Q clenched his jaw, keeping his cool. Everyone’s eyes were on him. When the slip had fallen out of his hands into the drawer, he had a feeling it was his turn. Call it intuition or the fact that it was inevitable. Either way, he wanted to succeed as Jackie did. She proved it was possible, even though she suffered for it. On any other day, watching her get knocked down a notch would have made him happy, but not this time. Jacob had put her in her place, and it wasn’t satisfying to watch.
What if she had a worse physical reaction? He remembered the first time Mom had an anaphylactic reaction in front of him. It had been terrifying. He was relieved that Jackie only suffered from a skin reaction and not something more serious.
‘Read it,’ Jackie said.
He looked at her. Really looked at her this time. He always thought she was pretty, but her attitude left a lot to be desired. Today was the most she’d ever spoken to him. He saw a strength and determination in her that made him want to succeed.
He flipped the slip around and read it aloud. ‘Fire burns everything around you. I want you to experience the heat first hand. Take a smoke break in the theater. This one’s on me.’
‘You smoke?’ Cece asked, wrinkling her nose.
Q rolled his eyes. ‘Sometimes.’
‘There’s no time limit on yours,’ Jackie said.
Q stood up from his seat. ‘There’s no reason to drag it out, though. Curtis is gone. This is the best chance I’ll get. I’ll be right back.’
‘What if Mr. Curtis comes back?’ Zoe asked.
‘Tell him I took my five-minute bathroom break,’ Q said. ‘I won’t be gone long.’
‘How do you know that?’ Jackie asked.
‘Because I won’t hesitate like the rest of you,’ Q said.
‘You should have someone come with you,’ Holly said. ‘To keep a lookout. I’ll go. I’m tired of looking at these yearbooks anyway.’
Holly stood, and Q nodded at her. He would have preferred Jackie to come with him, but she’d already taken part in her own task, it wouldn’t be fair to include her in another so soon.
‘Cover for me?’ Q said to the rest.
They nodded, agreeing to help. He turned away and thought how strange it had been for all of them to become a team as quickly as they did. He knew it wouldn’t last if they ever made it passed detention. It was a bond forged by convenience and survival.
A door at the back of the library gave access to a short hallway that led to the backstage of the theater.
Q set the pace for the both of them, moving down the hall quickly and silently. He was happy that Holly wasn’t wearing heels today as that annoying clacking would have given them away.
‘This is all crazy, right?’ Holly said. Her heavy breathing made it seem as if they were running instead of walking.
‘It needs to be over,’ Q said.
‘There’s only two left,’ Holly said.
‘After me,’ he said.
Q never stuck around school long enough to see it devoid of life. Even though they were quiet, their movements seemed much louder in the empty space.
Soon enough they reached the door to the backstage of the theater. Whoever brought them together into detention had wanted Q to be separate from the rest.
Normally, that door was locked. Q had found that out early on when he’d been part of the stage crew for a show in freshman year.
He didn’t mind picking another lock, but it would only stall him. This was his only chance. He wouldn’t be able to get Curtis out of the library again, and he didn’t know how long the task would last. So there was no time like the present.
Q tested the knob, and it easily turned in his hand. This Jacob guy had unlocked the door as a favor, probably. He knew the worst was to come, especially after watching his classmates suffer.
How thoughtful of him, Q thought as he stepped through the threshold.
Inside, the stage was dark.
‘I’ll hold it open,’ Holly said. ‘It closes automatically.’
He propped open the door with a chair, throwing light into the room. ‘Stay in the hallway and let me know if Curtis comes back. If so, you’ll need to get back to the library. I’m not going back until I win. And Curtis hearing the door close isn’t going to help me.’
Holly agreed and peered into the room before stepping back through the threshold.
The only light in the room was a candle flickering in the middle of the stage. It sat on a stool.
Q swallowed, stepping toward the candle. The thick red curtains were open, propped on either side of the stage. He was hyperaware of every sound in the room.
The flame moved in a silent dance, beckoning him closer. As he neared, he saw a thin white object next to the candle. A cigarette.
He licked his lips. After the stress of the day, he really could use a cig. But there was a zero-tolerance policy for smoking on school property. Did Jacob hope to get Q kicked out of school? On any other day, Q would have said he didn’t care, but today was different. He was determined to complete his task successfully. Even if that meant expulsion.
He glanced around the unlit auditorium. The outlines of the rows of chairs started to fill his view as his eyes adjusted to the darkness.
From a few feet away, the cigarette and candle looked like two regular objects. But he wasn’t fooled. There had to be a catch.
As he reached out to pick up the cigarette, a blinding light filled his vision.
He threw his arm up, holding his hand over his eyes, shading them from the harsh light.
‘We know who you are, Jacob!’ he yelled at the light. ‘You’re not going to win this. I promise you that.’
Q turned and walked over to the cigarette. He was going to show Jacob who he was messing with.
After two steps, Q’s legs gave out from underneath him. He tried to get his balance again but realized too late that a waxy substance coated the floor underneath him. As he reached for the stool to regain his balance, he realized this was part of the plan. He failed his tasks within before starting it. The stool tipped over, knocking the candle to the ground.
Q fell at the same time. And as if in slow motion he plummeted to the ground, watching the flame remain alive against the wick.
Q slapped his hands against the ground, his wrists taking the brunt of his weight.
He let out a grunt, squeezing his eyes closed.
When he opened them, he had more to worry about than his wrists.
The flame caught onto whatever substance was on the ground. The floor around him lit up within seconds. He tried to scramble back, but it was too late. Heat spread across his hands, and he howled in pain.
He let out a string of curses while attempting to roll away from the flames. His legs slipped all over the floor, fighting to find enough resistance to stand up again.
‘Q!’ Holly said, from behind him.
‘Watch out,’ he said.
She came around the other side of him and grabbed onto his jacket, pulling him up. She helped drag him away from the ignited liquid.
‘Holy crap,’ Holly said as Q curled up into a fetal position, holding his hands. ‘We need to get the fire out.’
Holly rushed off the stage, into the hallway, hopefully to get help.
Q looked over at the flames, seeing the cigarette all curled up and blackened. His head fell back, banging against the wooden stage. He failed. He rolled over and felt his phone in his back pocket. Why hadn’t he used his flashlight to assess the situation? He would have seen the liquid on the floor and avoided it. But that stupid spotlight went off.
The spotlight…
Q sat up. Someone had turned on the light to screw him up. Jacob was in the room. At least he had been.
He shielded his eyes again, trying to squint through the harsh light to see the sound booth.
Did Holly get a look?
‘What the hell?’ Curtis shouted from the open door.
Busted.
Curtis came over to Q. ‘Are you okay?’
Q showed the teacher his hands.
‘What happened here?’ Mr. Curtis shook his head and ran off stage. He lifted the fire extinguisher from the wall near the exit door and sprinted onto the stage.
‘Stay back!’ he said, then proceeded to extinguish the fire.
Holly knelt down beside him and held out her hands. Q opened his shaking hands.
‘Whoa,’ she said.
‘Whoa, is right,’ Q said. He wanted to ask her if she’d seen anyone but now wasn’t the time. He didn’t want to think about what would happen if they informed Curtis of the one-sided game they were playing.
Once the fire was out, Curtis came over to Q. ‘We need to go to the nurse’s office.’ He turned to Holly and lightly touched her arm. ‘Holly, go back to the library. No one is to move until we return. There have been enough distractions today.’
Q watched the interaction between the two and Jackie’s accusations started to make sense. Holly didn’t appear frazzled by her teacher’s touch, but it was still inappropriate.
‘A little help here?’ Q said.
Holly and Curtis helped Q off the floor. Q wanted to show his appreciation to her, but his hands were in so much pain. So he offered a small, pained smile instead, and allowed Curtis to lead him out of the auditorium.
‘Come over here by the sink,’ Curtis instructed once they reached the nurse’s office. He turned on the faucet and tested the water by putting his hand under the stream.
‘Put your hands under the water,’ he said, moving out of the way.
‘I know how to deal with burns,’ Q said, shoving his hands in the sink. Initially, the water stung like a thousand bees, but after a few moments, the cool water helped ease the pain.
Q whooshed out a relieved breath.
‘What were you thinking?’ Curtis asked.
‘I needed a smoke break,’ Q said, staring into his teacher’s eyes, daring him to say anything about the rules. ‘I think the janitor waxed the floor or something and it accidentally lit up.’
Mr. Curtis scoffed. ‘It’s a nasty habit.’
‘I’m trying to quit,’ Q said.
‘Is that why you wanted me out of the room?’ he asked.
It was partly the reason. The other was in his back pocket. Even though he didn’t need his phone at the moment, he felt better with it on him. He was able to control something about their situation. Though how did Jacob know that they were going to try and get the phones? Q’s red slip was in the drawer. Was that why they’d had to wait so long for another mission? Jacob was at least one step ahead of them this whole time. But how? The better question was why?
He sat back and eyed Curtis. He had been the only one in that drawer all day. Was Jackie right about his involvement in all of this? Was he going on some pranking-spree on the students that pissed him off? That didn’t make sense. Curtis was always with other kids in between classes and during other school-related activities. He appeared to love his job and Q’s classmates. Why would he try to embarrass and hurt them?
Q always talked back to his teachers for attention. But Teddy was a nerd and stuck up. And it didn’t appear as if any of the girls had done anything to piss off the teacher.
And even though Curtis didn’t mind the kids calling him Curtis, his first name was Leonard, not Jacob. Was his middle name Jacob?
Q wasn’t sure. It seemed like a stretch.
‘I’m going to need to call your parents,’ Mr. Curtis said, indicating for Q to sit down. He opened up the container of gauze and pulled out a roll.
‘No!’ Q said. ‘Please, don’t.’ He had to think fast. Zoe and Holly still needed to have their turn. He needed to see how the game ended. ‘They don’t know I smoke. And it would kill my mom if she found out.’
‘I know you think your antics like smoking and acting out in class are funny and impress other students,’ Curtis said, ‘but they don’t. If you’d put as much effort into your schoolwork, you would be a star student. Your luck is running out.’
Curtis looked at Q as if maybe a punishment was what he needed. He held a piece of gauze against Q’s hand, and Q sucked in a breath.
‘I’ll do anything,’ Q said. ‘I’ll tell them I fell on glass or something. They will never check.’ And that was the truth. His parents believed everything that came out of his mouth, even if it was a lie. They always failed his tests.
‘And they won’t question why you weren’t keeping an eye on me in detention.’ Q’s eyes narrowed on Curtis. Q wasn’t afraid of his teacher, but he was afraid of what would happen if Jacob didn’t get his way.
Curtis started to wrap up one of Q’s hands with the gauze, trying to appear as if Q hadn’t just threatened him. ‘I could have informed the principal about your little stunt the other day with the fire alarm. I’m on your side here, Q. I hope that you understand that I went out on a limb for you.’
‘Why?’ Q asked. Why did he care if the students liked him?
‘Because I was a rebel as a teen too,’ he said, locking eyes with Q. ‘It didn’t make my life easy. I wish someone would have tried to set me straight.’
‘We should get back,’ Q said, wanting to be spared a lecture.
‘One more thing,’ Curtis said. ‘If I catch you smoking on school property again, you’re getting more than just detention.’
‘I get it,’ Q said.
Mr. Curtis smiled. ‘Good.’
Curtis liked being the ‘cool teacher,’ and Q knew how to play that, just like he played his parents. This guy was a sucker. And Q came out on top once more.
Though, he dreaded going back to detention to wait for his punishment for not completing his mission.
At least now he had an excuse not to be a participant in the completion of the paper chain.