Read Online Délon City: Book Two of the Oz Chronicles by R.W. Ridley - Free Book Online

left eye and carefully mouthed the word, “Marking.” She then wrote. “You want what they want.”
    I shook my head. “No.”
    She nodded, and started to write more. I read over her shoulder. “DON’T TRUST G...”
    We heard footsteps coming up the hallway. Mrs. Dayton stopped writing, frantically tore the pages out of the notepad and stuffed them in her pocket. She put her finger to her lips giving me the signal to keep quiet.
    Lou entered the kitchen with a bottle of liquid soap. “Found it.”

FIVE
    Gordy was waiting for us outside Mrs. Dayton’s house. He stood on the sidewalk hunched over and fidgety, hands clasped together in front of him, eyes drawn down. “Don’t Trust G,” I thought.
    Regardless, I was relieved to see him. I was ashamed to admit it, but once I underwent my marking, he was the furthest thing from my mind. I hadn’t given one thought to whether he had become skinner food or not.
    “Gord-o, good to see you,” I said. I was feeling chipper despite Mrs. Dayton’s warning. She was wrong. That was all there was to it. I didn’t want what the Délons wanted. The marking’s effect on me was temporary. I was the same old Oz Griffin that killed the Taker Queen. And Gordy was harmless.
    “Oz,” Gordy said with a nervous quiver. “You – you’re looking good.”
    “I feel good.” I turned to Lou. “This is my best pal, Gordy Flynn.”
    Lou shook his sweaty hand. “We met... kind of.”
    “Yeah.” Gordy let out a breathless laugh. “In the principal’s office. That was some weird stuff, huh?”
    “About that,” I said. “You know there was no way I was going to let that thing... you know, skin you, right?”
    “Oh, sure, sure. I know,” he said. “And you know that I was just about to kick some serious ass, right?”
    “Sure, sure.” I looked at Lou as she ducked her head to hide a smile. “Just like always.” We turned up the sidewalk and headed toward my house. “So, what brings you this way, Gordy?”
    “Nothing... you know. On my way to school... I was just wondering if we could hang... I mean I was wondering if it would be all right if I hung with you... you and Lou, I mean?” He was growing more and more nervous as he talked.
    I stopped walking. The others quickly followed suit. “Gordy, what is up with you?”
    “What do you mean?” he asked.
    “You’re like all nervous and shaky.”
    “I am?”
    He looked at Lou. She confirmed my observation with a nod.
    “Okay, maybe I am,” he said. “But, dude, you’re like king of those purple... things. How do you expect me to act?”
    I thought about the question. He had a point. If I was in his position, I might be acting the same way. “I expect you to act like my friend.”
    He smiled. “Really? Cool. I was kind of afraid that you were all... you know... too kingy for me now. Plus, you were about to feed me to one of those skinner thingies yesterday...”
    “I told you I wasn’t going to let that happen,” I said.
    “Yeah, and I told you I was about to kick some major ass. People say things, you know.”
    I sighed. “Yeah, people say things.” We started walking again. I remembered some of the thoughts I was having last night. Particularly my regrets for not letting the skinner have its way with Gordy. How could I have felt that way? “If you thought I was going to feed you to the skinner, why would you want to hang with me?”
    He smiled. “I’m no idiot. You’re the top dog, Ozzie. Ain’t nobody going to mess with me if we’re tight.”
    I should have been offended, but I wasn’t. It was a smart move on his part. Gordy always had top-notch survival instincts. “That’s cool,” I said. “But you should know, I’m not planning on being king. You understand?”
    “Dude, why not? Everybody will be falling all over themselves to treat you like... well, a king. You’d be a real dink to pass something like that up.” He caught himself and cleared his throat. “Oh, I so did not mean that.