Tora turned her head and looked over her right shoulder. People were staring at her, at them, and they were whispering to each other as if there was a great secret making its way around the school, and everyone knew about it except the three of them.

Just then the door to the cafeteria opened and Jesse Borges walked into the room accompanied by Patty Waters, another one of the more popular girls in the school.

“Oh, look, there are those Brock freaks!” Patty said with a flip of her head.

Jesse giggled a little too hard. “I always knew they were weirdos. Now I know why!”

The two girls made their way to a table at the far end of the room and slowly everyone got back to their lunches. Tora continued to survey the cafeteria and noticed that there was a ring of empty seats and tables around the three of them. It was as if they were all keeping their distance, as if they were afraid they might catch something if they got too close.

She might not have everyone believing her yet, thought Tora, but Maria sure seems to have them thinking that what she’s hinting at might be true.

Chapter 11

Harlan was still thinking about Tora’s problem with Maria Abruzzo when he was confronted with a little problem of his own. Classes were over, and he was walking down the hallway by the auditorium that led to the rear of the school when he heard a familiar voice calling his name.

“Harlan Brock!” The voice belonged to none other than Jake MacKinnon.

Harlan kept walking, looking straight ahead to avoid looking Jake in the eye. Harlan wasn’t afraid of Jake—and he never had been, even before their fight—but he wasn’t in the mood for any of Jake’s games right now. They always played out the same way: Jake would call Harlan “Dogface” or make some other canine-related insult; then Jake would get angry and move forward ready to fight; and then Principal Terashita would arrive in the nick of time to break everything up before anyone got hurt. Who needed it? Besides, as bullies went, Jake MacKinnon was a lightweight compared to the likes of Maria Abruzzo. Jake could throw a punch, maybe kick you when you were down, but Maria…well, she could very well destroy the pack with the track she was on.

“I’m talking to you, Dogface.” Jake was leaning against a row of lockers with the Del Zotto brothers huddled around him like he was giving away the answers to tomorrow’s math test.

“Very funny, Jake,” Harlan said without stopping. “I’d love to stop and chat, but I’m not in the mood for any of your crap right now.”