Brimstone Read Online Free Page B

them over, did you?”
    “No. I deleted them from the camera last night after I downloaded them onto my computer.”
    “Smart thinking. The camera is school property, like the lockers, with no expectation of privacy. Well done, my Padawan apprentice.”
    I tucked my hair behind my ears and tried to get back to work. I wasn’t very successful, because I was now thinkingabout Halloran and bullies instead of Swift and Lilliputians.
    “Why do you suppose Halloran wanted the pictures?” I mused aloud. “He likes good ol’ Biff. Why would he want incriminating evidence on him?”
    “To take it away from you, of course, and make sure it never sees the light.”
    “But I have copies.”
    “You ought to put them in an envelope marked ‘Open in the event of my mysterious death or disappearance.’ ”
    “Gee thanks, Lisa. I would never have thought of that. How handy to have a criminal mastermind as a friend.”
    “I prefer Evil Genius. And you’re welcome.” The class began gathering their books. There was no visible signal, just the action of the collective unconscious. Lisa and I rode the wave.
    “See you in civics,” she said as the bell rang.

    I had journalism next. The class was supposed to be separate from the lab where we worked on the school’s weekly newspaper, but by this time of year the structure was pretty fluid. I turned in my article on the Spanish Club and gave Mr. Allison the pictures of the basketball game. He whistled when he saw the jump shot. “Great photo, Maggie! You really caught the motion.”
    “Thanks.” Sports and action photography took a knack and a bit of luck. I think I’d been more lucky than anything else, but I was still proud. “May I have a pass?”
    “Where are you going?” he asked, reaching for his pen.
    I didn’t think “To the Coke machine” was going to cut it, so I said, “To the auditorium. Big Spring Musical is this weekend, and I thought I’d interview the cast.”
    “Good idea. Phillip was saying we could use something to round out the edition. Think you can have it ready tomorrow?”
    “Just a fluff piece? Sure.” Phillip was the student editor and he had a gift for knowing exactly how many inches of story the edition lacked at any given moment. Mr. Allison tore the pass off the pad, I took it with a cheery “Thanks!” then grabbed my backpack and headed to C Hall where lay the Band Hall, Choir Room, auditorium, and, not coincidentally, several vending machines.
    Finally! Sweet liquid ambrosia of caramel-colored, high-fructose, caffeinated bliss. With the carbonated burn coursing down my throat and the sugar rushing through my veins, interviewing the Drama Club seemed a small price to pay.

    Mr. Thomas, the drama teacher, was a harried-looking guy who didn’t seem long out of high school himself. “All those things need to be organized on the prop tables, stage right and left. How are we coming on costumes? People! We
open
in less than three days!”
    He might have been addressing the air for all I knew; there was no discernible change in the chaos in the auditorium, where there seemed to be an awful lot going on, but very little getting done. I coughed to get his attention and he turned his wild-eyed stare on me. “Hi. I’m Maggie Quinn, from the Avalon High paper. I was hoping I might interview a few of the cast members.”
    “Excellent! I’ll introduce you to our star.” He called toward the stage at a volume that made me jump. “Jessica! Have you got a minute?”
    Boy, this day just kept getting better and better.
    The model thin blonde who turned at her name was not, thankfully, the Queen Jessica—the Jessica Prime—though I did recognize her from the Jessica chorus in the Incident with Stanley on the Breezeway.
    She joined me at the edge of the stage with a distinct air of noblesse oblige but no sign she knew who I was, other than paparazzi, and therefore a necessary inconvenience. That suited me fine. I flipped open my notebook and