she yelled.
Brent swiveled around to face her. He was the meanest of the mean. Her daddy told her to stay far, far away from him, but she didn’t care. She was going to teach him a lesson once and for all.
“Awww . . . look . . . the poor freak needs a little girl to stick up for him. Talk about pathetic,” he taunted, cracking up with laughter when he did.
Without giving it a thought, she shrugged out of her backpack, letting it thud to the ground behind her as she started to race their direction. A roar came up her throat like thunder rolling through the air. “You stupid bullies.”
“Ha . . . look at her . . . freaks actually do stick together. Check this weirdo out. Thinks she’s tough.” He gestured at her like he thought it was funny.
Frankie wasn’t laughing.
She didn’t slow. She attacked. Jumped on him, scratching and clawing and kicking as best as she could.
In less than a second, he’d shoved her off, and she stumbled back, landing on her butt on the hard winter ground.
“What the hell?” he spat. “Are you crazy?”
Jumping up before he expected her to, she grabbed his arm and bit down hard. Until she could tell she was breaking the flesh of his wrist and making him bleed, the taste of a penny filling her mouth.
He’d see who to make fun of now.
He jerked back, swearing like a sailor. “Motherfucker. You bitch. I’m bleeding. You are fucking crazy. You’re lucky my dad would kick my ass if I hit a girl.”
Frankie wanted to swear at him, too.
Tell him he was a mother-trucking blowhole and she wanted to kick his skinny butt from here to New Amsterdam. Maybe she would.
But instead she grinned, hoped that blood was coloring her teeth. “Hit me,” she taunted. See what happened then. Her daddy would lose his ever-lovin’ mind and then this stupid jerkface would get a taste of his own medicine.
“Frankie!” Evan’s voice was suddenly filling her ears, scratching and raspy the way it always was, but this time it was covered in something mad and angry.
“You better watch out,” she told the pack of boys, ignoring Evan who she could feel racing back her direction. She wanted to jump in front of him. Protect him. Scream for him to run and hide.
But Evan was dipping down and picking up a big rock and shouting instead. “You touch her and you are not gonna like what happens.”
“Whatever, you freaks aren’t worth it. Let’s go.” Brent lifted a hand and twirled it in the air.
All the stupid boys followed his lead, grumbling and throwing more mean things over their shoulders. Frankie was half inclined to chase them the rest of the way down the street.
But she was too wrapped up in the weird feeling that was coming from Evan, all hard and annoyed.
When he saw the boys were going away, he threw the rock down, and he turned to take back off for the trail.
Frankie darted over to where she’d dropped her backpack and scooped it up by a strap, running after him and trying to sling it back onto her shoulder. “Evan, hey, wait up.”
He couldn’t hear her words, but she knew that he felt them. Knew he knew she was calling out for him.
Her heart started beating funny when he wouldn’t turn around to look at her. He just walked faster and faster, angling through the break in the fence and rushing out into the woods that separated the school from their neighborhood. He hit the trail that led toward their houses before he veered off in the direction of their second secret meeting spot.
They had to have a bunch of them so they’d always know where to find each other.
Only this time, it didn’t seem like Evan wanted her to follow.
She rushed to keep up, out of breath and a step behind him when they finally made it out into the clearing. Big trees touched the blue sky on all sides of the circle. There was only one in the middle where they’d made their fort with Carly and Josiah this last summer.
The grasses that covered the ground had turned brown, crunchy leaves scattered in piles, the kind they used to make leaf angels with.
Evan tossed down his backpack in frustration and threw himself to sitting on a fallen log.
Frankie chewed at her bottom lip and slowly approached.
WHAT’S WRONG? she signed, having to dip down to get in his line