their shark master, stopping only to greet Butler by lifting their hands in small waves as they moved by him too.
Even Butler looked uncomfortable at the sight of them.
They couldn’t really get Devin so quickly, right? Part of the reason I hadn’t fought harder against his suggestion was because with Anavi it had taken days.
Before Butler could turn and come after us for more awkward chitchat, I said, “Let’s go,” and started walking.
“I hope gamer boy knows what he’s doing with them,” Maddy said.
“Me too,” I said. There was no way to determine if Devin was acting or not, not without blowing our entire plan.