Chapter 3 – Not Gonna Take It

"Hey, Julian!" Julie felt a wad of paper hit the back of her head. "Oh, Julian!"

She whipped around, glowering at Cole, who sat behind her and Adam in their AP biology class. She had no idea how he'd gotten into the AP bio. He was a pure idiot, just sitting there and doing nothing all period. Lately, his favorite pastime was calling her "Julian" instead of by her real name – perhaps he got a kick out of the thought of her and Connie being the J.V. team's only girls, and this was his way of suggesting she was more of a boy than she was a girl.

"Shut up!" she spat. "My name's 'Julianne,' not 'Julian.'"

"Oh, really? I couldn't tell the difference since you play on a team with a bunch of dudes. Or used to. Did you and Moreau change and shower with the boys, too? Are you sure you're not a guy?"

"I said shut up!" Julie snapped.

"Cole, lay off her," Adam snarled, leaning his hand onto her shoulder.

"Cole, come on, leave her alone," Scooter said – at least he was the only decent one on the Varsity team who had some sympathy.

"Did I ask you?" Cole snapped at Adam and Scooter. "Get your panties out of a wad! It's just a joke."

"Just stop it already!" Adam said.

"You know something, Banksy? It's a real shame you're going with them," Rick Riley said in mock sympathy. "You could've gone all the way like Lukey did. Instead, you settle for these fucking losers."

"Hey, let's watch the mouth," Adam suggested. "And quit comparing me to Luke! I never asked to be on Varsity! I don't want your abuse! And I don't want to be my brother! So shut your mouth before Dr. Heathcliff comes back. This lab report is worth twenty percent of our grade, and I'm not gonna get a bad mark because of you two boneheads."

"You watch your mouth, Banksy," Cole said. "Or I might have to wash it."

"Go ahead. I dare you," Adam spat, turning his attention back to his and Julie's report, but as he did so, Averman returned from the bathroom. As Averman went to the back of the classroom to his assigned seating, Rick shot his foot outward, and Averman stumbled, tripping over Rick's leg, landing on his chin, glasses falling off his face as Rick and Cole howled with laughter.

"Cut it out, Riley." Scooter, God bless his soul, got up from his seat to help Averman up. Perhaps he wasn't such a bad guy, Julie thought as she watched Scooter help Averman to his feet. Averman nodded at Scooter in appreciation before heading back to his lab table, where he'd gotten paired up with Linda Chavez, the girl trying so hard to change the team's mascot to something less racist than the Warriors.

The rest of the class period twisted Adam's stomach, and it didn't help that lunch was in another hour or so from now. In a way, he was thankful he had English class next and that it was with the other Ducks because he wasn't sure how much more of Cole and Rick's harassment he could take. Between Rick and Cole's inappropriate comments to Julie and Rick abusing Averman, he thought he'd be sick. He knew Rick and Cole were doing this because they knew now that Ted Orion was no longer employed and the Ducks would most likely be leaving at the end of the semester, so it meant they could get away with anything now. But Adam would be more than happy to get away from them. Suppose he had to choose between going to public school with the Minnesota Ducks and staying at Eden Hall playing for a bullying Varsity team. In that case, he'd choose a public school in a heartbeat, even if it would disappoint his dad, who'd always wanted Adam to have a better education and would've sent him to Eden Hall Academy even if Adam didn't get accepted there on scholarship.

It felt like a miracle when the bell rang and dismissed them from class, and Adam headed to the English class he shared with Charlie, Russ, Averman, Fulton, and Linda. As he walked, though, Linda caught up to him.

"Adam," she said, "I'm working on an expose for the paper. It'll cover what happened at the board meeting. Would you mind giving me your side of things?"

He thought about it. Granted, if he said anything to Linda about the kind of treatment he'd received at the hands of the Varsity team, Rick would be even more pissed off at him than ever before. However, what more could Rick do that he hadn't done already? He'd put the Ducks through enough hell since day one at Eden Hall, and he'd already made Adam's time on Varsity miserable. Plus, if Adam were leaving the school at the end of the semester, it wouldn't be like Rick knew where he lived, and Rick wouldn't be caught dead being seen around a public school of all places.

Still, he couldn't help feeling some dread settle in. No doubt, if he opened his mouth and spoke up, Rick would go after him even harder; he'd probably go after Julie, given how close Adam was with her. He didn't want to think or dream up what Rick would potentially do. But he also knew that the truth needed to get out there.

"No, not at all. We can do it after school's over," Adam said as they neared their classroom.

"Are you nervous about it?" Linda asked, referring to Rick and Cole.

"What more could they possibly do?" Adam asked. "They've already thrown J.V.'s clothes in the showers and pulled that dine-and-dash stunt."

Linda eyed Adam's wrist; she must've noticed the bruising surrounding it, shaped like a handprint. "They've done a lot more than that, from the looks of it," she said sympathetically.

"That's nothing." Adam pulled on the sleeve of his hoodie, determined to hide the bruise on his right wrist.

"Let me guess. Somebody twisted it?" Linda inquired, her blue eyes piercing into him.

Adam sighed heavily. There was no getting Linda to back off. She was ever the journalist, wanting to find out the truth. She'd give those reporters who covered Watergate a run for their money. "Yeah," he said.

"If you want, I'll keep your name anonymous."

"Thanks, Linda."


Lunch was the hour the Ducks dreaded most, mainly because of the lack of adult supervision in the mess hall. It would provide the Varsity team with the perfect opportunity to do something. It was bad enough that they stole Ken's lunch every day.

Speaking of which, Cole did just that as they went to their seats. But Charlie grabbed extra food on the way through the lunch line. The least he could do was ensure Ken got to eat something. Not to mention, Goldberg bought desserts for everyone, ensuring Ken would get to have something else.

Charlie was relieved that Adam was back with them, meaning the Ducks didn't have to worry about him as much as they had when Adam had been sitting with Varsity. But even so, Charlie's senses seemed heightened more than usual. Perhaps he was paranoid, but he had his concerns that Varsity would try and pull something much worse than stealing Ken's lunch. Now that the Ducks' scholarships were revoked, Varsity wouldn't hesitate to remind them of that every day. And Varsity also didn't hesitate to remind them they didn't have their coach anymore – with Orion gone; they had nobody on their side anymore – well, maybe except for Dean Buckley, but he was just as complacent, going between fighting to keep them at the school and kissing up to the board members.

Charlie decided he'd drown his sorrows in one of the desserts Goldberg brought back to the table. One of the brownies looked tempting, chocolatey, gooey, fudgy, rich, and indulgent, just the sort of thing he needed to cure his depression over being unable to play hockey for the rest of the season.

He unwrapped the brownie from the plastic wrap and took a bite out of it, sighing. But he could've sworn he heard some snickers coming from the Varsity team's lunch table, not that he was surprised there; they were most likely laughing over something stupid.

He downed most of the brownie before sipping some juice he'd gotten in line, and Linda sat beside him, hardly eating anything herself, her eyebrows furrowed as she went over her notes – she'd interviewed a few of the other Ducks for her article she planned on typing up, and she was looking to get it published by next week.

"Linda, you know when you publish that, Varsity's not gonna be happy with you," said Connie warningly.

"What more could I do that won't piss them off? They already hate me because I petitioned for the school mascot's name to change," Linda pointed out.

"Yeah, but they're gonna come after you harder," said Luis. "Just be careful."

"I can take care of myself," Linda insisted.

"I hope you're right," Charlie said, absentmindedly beginning to scratch at the back of his hand; he felt a sudden itch there that he couldn't ignore. "Because there's no telling what Riley, Cole, and the others would do."

"He's right about that," Adam said, and that was when Charlie noticed the bright, purpled bruise surrounding Banksy's wrist.

Charlie eyed the bruise, quirking an eyebrow. "Let me guess? Rick?"

"It's nothing, Charlie," Adam said stubbornly.

Charlie rolled his eyes. Adam was nothing if not stubborn. The idiot tried playing in the Goodwill Games with a stress-fractured wrist. Of course, he'd try to hide any severe wrist injury, not liking pity and not wanting the extra attention it would bring. Plus, if Adam complained about it, Rick would go out of his way to attack him further and go for something worse than just twisting his wrist.

"Adam, what the hell have they been doing to you?" asked Russ.

Adam sighed. "Let's just say they always reminded me they were my superiors."

"Well, where did that come from?" demanded Fulton.

"After the dine-and-dash. I tried to go back and pay half the check."

"But how the fuck is it still looking like that?" Fulton looked pissed. If Portman were there, they'd bash the Varsity's heads in.

Adam looked down, uncomfortable. "I don't wanna talk about this."

Julie shook her head. "One day, they're gonna cause permanent damage."

"Jules, it's fine. Nothing I can't handle."

"You're an idiot," said Russ. "You should've gone to the nurse for that a while ago!"

"Oh yeah, sure, and get a sling and wrist wrap for it. Varsity would love that!" Adam snarled.

"Quit trying to be brave, Banksy," Averman said. "You're not Superman."

"They're right, Adam," said Charlie. "That doesn't look good. Did they hurt you anywhere else?"

Adam went quiet at this, and it made Charlie wonder what else the Varsity team had been threatening Adam with. Sighing, he scratched at the back of his hand again, glancing down and seeing it looked red and inflamed, and it didn't look like it would be going down any time soon.

Crap.

He glanced down at the brownie, the only thing left of it being crumbs on his lunch tray. While he hadn't noticed any traceable nuts in it, it had probably been made with nut oil, or almond flour, or an extract, or something. And then he recalled the Varsity team's snickers, and suddenly, he felt the rash make its way from his hand to the rest of his arm, his other arm, tingling and burning and . . .

A sudden wave of pain shot through his stomach, and his mouth started to tingle, kind of like how his arm did when it fell asleep. And he felt something catch in his throat, his own breath.

"Conway? You okay?" asked Guy.

He couldn't speak as he felt his breath catch again, and he started coughing, his body spasming as he felt tears sting at his eyes.

"Oh, crap!" Goldberg whined. But when he noticed the brownies on the tray he'd placed in the middle of the table, he said, "I . . . I didn't buy those."

"Dammit!" Connie and Guy suddenly darted out of the lunch room before Charlie could stop them, not that he could speak anyway through his choking. He knew what this was, hadn't experienced one in years, but remembered it so clearly. The only ones who knew he was allergic to nuts were the Ducks and Linda. He hadn't told anyone else.

"Charlie? Do you have an EpiPen for it?" Adam demanded, wandering around until he was knelt beside him.

"No, I don't think so," said Averman nervously.

"Yeah, he hasn't had a reaction like this since the first grade," added Goldberg.

He could feel Adam rubbing his back gently, and he soon heard sirens in the distance, knowing Connie and Guy must've called 9-1-1. As embarrassed as he was over being a huge spectacle in front of everyone there, he couldn't deny that he was scared. He couldn't breathe. Black spots danced in front of his eyes as an overwhelming nausea suddenly seared through his stomach, and he fought with all he had not to throw up. Just as he started retching, he felt his body grow weaker as he felt like he would pass out . . .

And then he blacked out just as he heard the paramedics coming in, darkness clouding his vision as he fell out of his chair . . .


"Are you sure that he'll be all right?" Casey Conway asked, her voice strained as she sat close to her son, watching him as he slept, the oxygen mask around his mouth and nose fogging with each breath he took.

"I'm sure," Bella Orion assured her soothingly. "We gave him a dose of steroids, and he's breathing much better now that he's on oxygen. But it was good that his friends called for help when they did. It was a pretty severe reaction."

"But do you know what caused it?" Gordon Bombay asked tightly, holding Charlie's hand.

"His friends told the paramedics that he'd consumed a brownie, and they suspected it might've been contaminated with nuts; it's not uncommon and a fairly simple mistake that could happen to anyone," Dr. Lincoln Hanson explained gently, though his words did very little to soothe anyone in the room. When they'd found out that Charlie had eaten something nut-contaminated, everyone had been on edge, especially Ted, who hadn't been aware that Charlie was allergic to nuts. While it could've been an innocent mistake, apparently Goldberg didn't recall buying the brownies, which gave Ted the hunch that the Varsity team possibly slipped the brownies onto Goldberg's tray when he didn't notice anything. But the only thing that did not add up was how the Varsity team could've found out that Charlie was allergic.

"It should've been labeled," argued Ted Orion, his anger detectable. "The ingredients should've been listed on there so he could've known."

"I'm not arguing with you there, Ted," Bella said gently. "But we won't know much more until Charlie wakes up. For now, let's just be glad that he's all right and that nothing worse happened to him."

"Thank God," Casey whispered, wiping at her eyes, which had been filling with tears continuously the whole time she'd found out that her son had been admitted to the hospital for anaphylaxis. She'd been so nervous and angry that Gordon had insisted on driving her to the hospital, and she was a little more than surprised to see Ted there, too, but she'd been relieved when she heard from Ted that his wife was Charlie's nurse; she knew her son would be in good hands.

Sighing, she brushed her fingers through Charlie's hair, watching his breath fog around the oxygen mask as his chest rose and fell steadily. The rash had decreased significantly thanks to the steroids and cortisone, and the color had returned to his cheeks. But she couldn't help feeling angry all over again as she thought of how Ted had so unfairly lost his job as the coach; if he'd been there, maybe this wouldn't have happened because now, the Ducks had nobody looking out for them. At least Ted had kept them out of trouble and did what he could.

"Even if I were still employed, it wouldn't have made a difference, Ms. Conway," Ted said, as though he'd read her mind. "The Varsity team had no respect for me, and they still don't."

"Do you think they might've had something to do with this?" Casey demanded.

"I wouldn't put it past them," Ted said darkly. "We'll add that to the list of disputes when we go to court."

"How soon will that happen?" Casey asked.

"I'm still working through the details with Adam's father," said Gordon. "We think we'll be able to get a court date for next week. Should the board members and the Varsity team fail to show up for their court date, the police could issue a warrant for their arrest."

"It would serve them right," Ted said somberly, his gaze turning to Charlie's sleeping face.


"Too bad about your captain. If you could call him that," Rick Riley sneered at Averman, Kenny, Guy, and Dwayne as they changed out of their gym clothes – phys. Ed. was their final class of the day, and they were just desperate to get to the hospital to see Charlie. But they also unfortunately shared it with quite a few Varsity players, including Rick Riley and Logan Brown, who seemed to make it their mission to target them, primarily when they were assigned to play dodgeball. They took it upon themselves to peg them with dodgeballs at every open opportunity, and the worst thing was that the gym teacher, Coach Kiel, did nothing to stop it. He was just as complacent as they were.

"Save it," Guy snapped. "We know you guys did something."

"Can you prove it?" asked Logan Brown, smirking.

Averman opened his mouth to retort, but he knew anything he said would fall on deaf ears. They couldn't prove that someone from Varsity had slipped those brownies onto Goldberg's tray. And even if they did voice their concerns, who would believe them without proof? Most certainly, the board members wouldn't – they'd believe their sons over the Ducks any day.

Riley scoffed, smirking. "Just what I thought."

"Look, we did nothing to you," spat Guy. "Just back off and leave us be!"

"No, you back off!" Rick reached his hands outward and gave Averman a fierce shove, sending the red-headed nerd falling backward onto the bench; he would be left with bruises for days after that.

"Look, let's just go," Kenny said, clearly not wanting any trouble – it was no mystery among anyone that he was afraid of Rick, but he was even more afraid of Cole.

Guy sighed. He hated the thought of letting these jerks walk all over them, but he also knew that if they had any hope of staying at this snob fest, they'd need to stay out of trouble the best that they could, especially if Gordon succeeded in slapping the school board with his injunction.

Guy just shot one last glare at Rick and grabbed his backpack, shouldering it and leading the others out of the boys' locker room. But before he could get over his disgust with Rick rubbing Charlie's allergic reaction in their faces, he was distracted by the sounds of a shriek from somewhere in the distance, and he turned to see something he'd hoped not to see: Connie falling down the staircase, and Cole standing at the top of the steps, watching as she fell, her head slamming into the banister until finally, she collapsed on the ground.

"CONNIE!" Guy shouted, his worry suddenly overwhelming him, along with a fierce rush of anger that seared through him as he rushed to her side, kneeling beside her. He grabbed her shoulder and started shaking her, only for her head to loll back and forth limply, doll-like, her beautiful brown eyes closed. "CONNIE! WAKE UP!" Tears flooded his eyes as he glared up at Cole, who stood there, acting like he'd done nothing, but Guy knew Cole had been the one to push Connie down the stairs; he had to be; there was no other explanation for it.

"Connie!" Dwayne knelt near her, too. "Oh, God."

"Stay with her!" Guy demanded of Ken, Dwayne, and Averman. "I'm gonna get the nurse."

"No, go call for an ambulance," Averman said shakily. "I don't think she'll be waking up on her own."

"Shit! Shit!" Guy shot up and ran for the nearest phone he could find, putting loose change into it and punching in the three numbers.

"9-1-1, what's your emergency?"

"Hello? Um, I need an ambulance at Eden Hall Academy. It's my girlfriend. I think she was pushed down the stairs, and she's unconscious, and . . ."


"She'll be okay, right?" Guy demanded from where he sat at Connie's hospital bedside, holding her hand tightly.

"She has a mild concussion, but she should wake up in a couple of hours," Coach Orion's wife assured him gently, offering him a comforting smile. Despite that, Guy didn't feel very comforted. He wouldn't feel better until Connie woke up. Hearing her scream as she fell down the stairs – no, not as she fell, as she was pushed down – he'd felt as though his entire life flashed before his eyes as he ran to her, feeling sick with worry due to her being unconscious. And to make matters worse, nobody in the hallway did anything to help; either they didn't notice (which he found impossible to believe), or they were scared of Cole doing something to them, clouding their better judgment. He still couldn't fathom the thought that anyone could just stand around and watch someone get hurt or abused and not do anything to stop it. At that thought, he squeezed Connie's hand tighter.

"You said you saw one of the Varsity players shove her?" Coach Orion asked seriously.

"Well, no, not exactly," Guy stammered. "We just saw her fall, and I saw Cole at the top of the stairs. Other than that . . ."

"Well, without proof, there isn't much we can do," Coach Bombay said from where he sat on Connie's other side, stroking her hair back from her forehead.

"What more proof is needed?" asked Charlie, who'd woken up not even an hour ago after being treated for anaphylaxis. Guy had been relieved to know that Charlie was all right and that the doctors had treated him in time before anything worse could happen. "They hate our guts and have been out for us since we arrived at Eden Hall!"

"But unless someone comes forward and says they saw something, Tom Riley and the other board members are going to say you're making things up for attention," Coach Orion explained. "It's not right. But unfortunately, that's how it is until Moreau wakes up and can give her side of the story."

But as Orion said that, they all heard the low, pain-filled groan from Connie's bed, and Guy watched with a held breath as her head moved to the side, and she struggled to open her eyes. Her eyelashes fluttered weakly, and she whimpered, "Ow!" as her eyes closed again.

"Connie, can you hear us?" Coach Bombay asked her.

"My . . . My head . . ." Guy sighed, leaning over; he kissed her on the forehead softly, as if his lips touching her could erase her pain as Bella leaned over with a penlight.

"Let me check your eyes real quick, hon," Bella murmured, leaning over Connie. She gently prodded at Connie's lids and flashed the light into her eyes, and Connie responded with a pain-filled whimper, which Guy winced at – he'd never heard that sound in his life from her, and he hated it.

"Shh, we know it hurts, and you can go back to sleep in a second. But right now, we need to know what happened. Do you remember anything? Did you trip and fall, or were you shoved? If so, who did it? Did anybody see or hear anything?" Bombay asked her.

"Cole," Connie groaned, confirming Guy's suspicions that Cole had shoved Connie down the stairs.

"Jesus," whispered Charlie roughly.

"Okay, you don't have to say anymore. Go back to sleep, honey," Coach Orion whispered, giving her knee a gentle pat as Connie went back to sleep again, her face relaxing as her cheek went to rest against the pillow.

"Well, we'll add that to our disputes," Bombay said. "Because the Varsity team is violating the Code of Ethics. It's listed in your player contracts that the physical assault of a teammate is enough to get you suspended for the rest of the season. Between Charlie being slipped nut-contaminated brownies and Connie getting shoved, I say we have enough evidence to back our claims that the Varsity team gets preferential treatment."

"That better be enough," Coach Orion said darkly. "Because the longer they walk free, the more the Ducks are in danger. Two of them going to the hospital in one day?"

"I'm gonna get us our court date for next Monday," Gordon said reassuringly. "So, don't worry about it. This will all be fixed soon."

"Good," Charlie spat, and Guy could see the gears turning in Charlie's head as he thought up all of the revenge pranks that he wanted to pull on the Varsity team but couldn't because he knew if he stepped out of line even once, it could jeopardize everything they were working for. And that was the part that stung the most, knowing that they had to take all this abuse until Bombay took the school board to court and filed for that injunction.

They just hoped the Varsity team wouldn't do something worse than this.

Unfortunately, they knew the Varsity team was more than likely planning something far worse. And next time, they wouldn't go after the Ducks; they'd go after somebody close to them.


Part of the inspiration behind this chapter was my short story in the Orion and Charlie series, Allergy.

And unfortunately, it's true: Yes, the Varsity team did do the things that were done to Charlie and Connie, but because the Ducks don't have proof and didn't see what was done, who would believe them over the Varsity team? Especially since their scholarships are already revoked; the board members would, of course, take the Varsity team's side over theirs. But that's just the tip of the iceberg.