Chapter 3

Joey follows me closely as we climb through a hole in the front fence in the school yard,

"What if a teacher catches us?" he asks me timidly, as his shirt snags in the rusty iron fencing.

I can't help but roll my eyes, "There aren't any teachers around to see us. We'll be fine."

We turn the corner and walk up the street to the corner drugstore. The dirty neon "open" sign blinks off and on as it sits by the window. A doorbell-like sound rings when Joey and I walk through the door. There's an older man tending the store, "Shouldn't you kids be in school?"

"It's lunch, we're allowed off-campus." I lie, casually grabbing a bag of chips from the shelf.

"We...we are?" Joey mumbles, but I silence him with a stare of warning.

"Oh, that explains the boy that came in here earlier." the man mentions.

"Was he thin? Blond hair, blue eyes?" she asks, setting the bag onto the counter and shelling out a couple of dollars.

The man nods, "Yes, that's him."

"And where did he go after he left?"

"Why, I'm right here." a charismatic voice announces.

We turn around and see the slender young man standing in the doorway, leaning against one side and his hand pressed against the other.

"Frank!" I smile forcefully, "Just the person I was looking for."

"Hey, Terry, what are you doing here?" he asks.

"Oh, you know, just picking up a little snack. You?"

He puts his hands into his pockets, "You know me, just, hanging out." he glances over at Joey, and his expression immediately sours, "And...who might you be?"

I clench my fist as I realize that Joey's sweating bullets, "Uhm...I'm Joey...freshman…"

Frank twists his lip, he can sense Joey's nervous, if it isn't obvious enough, "Yeah, I can see that."

"Shall we walk back? Lunch ends in a couple minutes." I intervene, hoping to save Joey from any further embarrassment.

Frank nods, "Of course." he steps out of the way of the door, "Ladies first."

We all walk out of the cornerstone together. I couldn't understand why Joey is so intimidated by Frank, sure he's a smooth talker and I hear he's actually pretty decent in a fight, but he's not physically intimidating in the slightest.

"So...why are you really here Terry?" he asks, as soon as we're out of earshot of the cornerstone clerk.

"I hear there's something new on the market called Joker Venom." I cut to the chase, "Do you happen to have any?"

He chuckles, "Do I have any? Terry, JV has been selling like hotcakes since I got my first shipment." he leans in and whispers, "Real popular among those so-called 'cool kids' who've already blazed through everything else and are looking for something new."

"What does it do?"

"It's like heroin, mixed with laughing gas. You inject some in, and suddenly you just can't stop laughing. It's really funny seeing people drugged up on it, they look so stupid."

I smirk, "Don't they always?" he nods in agreement, and I press forward, "So, how exactly did you get your hands on this stuff?"

"Oh Terry, you really think I'd give away my dealer? A magician never reveals his secrets."

I raise an eyebrow, "...how much?"

"No charge, just a night with me."

Joey looks on in horror, but I roll my eyes, "Yeah right, in your dreams."

"Hey, you can't fault me for trying." he clears his throat, "I get the stuff in the alley behind the cornerstore, two guys in a truck pull up and unload boxes full of the stuff."

I smile as we reach the school, at least he's getting to the point, "And this happens at night?"

"Yeah, around nine-ish." he mentions, "So, why is this so important to you?"

"You know me, everything going on around school is my business."

"Better be careful." he warns, "You're lucky I let you in, but sneaking around the other guys, well, they certainly aren't as nice."

I mess up his already shaggy hair, and kiss him on the cheek, "That's why I come to you. You're so nice."

His face turns bright red as I slip under the hole in the fence and reenter the school, leaving him standing dumbfounded on the street. Joey struggles to keep up with my fast walking pace,

"So, hang on, are you two dating?"

"Of course not. Why'd you think that?"

"Well...I mean, you kissed him."

I shrug, "So, that doesn't mean anything, I kiss him all the time."

Joey shifts uncomfortably, his expression still somewhat confused, "So...we know where he gets his...'Joker Venom', now what?"

"That...I'm still deciding."

He chuckles, "Well, I mean what can you do?"

"Well, I'm not sure if this drug is that dangerous that I would want to disrupt their supply. I'll have to see someone on it to truly determine how dangerous it really is. From the way Frank was describing it, it sounds harmless, but he's not exactly the most trustworthy source. I'll bet he was up on Joker Venom as well when he saw the other guys taking it."

Joey stops in his tracks, "Terry, today was fun and all, but I don't think I want to be involved in this kind of thing. No offense, but snooping around never leads to anything but trouble."

I shrug coldly, "Fine. Whatever suits you."

"...what, that's it? 'Fine'?"

"I'm not going to make you do anything you don't want to, and besides, I usually work alone anyway." I tell him.

"But doesn't it ever get lonely? Working by yourself?"

I pause, lowering my head, "...of course it is. But what I do isn't exactly normal, now is it?"

"Then why can't you just be normal?"

Of course I've considered this before, and I've tried just being a normal kid. But that's the thing, I'm not a normal kid, never have been, never will be. And honestly...that's fine by me.

"Well, if I were normal, I wouldn't be myself, now would I?" I smirk, just as the bell rings and I head off to class.