45 Days to Save the Bad Boy

Thirty

George, I am freaking out right now.  Breton didn’t move until, like, ten minutes after I kissed him.  Who knew what was going through his head.  I know what I was thinking.  Something along the lines of “ARE YOU CRAZY!” followed by “But she gave us free food” followed by “OH FOR PETE’S SAKES JUST KISS HIM ALREADY!” and then “Wow, his lips are soft”.  And then for three minutes straight it was all just, “I like kissing Breton.”

And now I’m going crazy because that was all yesterday and I’m walking to school today.  I haven’t walked to school since the first week, and my legs hurt.  Mrs. Joel called my mom to say Breton wasn’t feeling well and couldn’t take me to school.  I hope I didn’t get him sick.  I hope he’ll be okay.  

I hope my legs won’t fall off.  I need to get out more, if this is making my legs cry out in pain.  Today’s plan for Operation 45D was going to be Dare Him to Smile at Everyone He Passes, but if he’s stuck in bed all day that won’t happen.  Maybe I can do a different one, like Show Him That People Aren’t Bad.  I’ll talk to Peter.

When I got to school, I had only a few minutes to get my things from my locker and run to class.  Throughout the day, I was keeping my eyes open for Peter, but he still didn’t show up.  I even asked Hayley if she knew where he was, but she shrugged, saying she hadn’t heard anything from him.  Lucas didn’t know anything either.  Dallas avoided me, but I didn’t think he knew anything.

Although, if he was working for Peter’s dad, maybe he did know something….

“Tell me what you know!” I demanded, jumping out from behind the bookshelf in the library and startling Dallas.

“I don’t know anything!” he called back.

“Georgie, please keep your interrogation quieter,” Ms. Scott, the librarian, asked with a grin.  “Some students are trying to work.”

“Sorry, Ms. Scott.  We’ll be quiet from now,” I promised, waving goodbye as I dragged Dallas out of the library.

“Alright, Georgie, you convinced me!” Dallas yelped.  “I’ll spill the beans!”

“That’s right, you will.  You’ve been acting strange for a while, and now I know it’s because of Mr. Joel.  But you’ve got more to share Dallas,” I told my friend.

“Sharing is caring,” someone quipped behind me.

“Peter!” Dallas cried, turning around.  “What-“

“What do you think you’re doing?” I interrupted.  “Where did you even come from?  And why do you think you can just steal my opportunity to make a witty quip by showing up from nowhere?”

“I was investigating,” Peter said simply, walking past me to Dallas.  “Hey, buddy.  Why don’t you tell Georgie and I what’s new with my old man?”

“He wants me to do an illegal deal,” Dallas said.  “I don’t want to, but I don’t know how to quit.”  He spoke quickly, like he was forcing the words out as fast as possible.

“Tell him you quit.  And then tell him his son says hello,” Peter grinned.

“That seems so cliché.  And it’s not like your dad never sees you,” I pointed out.

“Stop killing my buzz, Georgie,” whined Peter.

“Deal with it, yo,” I answered, turning back to Dallas.

“So, you’ve been avoiding me because you want to quit your illegal job?  That’s your brilliant idea, avoid Georgie?  This is why you need me.  If he won’t let you quit, threaten him in return with the police.  He can’t kill you, Peter’s one of your friends.  He’ll just need to find another worker.  Now stop being a jerk, go quit your job, and work on your people skills.”  I patted Dallas on the back and pushed him away playfully.  “Oh, and Dallas?”