Chapter 6
"Think we can send her back to the Day and Night School?" Fang whispered to me when we were out of earshot of the others. We had taken a quick rest stop outside a convenience store in western Nevada.
I nudged Fang's side.
"What? And give up Reginald?" I joked through bites of my second hot dog. Reginald was our tutor. Our stately esteemed African American tutor. Graduated from Stanford and had a short stint as a linebacker with the Denver Broncos. The CSM hired him to help with our limited schooling – give us some type of education. And that was cool. At least we didn't have to get all snazzed up in some fancy schmancy uniform and parade around all day with prep school Barbies and Kens and well – we were actually learning stuff. Well – I should say most of us were learning stuff. All Nudge garnered from our tutoring sessions were lessons in human anatomy.
Before you say Ewwww, allow me to elaborate. Reggie was twenty-seven and treated Nudge like his favorite niece. And nothing more. Nudge just happened to relinquish control of her drool factor whenever Reggie boy stepped in the room. I think the only thing she actually studied during the past two months were Reginald's broad shoulders.
Fang shrugged at my light-hearted comment, then said, "I miss the old Nudge."
"She's still Nudge – just a crankier version."
Fang flicked a Ya think? look my way.
"I liked nice Nudge. Cranky Nudge is getting on my nerves."
"Hasn't Nudge always gotten on our nerves?" I teased, shoving my last Twinkie toward him. The corner of Fang's mouth crooked upward.
"Besides," I continued, placing a hand on his arm. "I'm sure we'll experience violence and mayhem soon enough and then the six of us will be back to fighting for each other rather than against."
Fang kicked at the sand beneath our feet.
"Careful what you wish for."
Yeah, really.
I leaned back on the convenience store's brick exterior and crossed my arms over my chest.
"So – who do you think those guys really were?" I asked Fang.
He leaned back against the wall next to me. We watched Gazzy, Iggy, and Angel climb huge outcroppings of rock across the highway. Nudge perched in the shade of one, filed her nails.
"More baddies?"
I shrugged. "Think we should tell Jeb?"
He looked at the flock, then me. "Maybe."
I looked at Fang, my eyes revealing what my mouth wouldn't.
He took my hand, squeezed it. The boys in the dark suits launched our minds back several months ago. To a convo I encountered – one I detailed to Fang. One I wasn't meant to see.
One between Mr. Chu and…
… and Brigid.
