In this chapter, the ever-present remi the end of each chapter is more important than ever, so I’ll say it again here: I am NOT a doctor.

  Enjoy :D

  ---

  "House, this is not a good idea," Dr. Foreman quickly said.

  "Oh, why not?" House asked, feigning intrigue.

  "You know why. We're not going on a field trip; we're going to break into a house," Dr. Foreman responded seriously, frowning. "That's not something a teenager should be doing."

  "What?!" House excimed. "Break in? Since when do we do that?" he asked, feigning exaggerated surprise.

  "Are you done?" Dr. Foreman asked, unimpressed with House's theatrics.

  "Yeah," House responded, disappoihat no one pyed along. "Take him with you. He's the only one who read the kid's notebook; he might see something you don't," House tinued, smiling sinisterly. "No, there’s no time for you to read it," he added, interrupting Dr. Foreman, who seemed about to say something more. "Besides, I’m sure the kid does worse things like drinking alcohol, drugs od forbid taking books out of the library without cheg them out."

  Exhaling in obvious irritation, Dr. Foreman, followed by Chase, left the room.

  "Have fun," House said to me with an abnormally wide smile.

  I caught up with Dr. Foreman and Chase iively little time. Obviously, both were pletely ign me as they walked toward the hospital exit.

  "Which car are we taking, yours or mine?" Dr. Foreman asked Chase as they stood outside in the parking lot.

  "We could take that one," Chase said, smiling as he pointed directly at ‘Debbie.’

  "Yeah, sure," Dr. Foreman replied with a scoff. "What is it anyway?" he asked, moving closer with i.

  "It's a 1970 Chevrolet Chevelle SS," I finally responded, making both doctors aowledge my existence.

  "Of course, you know about cars," Dr. Foreman muttered, strangely jealous, as he turned his bae again.

  "It's my car," I added, once more drawing the full attention of the two doctors, who were now pletely surprised, looking at me and then at ‘Debbie.’

  I was quite proud of the dition in which I kept my car, and it was obviously a good feeling that someone liked it.

  "We’re taking my car," Chase quickly said, apparently a bit embarrassed, avoiding looking in the dire where 'Debbie' arked while we were walking several spaces away to his own car—a slightly dirty green vehicle, but visibly well-maintained.

  Inside Chase’s car, while we drove to the family's residence, Chase and Dr. Foreman discussed the case.

  "I still don’t uand why this patient fasated House so much," Dr. Foreman asked.

  "Schizophrenia," Chase immediately responded. "He might be intrigued that a thirty-eight-year-old woman has a D.V.T., but I bet anything that he decided to treat her when he heard she had schizophrenia."

  "Well, whatever the reason, I just hope we help the woman. I think she’s already suffered enough," Dr. Foreman said while rummaging through Chase's cassette tapes, which oddly made Chase snort dismissively.

  "Yeah, sure, ‘she,’ the real victim here is her son. The mother is an alcoholic," Chase decred fidently.

  I couldn't help but silently marvel at the slight hypocrisy of Chase. He was so upset with me for the uhical way I had treated the nun to save her life, and here he was, judging a thirty-eight-year-old woman with schizophrenia... Wait.

  I didn’t have the kid’s notebook with me, but I clearly remembered that the schizophrenia diagnosis had been made just six months ago. The average age of schizophrenia diagnosis in women is about eighty pert betweey-five and thirty-five years old; after that, the rate drops precipitously. Iient’s age group, it was less than ten pert.

  There weren’t many diseases that mimic schizophrenia, but if I added partial vision loss and possible liver damage, possibly cirrhosis, into the mix...

  Wilson's.

  "P.J.!" Chase excimed, looking at me curiously alongside Dr. Foreman. "We're here. Are you okay?" he asked monotonously.

  "Yeah, sorry," I replied, deeply absorbed in my thoughts. I needed more evidence.

  "Look, I know what House said, but if you don’t want to do this, it’s fine. We say you came in with us and didn’t find anything. It’s not worth it for you to e along," Dr. Foreman said, strangely kind.

  "No, I'm fine, let's go," I immediately responded, opening the car door. I had to quickly find evidence; if my theory was correct, the woman had been misdiagnosed with schizophrenia.

  "Of course," I overheard Chase murmur sarcastically.

  Inside an apartment building, in front of the door of the small family's apartment, Chase tried for a couple of seds to open the locked door with a credit card before Foreman, sayiook it from the kid’s backpack, opehe door with the key.

  "Looks like Luke sleeps in the living room," Chase said ihe surprisingly well-anized and small apartment, before we separated to search the pce.

  The kid’s name was Luke. I had no idea.

  The apartment basically sisted of four areas: the living room, a bathroom, a kit, and the bedroom.

  While Dr. Foreman searched the bathroom and Chase the only bedroom, I decided to thhly search the living room, or as it seemed to be anized, Luke’s bedroom.

  "Nothing in there," Dr. Foreman said, leaving the bathroom and walking to the bedroom where Chase was searg.

  From the moment I saw the kid, I knew he was obviously een. The type of books on a small desk now firmed he was just in middle school.

  Underh a small coffee table in the ter of the living room, there was a metal box filled with various medications.

  "Pick that up on your psych rotation?" Dr. Foreman asked Chase as he left the bedroom. "What do you have there?" he asked, approag with io check the tents of the box.

  "Medications," I replied, taking out pill bottles and arranging them on the coffee table.

  "Trifluoperazihorazine, Clozaril," Dr. Foreman read aloud as he picked up each bottle. "They tried everything," he added, disheartened.

  "Ampicillin," I said, finding one of the bottles. "It’s full," I added, shaking the small bottle.

  "There goes Cameron's theory," Dr. Foreman remarked.

  "Oh, God, I hope it’s not a vitamin K deficy," Chase added, walking to the kit, defeated.

  Now disied in the medications, Dr. Foreman put the bottles he had taken bato the box before following Chase. But these medications ied me.

  The Trifluoperazihorazine, and Clozaril, bined with an excess of copper in the blood caused by Wilson’s, could have severe side effects on the liver, even potentially causing solid masses, cer.

  "Damn," I heard Chase say a moment ter, promptio put the remaining bottles ba the box before pg it in its inal spot.

  "House was right," Dr. Foreman said i, standing by the open freezer. Ihere were half a dozen packages of frozen hamburgers.

  "Well, let’s take one of these to House," Chase said, obviously disappointed, as he grabbed a box.

  On the way back to the hospital, apart from the music that Dr. Foreman had put on the radio, there was nothing but silence, which allowed me to focus on building my theory.

  At the hospital, in the diagnostics lounge, Cameron told Dr. Foreman and Chase where House rompting the two doctors to leave in search of him.

  Meanwhile, I gathered everything we had oient again; I wao read it one more time.

  "Did you know today is House’s birthday?" Cameron suddenly asked, breaking the silerangely sad.

  "Really?" I asked, surprised, without taking my eyes off the blood test results.

  "Yes..." Cameron said, drawing out the word. "Do you think it’s a good idea to buy him a gift?" she asked.

  It was such a suddeion that I couldn't help but chuckle at the idea of someorying to give House a gift. Knowing him, he’d take anything that wasremely expensive as an insult.

  "Were you serious?" I asked incredulously after a few seds of silence from Cameron. "It's House," I reminded her. "I assure you, if you gratute him, instead of thanking you sincerely, he’ll ask how you know," I said, notig reition in Cameron’s expression. She’d already tried it.

  "But maybe we could buy him a gift together," she added, slightly hopeful, making me pause.

  "Look, if you really want to do it, I chip in for whatever," I said. "But I'm telling you, it’s a bad idea, he will just use yood iions to make fun of you in some way." I tinued seriously.

  "Yeah, you may be right," Cameron said, nodding in disappoi a moment ter as she stood up ahe room.

  Definitely, gratuting House iving him a gift for any occasion is a bad move.

  Havihrough the kid's notebook along with my notes, as well as the medical history we had on his mother, I was much more fident, hopeful, in my diagnosis.

  A few minutes after I finished reading everything again, House arrived at the louh Luke.

  "Hey kid, did you find anything?" House asked when he saw me with all the papers spread out on the louable.

  Seeing the kid o House, I shook my head. It wasn’t a good idea to give a child hope without being pletely sure.

  "I get it," House said, looking at Luke beside him, surprisingly not pressing me for the truth.

  " I have my notebook?" the boy asked me nervously, still avoiding eye tact with me.

  "Sure."

  House and Luke talked—ued, to be more precise—for a couple of minutes inside House’s office.

  "Thanks, see you," the boy said to me, still avoiding my gaze as he walked out of the lounge, clearly upset.

  "What did you do to him? Why ’t he look you in the eye?" House asked me, amused, as he came out of his office.

  "I have an idea," I replied, watg the kid quickly walk out of ht.

  "Don't be smug," House said sarcastically. "So, you tell me what you found?" he asked, leaning on his e.

  "Yeah," I said, pulling my notes closer, but before I could tinue, House raised his hand.

  "They found something in her liver," he said, pointing to the door.

  Cameron, Chase, and Dr. Foreman, followed by Dr. Wilson carrying ultrasound images, walked through the door.

  "She has a mass," Chase said, making me feel slightly relieved, though also dismayed, as it added to my theory.

  "The vitamin K caused the D.V.T. and aggravated the liver, but the tumor’s the real reason for the bleed," Dr. Wilson said. "The tumor’s the problem."

  "Go tell the woman," House said after a few seds of silence, making Dr. Wilson nod in aowledgment before leaving.

  "It’s big—five poi timeters," Dr. Foreman said, disappointed.

  "We do nothing, she dies from liver failure within sixty days," Chase added.

  "She needs a transpnt," Cameron said.

  "That's not gonna happen," House immediately disagreed.

  "She’s thirty-eight, she’s a mother—" Cameron was adding to the woman’s case.

  "She's a schizophrenic mother with no money, on public assistance, in fact, who knocks back vodka every time a breeze blows her way," House interrupted.

  "Mickey Mantle had a whole bar named after him," Dr. Foreman said. "He got a transpnt."

  "Yeah, well, Lucy 't switch-hit," House responded sarcastically. "Pn B, surgery to resect the tumor."

  "Joe Bergihe gamma khing," Chase said. "Laser cauterizes while it cuts, saves more liver."

  "The tumor's way too big, he won't even sider it," Cameron immediately disagreed.

  "Not a big risk-taker, Bergin, won't even drink milk on its expiration date," Dr. Foreman said sarcastically.

  "He has no discretion; five-poi timeters is past the surgical guidelines," Cameron expined disappointedly.

  "Would he do it at four-point-six?" House asked.

  "Why don't we just say it's zero?" Chase asked. "Tumrow, they don't shrink."

  "This one does," House said seriously, intriguing the other doctors.

  "Ethanol," I expined, causing House to point at me, smiling.

  "He said it, not me," he excimed. "Speaking of which, does the tumor ge anything about what you were about to say?" House asked.

  "No," I said immediately, standing up. "Besides the mass, was there liver damage?" I asked Cameron and Chase, moving my notes again.

  "Cirrhosis," Chase said, while Cameron simply nodded seriously.

  "I uand. So, Lucy's first diagnosis of schizophrenia roximately seven months ago," I said, handing my o Cameron, who then passed them to the others.

  "We know," Dr. Foreman said monotonously.

  "Let him do his monologue; it's fun, and I want to hear it," House said, amused, sileng the other doctor as he dragged a chair over to sit down before receiving the papers.

  "Thank you," I said. "After that, the doctor referred them to another, and then another, for a couple of months, so much so that the boy stopped noting what those doctors were saying, simply writing down their names and a phone hey never had more than one appoi per doctor," I added, passing my notes again.

  "All shrinks," House murmured while reading my notes, exaggeratedly moving his body as if the idea gave him chills.

  "Yes, until two months after her first diagnosis, the visits to different doctors ceased. The st one was Dr. Karn. His notes didn’t specify anything, like a few others. I could have fused him with another psychologist, but fortunately, I took the trouble to call those doctors to build a more extensive history," I said, once again handing out notes.

  "An ophthalmologist," Cameron said, surprised.

  "I remember you told me about that," House said, strangely smiling.

  "Yes, it didn’t seem odd to me at the time because what seemed stranger was the alcohol in her blood, despite not having drunk in days, when iy, the important thing was sidering both factors," I quickly said.

  "She has cirrhosis; it’s obvious she’s an alcoholic," Chase said, exasperated.

  "No, it’s not obvious," I said, ign the doctor's frown at my words. "Schizophrenia," I added, looking at House. "Sorry, are you sleepy? Need a clue?" I asked.

  "Her age?" House asked ironically. "I would have seen it just by looking at all these shrinks," he added arrogantly.

  "What?" Dr. Foreman asked.

  "It’s uhat she would be diagnosed with schizophrenia at her age. To be precise, less than ten pert," I expined, ign House's arrogance.

  "So what, all this to tell us how lucky this woman was?" Chase asked, obviously annoyed. "Great, now we go and tell her son that his mother is basically a mathematical miracle. I don’t have time for this," he tinued sarcastically as he stood up, apparently ready to leave the room.

  "No," I said, stopping the doctor fr to leave the room. "I think she doesn’t have schizophrenia," I admitted. "I just need oo be sure," I added, looking at House, who was smiling broadly.

  "Not this again!" Chase excimed, obviously angry. "This isn’t yround or your personal b to e and py with patients," he added, approag me.

  "Chase—" Cameron nervously began to say.

  "You’re not going to do a on that woman to give her son false hope. He doesn’t deserve that," Chase excimed, interrupting Cameron.

  "I’m not pying with anyone," I decred, annoyed by his accusations. "And the test isn’t invasive; they do it while saying it’s a procedural test."

  "Sure! Abusing the trust of patients again; obviously, that doesn’t bother you," Chase added, obviously blinded by his anger, not reasoning with what I was saying, much less with what he was saying.

  "I ’t believe you’re still not over what I did with Sister Augustine," I said, impressed, sn.

  "Over it? You attacked her!" Chase excimed, more upset.

  "What I did, even if you don’t approve, was always with the sister's well-being in mind. What I got from Sister Augustine, I used to give a diagnosis that saved her life," I decred proudly. "I never judged her for it," I added, implying that he was doing the opposite.

  "If you’ve got something to say, say it," Chase said, approag me again, trying to intimidate me.

  "It’s obvious that someone you know was an alcoholic, possibly your mother, and now you ’t stop judging your patient as such, even refusing to listen to reasons that could save her life," I said, also starting to get annoyed, "you’re just a hypocrite," I said quietly, now close to Chase.

  "Who do you think you are? You’re not a doctor," Chase said, obviously after I had hit a nerve, "you’re just a ki—" he was saying as he tried, like so many days ago, to push my chest. "Agh!"

  Grabbing his wrist, I quickly twisted it, managing to slightly tort his arm and, with it, the upper part of his body. "I’ve had enough of y to push me; that was the first and st warning," I said, a moment ter releasing his wrist, pushing his arm away.

  "Bravo," House said, g, cutting the tension and interrupting Chase, who was still pressing his wrist, now with slight pain. "If you two girls are doh your show, we still have work to do. After school, you finish your business. Are you going to finish your presentation?" he asked sarcastically.

  "I just need a slit-mp exam. If she has Kayser-Fleischer rings, then I’m right, and the real diagnosis is Wilson’s," I said, ign Chase, who was still moving his hand.

  "Wilson’s?" Cameron asked, looking worriedly between Chase and me.

  "It’s a rare geic disorder that causes excessive accumution of copper in the body, particurly in the brain, the eyes and the liver," I responded, gng sideways at Chase, who snorted incredulously. "We just o check her eyes."

  "I like it," House said.

  "Oh, you ’t be taking this seriously. A rare geic disorder, really?" Dr. Foreman asked House, pletely incredulous.

  "The kid is right; we say it’s just a quick procedural test. Besides, the only one who stands to lose anything is the kid; it would be quite embarrassing to be wrong after all this show," House said sarcastically as he walked toward the door of the lounge. "Now, if the kid is right, it would be much more embarrassing to be you," he added as he passed by Chase. "e on."

  Following House on the way to the woman’s room, we ran into Dr. Wilson.

  "What’s going on?" the man asked, seeing the four of us.

  "The kid has a theory," House expined, "and by the way, we’re going to shrink the tumor sin resect it."

  "Got it," Dr. Wilson responded immediately, walking with us.

  Before reag the patient’s room, Dr. Foreman, along with Chase, split off to get the mae, while Cameron, under House's orders, went to get the ethanol dose.

  Wheered the woman’s room, her son, Luke, was sittio his mother with swollen eyes, obviously fr.

  "You know the drill," House said, ign the boy's appearahout a trace of shame, pulling out a bill from his jacket.

  "What?" Luke asked hoarsely, frowning incredulously.

  "We o talk to your mother, so you’ll give us a little space. I'll page you," House added, taking out his pager and waving it in front of the boy’s face. "This time, I want a bag of chips."

  "Really?" the boy asked incredulously, looking at Dr. Wilson and then at me. Seeing that he wasn’t getting a response, he shook his head in disappoi, taking the bill from House’s hand as well as the pager, leaving the room.

  "Lucy!" House excimed the moment Luke left the room, waking the woman who was deeply asleep. "See this kid here? He thinks you’re not crazy," House said, managing to wake the woman.

  "Wait, what?" Dr. Wilson asked, surprised.

  "her do I," the woman said, ign Dr. Wilson like everyone else, looking at me. "But I'm crazy," she added.

  "I thought we’d say it was a routi," I said nervously, looking at House.

  "To her son," House excimed, "but I’ve already solved that. Didn’t you see?" House asked sarcastically. "She’s crazy; who’s she going to tell? Better yet, who’s going to believe her?" he asked with exaggerated skepticism.

  "This is a huge waste of time," Chase said as he and Dr. Foreman pushed in the mae for the test.

  "I knht? We should all fet about this and go watch TV," House said ironically as Dr. Foreman prepared the mae. At that moment, Cameron arrived, pushing another mae, a portable ultrasound.

  "Okay, Lucy, lean over here," Dr. Foreman said when the mae was ready. "e on, that's it," he added, helping the woman along with Chase to move around the bed. "Put your hands on the bar here and your in here."

  As I watched Dr. Foreman prepare the woman, I could feel my arting to rise. The whole theory poio my diagnosis being correct, but if it wasn’t, I would feel like I was taking away the opportunity for a mother and son to live their lives.

  "Yonna see a bright light, okay?" Dr. Foreman calmly warhe woman as he positioned himself to i her eyes. "Your body might be accumuting too much copper," he expined calmly, proving once again that he was a good doctor while calibrating the mae.

  As Dr. Foreman did his job, I could feel Chase watg me ily from the side.

  "If it is, this should help us see something called Kayser-Fleischer rings," Dr. Foreman tinued expining, suddenly stopping pletely still and silent. "I'll be damned," he murmured a few moments ter, causing the tension I didn’t know I had in my shoulders to pletely dissipate. "Copper-colored circles around your eas," he said slowly, pulling his face away from the mae's visor, turning to look at me incredulously.

  Like Dr. Foreman, Cameron and Chase shared a look of disbelief, staring at me fixedly, this time without

  " someone expin to me what's happening here?" Dr. Wilson, pletely lost, asked.

  "What's happening is that Chase owes a big apology," House said, smiling arrogantly.

  "Lucy doesn’t have schizophrenia, just excess copper in the brain," I expio Dr. Wilson, who obviously didn’t get the answer he was looking for.

  "What?" Dr. Wilson asked incredulously, looking at the woman who was still behaviically. Only after a few days of treatment she will behave normally again.

  "Earth to Wilson, I thought you were present," House said sarcastically.

  "I don't get it. How did you know?" Dr. Wilson asked me, ign House.

  "It's a long story," I admitted, notig how the patient was watg me calmly.

  "We should start the treatment for the excess copper," Dr. Foreman, still stupefied, said slowly, dragging the mae he had brought along, gng at me occasionally.

  "Shrink the tumor first, I want my chips," House said as he walked towards the exit of the room. "e on, kid, your work here is done," he added.

  Without wanting to see the faces of those still present in the room, I followed House out, trailing him to his office. "I see Don did his 'magic,'" House said, smiling ically as he settled into his chair. " I expect you to do whatever it takes to save a patient from now on?" he asked, folding his hands in front of his face, probably pretending to be the vilin in some bad movie.

  "No," I replied immediately, surprising House for a split sed. "But if I’ve made the decision, breaking one or two rules doesn’t bother me."

  "Works for me," House said nontly, shrugging his shoulders as if it didn’t i him much. "See you ter," he added as he stood up, grabbing his backpad heading out of the office. "I hope the kid didn’t pick the worst chips," House murmured as he reached the doorway.

  Puzzled by House's suddeure, I checked my watd noticed that my regur 'shift' had already ended a few minutes ago.

  "By the way, well done," House said, catg me off guard before immediately walking out of sight, heading towards the hospital cafeteria.

  Quickly gathering my things, I left in the opposite dire, feeling surprisingly good despite being te.

  Even though I drht at the speed limit, I still arrived several mie to my training with Case.

  After quickly ging behind my car, I walked over under Case's intensely furrowed gaze and Tim's amused look. "Is my watch fast?" Case asked seriously raising his hand.

  Deg that the best course of a was to look guilty and avoid mentioning that Case didn’t have a watch, I walked over to the paved se of the lot.

  "Normally, the punishment for being te would be to the dojo," Case said sternly, crossing his arms. "But..." opening his arms again, he gestured around, indig the empty lot pletely exposed to the elements. "So, you do the best thing."

  ‘The best thing’ turned out to be aensive course of different exercises: pull-ups, squats while carrying the old handmade sack, full sparring on the ground against Case and Tim, and even flipping a tire that probably came from a tractor I'd never seen before. By the end, I couldn’t feel my arms s.

  "I remember the first time I was te," Tim said with a ugh while I kept my head uhe stream of water from the spigot near Case’s trailer.

  "Did you lose all feeling in your limbs?" I asked Tim as I shut off the water and dried my face with my shirt, which I holy didn’t remember taking off.

  "You have no idea," Tim said sarcastically. "Remember, there was a time when I was the only oraining with Case," he added, patting my shoulder.

  "I'm so sorry for that, man," I said sincerely, feeling bad for my muscur friend.

  Even though my muscles were incredibly sore, I decided to stay for my nur chess games with Case. Besides, with the ck of sensation in my legs and arms, the best option was not to drive.

  Several games ter, finally feeling at least the tips of my toes again, I went home.

  "You took a shower early," Bob said in surprise during dihat night.

  "I was te for my training with Case," I expined.

  "Ah, so you got a special workout," Bob decred with a grin.

  "You say special, I say infernal, but yeah, same thing," I replied sarcastically.

  "What happened? I don’t uand," Mom asked, worried.

  "Nothing, the workout was just a bit harder than usual," I expined.

  "It’s good for teag respect, punctuality, and responsibility," Bob quickly expined, seeing Mom frown.

  "Yeah," I murmured. "Don’t worry about it, Mom, it’s nothing I ’t handle. I'll just be sore for a couple of days," I added.

  "That means it was a good workout," Bob decred with a ugh. "No pain, no gain."

  I sure hope I get a lot of gains. "Teddy, by any ce, do you know someone named Lucas Palmero?" I asked my sister, suddenly remembering Luke.

  "Palmero?" Teddy repeated, surprised by the suddeion, pausing for a moment to think. "Oh yeah, he’s my b partner. He hasn’t been to css in a few days. Is he in the hospital?" she asked, clearly uanding the reason for my question, now worried.

  I k.

  "He’s fine, don’t worry about it," I quickly assured her. "And whes back to school, don’t bother him, okay?" I added seriously.

  "Yes, don’t pressure him. If he wants to say why he hasn’t been to school, he’ll do it on his own," Mom also quickly warned.

  "All right," Teddy said, raising her hands. "I don’t even talk to him that much, just in css."

  That day, only Gabe and Bob came in while I slept soundly after dinner.

  The day, obviously after spending most of my workout the previous night doing pull-ups, I woke up with a few blisters on my hands.

  "What happeo your hands?" Bob asked while we had breakfast after my m run with Gabe.

  "From yesterday's workout, I got a few blisters on my hands. It’s just antibiotic cream and some bandages," I immediately expined, notig how Bob was judging me slightly with his eyes.

  I’m going to be a doctor, possibly a surgeon. Whenever I , I’ll keep my most important tools of the trade in pristine dition.

  "Well, I’m sure if anyone knows how to treat them, it’s you," Bob said with a ugh, patting my shoulder. "Are we ready?" he asked Teddy and Gabe, who were also finishing their breakfasts.

  "Yeah," Teddy and Gabe replied at the same time, with Gabe speeding up his breakfast.

  At school, after the sed period, this time with my friends—except for Brod David, who had goo the bathroom—we finished anizing our things in our lockers.

  From the main hallway of the school, just like the day before, the two seniors I had seen messing around with Brock walked by, pushing each other and ughing loudly.

  "An," I said to my always calm friend who was standio me as I watched the two guys walk away.

  "Yeah?"

  "Do you know anything about those two?" I asked, nodding in their dire.

  "Michael Johnson and David Smith," An immediately replied. "It’s Smith’s sed year as a senior. Johnson was almost expelled a few months ago; they caught him smoking ihroom. They hang out after school uhe bleachers, almost always when there’s cheerleading irls' soccer practice."

  "Great," I murmured, surprised by how easily An provided a profile of the two guys. I really hoped Brock wouldn’t get into trouble.

  "Also, Smith trains in boxing three days a week at the gym on ercial Street. He’s not that good, but his dad is—an ex-semiprofessional with a good record," my calm friend added seriously.

  I stared at my friend incredulously for a few seds.

  "What?" An asked, fused. "Someone uninformed is like a blind man walking in dangerous terrain," he decred, as if reg a motto he says repeatedly.

  "I didn’t say anything," I said ily, raising my hands. "So, do you think they’re bad news?" I asked.

  "Yeah, not the worst news in school, but definitely bad news," An calmly expined. "So, what are you going to do?"

  "About what?" I asked, fused.

  "Brock," An replied indifferently.

  Of course, he koo. He was like an encyclopedia of the school—quite scary, to be ho.

  "I don’t think a direct approach is the best optiht now; it would only make Brock feel attacked," I admitted, slightly disappointed. "So I’m just going to wait for now."

  "Whatever you do, it’s probably better than what I would do," An admitted sinisterly, crossing his arms.

  Okay... definitely scary.

  "What about him?" I asked, discreetly pointing to a guy who assing by, just to see how deep An’s knowledge went.

  "I don’t know everyo the school," An said, raising one eyebrow. "But that’s Mark Bishop, junior year, captain of the school’s chess team," he added a moment ter, with a hint of a smile on his face.

  "The school has a chess team?" I asked, surprised.

  "Yeah, Bishop and two others. Mr. Givens is the teacher in charge," my friend expined.

  "What are you talking about?" Geie ily asked. For the past few days, every ce he got, he’d been leaning against his locker, smiling at everyone who passed by, obviously fog entirely on the girls.

  "Are you doh your lost puppy act?" I asked sarcastically, teasing my friend.

  "Yeah, ugh all you want, but when it works, don’t e asking for my secrets. I got two smiles today," Geie decred proudly.

  "I doubt it was the kind of smile you think it was," I said with amusement, patting my friend on the shoulder.

  "Well, I don’t care, but one day it’ll work," Geie decred proudly with a smile.

  "I'm sure it will," I said with a grin, seeing the arrogant smile on my friend’s face.

  "What will?" Brock asked, arriving with David, ied.

  "Geie’s special strategy," I expined.

  "Oh, the puppy eyes," Brock immediately said with a ugh.

  "Like I said, ugh all you want," Geie decred arrogantly.

  "We will, thanks," I said, immediately mog along with Brod David.

  ---

  Author Thoughts:

  As always, I'm not Ameri, not a doctor, and not a fighter.

  With that said,

  I think that's all. As always, if you find any errors, please let me know, and I'll correct them immediately.

  Thank you for reading! :D

  PS: PLEASE LEAVE A REVIEW.