“Julian, let’s load it!”
“We don’t have any bullets.”
“Then buy some! Don’t you want to shoot it? Let’s do it!”
Julian shook his head. “We can’t. People will hear. The houses are too close.”
“So let’s go somewhere else!” Sasha threw up her hands. “Duh!”
“No, don’t.” Allie clucked. “You probably need a permit, and it’s dangerous.”
Sasha turned to her, angry. “Allie, don’t be stupid. It’s a gun, not a bomb. No police are going to know we have it. We could put it in a backpack.”
David shook his head. “I agree with Allie. I don’t think we should move it. Even though it’s old, the owner could come back for it. We don’t want to let on we found it.”
“Oh, enough!” Sasha dove between the boys, grabbed the gun, and scooted a few steps away.
Julian advanced on Sasha. “Give it back, please. It’s not a toy.”
“Oh my God, this is amazing!” Sasha loved holding the gun. It felt heavy in her hand and packed so much power. Even without bullets, it excited her.
Julian held out his hand. “Sasha, please?”
“No, I just want to see it!” Sasha held him off with an arm. The metal was silver, and she ran a fingertip along the side, where it had been damaged. “This is scratched.”
Julian nodded. “They destroyed the serial numbers so the gun couldn’t be traced.”
“How do you know that?”
“I researched it. The round part is the cylinder, where the bullets go. The holes that hold the bullets are called ‘chambers.’ There are five, so it holds five bullets. Or ‘rounds.’ ”
“And the cylinder revolves.” Sasha pressed a little lever, which freed the cylinder to spin. “That’s why they call it a revolver.”
“Exactly.” Julian smiled.
“It feels really good.” Sasha aimed the gun, double-fisted. She was pretty sure she could hit anything she wanted. It was a thrill.
David frowned. “Sasha, you’re being freaky.”
Allie added, “Sasha, we have to get going. They’ll notice we’re missing.”
“Almost done.” Sasha flopped the gun over in her palm and pressed the lever again. The cylinder popped open, revealing five perfectly round chambers, then she closed it again.
“Give it back.” Julian held out his hand. “And you have to agree to not tell anybody about it. Agree?”
“Bang!” Sasha shouted, pretending to shoot him, and they all laughed.
Except Allie.
CHAPTER 4
David Hybrinski
David worried that the gun wasn’t a secret anymore. He hid his annoyance as Sasha gave it back to Julian, who rewrapped it in the newspaper. Sasha had a million friends, and she wouldn’t keep it to herself for long. She was used to having her own way. Pretty girls got away with murder.
“Here we go.” Julian started to put the gun in the hole, but Sasha stopped him, frowning.
“I think Allie should have to touch the gun, so all of our fingerprints are on it. Like, we’re in possession, and we could get caught, so she should be in possession, too.”
Julian hesitated, but David knew that Julian would do whatever Sasha wanted. He always did. David, Julian, and Sasha had gone to elementary and middle school together, but Julian had gone to Lutheran Academy for high school. David had thought Julian was going to jump off a bridge because it wasn’t Sasha’s school, but his parents had made him go. They didn’t think he was challenged enough in the public school. When David told his mother that, she laughed. Because she was a teacher in a public school.
Allie made a face. “I don’t want to touch the gun.”
“You have to,” Sasha shot back. “Why don’t you want your fingerprints on the gun?”
“It’s not that, it’s just that I don’t, well, I don’t really want to touch it.”
Julian unwrapped the gun. “Allie, you should touch it. We all keep the secret. We’re all in the pact.”
“What pact?” Allie frowned, leaning back on her hurt ankle.
“Just do it.” Sasha raised her voice, and David knew Allie was no match for Sasha, who was definitely going to win this argument. Allie was too nice, and he remembered that her big sister died. He couldn’t even think how he would feel if his big brother died. The school planted a tree for Allie’s sister, but David doubted that was any consolation.
Sasha met Julian’s eye directly. “Give it to Allie, so she can touch it.”
Julian held out the gun. “Allie, it’s not that big a deal.”
David felt bad for her. “Allie, do it to make them happy.”
Sasha shot David a dirty look, but didn’t say anything.
“Oh, fine.” Allie patted the gun quickly, then handed it back to