How to Date a Nerd

Chapter 11 - We Went Commando on the School Janitor

The hallways were empty and quiet. I was almost sure that the smelly janitor had called it a day when I heard the faint hum of his floor polisher. Pausing, Reed bumped onto me and I had to shut them both up or we'd be toast. Not making a sound, I pointed to the next corridor and mouthed, "Lynch."

Both nodding, they took the opposite turn from where Lynch must be having a date with his mop while I inched to chance a peek to the next corridor. And there he was. Simon Lynch, janitor, in his faded yellow jumpsuit, his balding forehead glistening under the lights. Creepily, he was dancing with his mop, pretending that it was the girl of his dreams. From behind him, I waited for a signal from Chuck, which came a minute later.

Then I made my move. I hurried to the janitor's closet straight ahead, ducking low so he won't see me. Luckily, he was still busy smooth-talking his mop girlfriend so he didn't notice me. When I reached the closet which was conveniently next to the gym, I opened the door. Cobwebs and dust rained from the ceiling. It made me wonder if Lynch ever used it. No time to worry about that now. All I needed was a distraction.

I grabbed a shovel leaning on the wall and raked it around the narrow room. The cleaning utensils toppled over, creating an avalanche that clanged like a frenetic drum solo. Dodging the mountain of metal and plastic, I heard Lynch howl like a mad man. Or a rabid dog.

Music to my ears, I thought, before doing a mad dash to the next corridor. I was careful not to jerk my broken arm too hard as I did but it was still killing me. My sneakers skidded on the ridiculously clean floor as I made the turn and got away from the closet as quick as I could, running into a dead end. While I was hidden with my back pressed against the wall, Chuck and Reed went to work.

Their hoods were up as they approach the distracted Lynch from behind and grabbed the lanky guy on both arms. When he fought to break free-sputtering tons of sailor-ish curses-Chuck pulled out a handkerchief from his pocket and pressed it on the janitor's face. The magic hanky was drugged. The chloroform was Nathan's idea-something he picked up from the crazy bunch of drunks who virtually raised him. In theory, it could knock the man for a few hours tops. Just what we needed.

It wasn't long before his body turned limp but Reed gave him a whack on the head with a plastic broomstick just to be sure. When he wakes up, he'd have a fuzzy recollection of what happened, a massive headache and a huge bump on the side of his head, thanks to Reed's finishing blow. Nothing too dangerous. Hopefully, he'd live.

Simon Lynch fell flat on his floor. I joined with the guys and helped them tie him up. Though I could only do so much with my casted arm stuck in a sling. Once all done, we stuffed him in the janitor's closet and wedged a portable ladder on the doorknob just to be sure that he won't be around soon.

"That'd keep him out for a while," Reed grinned panting as he headed to his assigned post near Mr. Collins homeroom. "Vengeance is sweet!"

Chuck gave me a so-so look and whispered, "Well, he's kind of ruthless that way," before following his brother's lead.

Note to self: never cross Reed Ferguson.

With the janitor out of the way, we nodded at each other and did some high-fives before I jogged back out to the road where Nathan and Ricky waited. They looked relieved to see me.

"Phase one, completed," I announced in a hushed tone. "Nathan, you know what to do."

A wild grin broke on his face and I felt like I was looking at my crazy reflection in the mirror. "Of course, I do. I'm the genius here."

With a taunting smirk, I tilted my head to Ricky, who was wiping his thick glasses on the sleeve of his plaid button-up shirt. "Wrong. Looks like you got competition."

Annoyed, he grunted, rolling his eyes. "I might not be the best, brother. But no one is better than me."

After that, Nathan headed into the school to assume his position. All according to plan, I reminded myself. Ricky and me hauled ourselves into the truck to pick-up Becky and Sarah. I'd have preferred to drive since he was too much of a chicken to go over fifty. Obviously, my little car accident in Milford had been the talk of the town and Ricky didn't trust me or anyone else to keep his truck in top shape. Or else his Gran might throw a fit.

We stopped by Becky's house-a three-story building painted in a dull hue that was neither brown but nor quite yellow. The truck slowed down just under the shades of a humongous acorn tree that draped the off-white roof. Becky got up from the steps of the front porch when she saw us arriving.

"This better be good," she muttered, looking surprised to see Ricky in the driver's seat.

I let out a sigh once we were back on the road. Becky had changed a lot over the years. Even Sarah seemed to spot how cold her best friend had turned out to be. The shrill but sweet, fun-loving girl I'd come to know was no more. Maybe it was the upshot of hanging around Matt's cheerleader friends for so long. But for the meantime, I needed her.

It took a lot of buying off and sucking up to convince her to just go with my plan. Whatever Drake Morris was feeding her, it must be loaded with some sort of mind-control stuff.

"Remember my condition, kid," Freddy warned before I rolled up the window. "Are we clear?"

"Crystal," I nodded, glancing at the backseat where Sarah and Becky sat side by side in silence.

As much as her dad wanted Sarah to get her memories back, her safety was our first priority. To be honest, I hadn't expected Freddy to be cool with the idea. It was downright absurd. But it was the best we got.

The second we hit the road, I borrowed Ricky's cellular-mine was confiscated by Arthur and I was too darn broke to buy a new one-and texted Reed.

Trget secured. Get redy 4 phase 2.

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People: I just want you to know that you're making my writing life hectic (laughs madly while sipping energy drink). And yet again, I underestimated your voting prowess! *sobs* You can be very pushy when you want to. So as promised, here it is. But just to give me a little break, I'm raising the bar to 50 votes (too much? well, if it doesn't get any higher than that, I'd post after 3 days). REED----> TO THE RIGHT.

PS. You are the awesomest!!! XD