Chapter 19

Half an hour before classes began, the first floor hallway of the main building was nearly deserted. Eric stopped in front of the door marked MR DOONS, VICE PRINCIPAL. He glanced both ways. Nobody was nearby or watching. He crouched, slid an envelope under the door, and walked away.

Upstairs, he passed a couple of girls standing at an open locker. They paid him no attention. He walked by an open classroom.

What if Miss Major’s door was open?

As he approached it, his heart started to pound, sending throbs of pain into his wounded hand.

Her door was shut.

He glanced back at the girls. Their backs were turned. He flipped open the cover of his English grammar text, and took out an envelope. Crouching, he dropped the envelope to the floor and pushed it toward the slot beneath the door.

The door sprang open.

Eric jumped back.

Miss Major looked down at the envelope, then at Eric. She planted her fists against her hips, and Eric realized she was wearing the same dress she’d worn the day he saw her breasts, the day she slapped him.

Her toe nudged the envelope. ‘I assume it’s for me, ’ she said.

Eric nodded.

Miss Major held out her hand. Her long fingers trembled slightly, and Eric wondered if she was afraid of him. Probably not. She looked angry, not frightened. ‘Give it to me. ’

He picked up the envelope, and laid it across her hand.

She turned it over. She ran it through her fingers. Her eyes fixed on Eric. ‘I’ll give you one chance. You can take it back now, unopened, and that’ll be the end of it. ’ She held it toward him.

Eric’s hand throbbed. The pain made it hard to think. He wanted to accept the envelope and get far away from Miss Major. But he didn’t want to back down.

‘What’ll it be, Eric? ’

‘I guess I’ll take it, ’ he mumbled, and reached for the envelope. As his fingers closed on it, she snatched it away. Her tight mouth smiled.

‘You said …’

‘I changed my mind. I just can’t wait to see what it is that you’re so eager to take back, now that you’re caught. ’

‘It’s nothing. ’

‘I’ll just bet. ’ She slipped a finger under the flap, and slowly worked it up the envelope, ripping the seam. ‘Well well well, what have we here? Not another rat, obviously. ’ She plucked out the paper and unfolded it. ‘Join the fun, ’ she read in a mocking voice. With a frown, she read the rest in silence. She gazed at the paper for a long time, as if reluctant to meet Eric’s eyes. Her face was red. Finally, she lowered the invitation. ‘You’re giving a party? ’ she asked.

Eric nodded. He smiled, trying to look embarrassed. ‘I thought you might like to come, if you’re not too busy. It’ll be a bunch of kids and a few of my teachers and Mr Doons. ’

‘But why me? ’

‘Well. ’ He shrugged. ‘I feel bad about – you know – what happened. I just thought maybe you could come and have a good time, and maybe we wouldn’t have to be enemies anymore. ’

‘That’s very thoughtful of you, Eric. ’ She looked again at the invitation. ‘You’re having it at the Sherwood house? ’

‘Yeah. We’ve got it all fixed up for the party. It’ll be real spooky. ’

‘But it’s abandoned, isn’t it? ’

‘Oh, my mom’s good friends with the owner. ’

‘Glendon Morley? ’

‘Yeah. He’s gonna be there, too. So’s my mom and some of her friends. ’

‘Sounds like you’ll have quite a crowd. ’

‘Yeah. I hope you’ll come. You can bring along a friend, t

oo, if you want. ’

She folded the invitation and slipped it into the envelope. ‘We’ll see, ’ she said. ‘I’ll try to make it, if I can. At any rate, I appreciate being invited. ’

Eric smiled and shrugged.

With a friendly nod, she stepped into her classroom and shut the door.

Eric started down the hall. At first, he felt only relief at escaping her wrath. Then he thought of her embarrassment, and smiled.

He had really put one over on her. All his lies had worked. Moreover, she’d sounded as if she might actually come to the party. In triumph, he slapped his leg – and yelped as pain streaked up his arm.

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