The Trials of Renegade X by Chelsea M. Campbell

Author:Chelsea M. Campbell
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Published: 2013-09-13T22:00:00+00:00

Chapter 19

DINNER TUESDAY NIGHT IS a disaster. A complete and total disaster.

For one thing, Zach, who was energetic and outgoing when we played video games last weekend, just sits there and says nothing. He occasionally looks up from his food to gape a little at Gordon, then quickly stares down at his plate. I even set it up so he’s sitting next to Amelia, and he hardly looks at her.

And Amelia’s not much better. She asks him some basic questions, like what school he goes to and if he’s going to Heroesworth next year, and then gives up on him. Though that might have something to do with the fact that he mumbles the simplest answers possible and doesn’t invite much conversation. But she doesn’t have to glare at him when he accidentally bumps her elbow and makes her drop her forkful of mashed potatoes. Especially since she’s the one who then spatters gravy on his sleeve and tries to wipe it off with her finger, succeeding only in rubbing it in. And she doesn’t have to then completely ignore him and try to talk to Riley instead.

“So,” she says to Riley, giving him a smug grin, “Damien said he redid his poster for Miss Monk’s class, but he won’t tell me how he did.”

Riley looks kind of smug himself. “Well, actually—”

I punch him in the shoulder. Hard. “Shut up, Perkins.”

“You redid your poster?” Gordon says, looking from me to Amelia, catching on that there’s something he doesn’t know. “How did it go?”

“We had to make posters in class,” Amelia informs Zach in a really patronizing voice. “About what heroism means to us.”

“I know,” he tells his plate of roast beef.

I take a drink of water, glaring at Amelia. “We don’t really want to talk about school at the dinner table, do we?”

Helen wipes a smear of mashed potatoes off of Jess’s nose. “I’d like to hear it.”

“Tell them,” Riley says. “Since you put so much work into it.”

Is it too late to uninvite him? Or to point and say, “Look over there!” and then electrocute him to death while everyone’s head is turned?

“What did you do?” Alex asks. He’s sitting on my other side, staring up at me with wide eyes and sort of kicking my chair with his foot. He’s built a volcano with his mashed potatoes and smashes it with his fork—a little awkwardly, since his right arm is still in a cast and he has to use his left—releasing gravy-lava all over his plate.

“Well?” Gordon says.

Fine. But he asked for it. “It was blank. Because heroism is all around us and undefinable.” I spread my hands out, indicating all the places heroism might be, and look up at the ceiling.

Riley snorts. “That’s not what you said in class.”

I grit my teeth, feeling sparks race up my spine. “It’s pretty close.”

“No, it’s not.”

“Damien?” Helen raises her eyebrows at me.

I fold my arms and lean back in my chair, ignoring the way Amelia’s smirking and eating all this up.

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