Major Malfunction (Sequel to American Heroes)

Fighting Back

As their car pulls into the school parking lot, Will checks his watch to make sure they're not running late. Ten minutes until the first bell rings. His stomach aches. Maybe they should have thought this through more. There are a billion things that could go wrong.

"What's Nancy busy with?" El asks as she gets out of the car. Grabbing his backpack and making sure he has the note he wrote for Daniel in his pocket, Will follows her out.

Jonathan shuts the car door and locks it. "What do you mean?"

"Will said Nancy's busy, so she can't come to his birthday."

"Oh, right. She's doing research for a newspaper article. Not sure what it's about."

The three of them start towards the school, Will running his fingers through his freshly-cut hair and trying to keep focused on the plan. Get the paint, talk to Daniel, make an excuse to his teacher, get to the stairwell. He repeats the steps over in his head.

El opens the door to the school and goes inside, but before Will can follow her, Jonathan takes him by the arm and pulls him aside. "Hey, can we talk?"

Clutching onto his backpack straps, Will frowns at his brother. "What about?"

"What was that last night? With the phone?"

Heat rises to his cheeks. Looking to the ground, he shakes his head. "I shouldn't have yelled at you. I'm sorry."

"It's okay. I just want to know what was going on. Is it because Mike can't come over?"

Will lets out a harsh breath. "No."

"Then what?"

When Will lowers his head, Jonathan sighs. "I know these past few months have been tough. Believe me, it hasn't been a great time for me either. But I just... I wish you would talk to me, Will. You never told me what happened with you and Mike, and I know it's none of my business, but I'm worried."

He's tempted to explain the situation to Jonathan, but one glance at his watch brings him back to reality. "Sorry, I can't right now. I have to get to class." He grabs the door handle but stops and turns back to Jonathan. "When the first bell rings, you might want to get your camera ready and head to the back stairwell in the C wing."

Jonathan furrows his brows. "What for?"

"You'll see." He flashes his brother a smile before spinning around and running after El.

Inside the building, he finds her waiting by the entrance, leaning against the wall with her arms crossed. "What if Daniel doesn't say it?" she asks, hopping away from the wall.

They head down the hallway. "The announcement?"

"Yeah."

Will takes his sunglasses off. "Let's hope he does." The two of them go into the stairwell, moving to the side so as not to get in the way of everyone walking past. Leaning close to El, Will keeps his voice low. "Okay, so tell your teacher you need to go to the nurse and head right to the back stairwell, but just make sure you take these stairs up to the second floor so those jerks don't see you. Oh, and you remembered the pliers, right?"

"Yes."

"Okay, good. I'll get the paint and give Daniel the paper with what he should say."

"And we dump it right after he says it?"

He nods.

"Okay. Got it."

Taking a breath, he checks his watch. Six minutes. "We gotta go. See you in a few." Before he can rush off, El grabs him by the shoulders and kisses him on the cheek. He stops in his tracks, face red. "What was that for?"