He’s hunched over and glancing around shadily. Soon, another boy joins him. I haven’t seen the second boy before, so I’m guessing he’s an upperclassman or something.
As I watch, Heath slips some money into the stranger’s hand, and the stranger gives him something in return. I almost laugh. I’m pretty sure Heath is buying drugs directly in front of me.
So much for being sneaky.
The next time he wants to do a secret exchange, he should learn how to look less guilty about it.
Even as I think it, he glances conspiratorially over his shoulder—and directly up at the window into the infirmary.
I lay down as quickly as I can to keep myself out of sight. After waiting for a few seconds, I look again and he’s gone. The grounds are as bare as they were before. It’s like nothing even happened. I’m pretty sure he didn’t see me, but even if he did … maybe it would be a good thing if one of the boys knew I had a little dirt on him.
Or maybe it would just make everything much, much worse.
I debate whether or not to tell anyone about what I saw, but the minute Rafael shows up to help me carry my things back to the dorm room I can’t keep it in any longer. I have to tell someone what I saw.
That way, at least if I disappear, then someone will know where to start.
The story of the brief exchange I witness gushes out of me in a hurried as he walks me back up to our room. It doesn’t elicit the reaction I expected.
Rafael falls silent until we’re actually in our dorm. As soon as we get there, he sets my backpack at the foot of my bed and walks over to his own, his hands rubbing nervously on the front of his thighs.
“Better keep that thing about Heath to yourself,” he says finally, as I ease my way into my bed.
I lay down and sigh.
“Don’t worry, I’m not stupid enough to go spreading it to the entire school.”
He makes a non-committal grunt. “Just … be careful.”
“Do you even know me yet?” I say, wincing as I turn over on my bruised side. “Am I ever anything but?”
“Oh, shut up,” he says, but even Rafael can’t help but grin a little at my self-inflicted pain.
“Are you happy?” I goad.
“I don’t know what you mean.”
I point down at my bandaged sides. “This was all your idea. Now I can go in and out of the boy’s locker room in peace. No questions asked.”
He chuckles. “Hey. I mean … if it works, it works.”
I stick out my tongue at him.
“But it’s not going to be enough. Gotta keep the rest of the act up,” Rafael says, nodding mostly to himself, his eyes glazing over as he’s lost in thought about how to keep up my charade for a little longer. “Your voice is losing its rasp. First thing tomorrow morning, we go outside and smoke.”
I groan and roll over onto my back to stare up at the ceiling. “Do I have to?”
I hear pages rustling as he grabs a magazine and starts flipping the pages. “Who’s the shaman here?”
“You,” I admit.
“Right. And don’t you forget it.”
In the silence that follows, I let my eyes drift shut. Just walking from the infirmary to here was tiring. My whole body is sore. I hear Rafael get up and click off the lights, then the rustling of his sheets as he gets down into his bed.
“Little bean?” he says suddenly.
“Hm?” I’m almost asleep.