Read Online Will by Maria Boyd - Free Book Online Page B

everyone’s out doing the Saturday sports shuffle, otherwise you’d be surrounded. It’s only Jess and me here .
    Jess? the geek asked.
    Yeah , replied Chris. She’s the number-one girl in my life .
    The freak obviously intended to get as much information about Chris Holden, St. Andrew’s pin-up boy, as he could.
    You mean your girlfriend?
    I think Chris might have even blushed.
    No, mate, she’s my two-year-old sister. But don’t you think I should be the one asking the questions?
    The freak had no problem starting up.
    It was lunchtime and the kids in the band asked me what I had for lunch so I told them and then they started to follow me, soI ran down the driveway and that’s when they got me and threw me into the Dumpster .
    They what! I interrupted.
    I’d spent all day with those little peewees and there was no way they could have picked up this kid and thrown him anywhere.
    Well, that’s not completely true. Dad always says to tell the whole truth because you always get found out .
    So?
    Well, they kind of backed me into the corner and told me to get into the Dumpster .
    And you did? It was really hard not to put
you idiot
on the end of that question.
    I thought they’d leave me alone .
    Did it work?
    Yeah it did. They ran as soon as I got in. I stayed in there for another five minutes to make sure they’d all gone and then I tried to get out but I couldn’t .
    And that was when yours truly came along , I told Chris. I thought maybe our friend here could borrow some of James’s clothes, you know, just for the weekend .
    The kid suddenly looked very uncomfortable. Clearly something was wrong. What could be worse than getting harassed by a bunch of geeks and thrown in a bin?
    I don’t want Dad to …  His voice trailed off.
    What could be worse? Your dad finding out.
    He already worries about me. He’s had to come up to school already. He keeps saying that if it happens again he’s going to put me in a different school. But I like it at St. Andrew’s .
    This kid really was sad!
    Chris looked him square in the eye.
    Listen, you’ve got to tell someone about the kids hassling you. Your dad’s right to be angry with the school. They should do something about it .
    The kid began shaking his head.
    They haven’t done it for ages. It’s just these band kids. They want to show off that they’re tough .
    I was ready to go and find the little jerks and lock all of them in the Dumpster for the next month. I bet this was the first time any of them had had a chance to pick on anyone. I bet they were always having the crap kicked out of them.
    Well, if you hang out with Will here there won’t be any more trouble. But you still have to do something about those clothes. What will the guy who’s got to play next to you say?
    That’s me , I said, more enthusiastically than I’d intended.
    Right, well, forget about that, Will stinks already so he wouldn’t notice, but what about the other guys?
    The freak’s eyes grew in his head again and he shrugged.
    We could throw your jeans and jacket in the wash and dryer and I’ll drop them off on my way to footy?
    The kid’s whole body lit up with hero worship.
    Yeah, and then I could get changed and Dad wouldn’t have to know .
    The kid took the clothes Chris gave him and went into the bathroom. I knew this meant I was going back to the hall to finish my sentence. Just knowing that Andrews was there wound me up again, but I figured I could ignore him.
    So, Will, it looks like you’ve made your first new friend from the musical. Your mother will be so happy!
    I chucked the geek’s shirt at Chris and yelled out Hurry up!
    The geek left Chris’s place the way he’d arrived—talking.
    You’re the best, Will. I always knew Chris was a really nice guy. No wonder he’s going to be school captain. And look at these clothes! These are the coolest clothes I’ve ever worn. Dad reckons I shouldn’t worry about how I look. He reckons you have to stand on your own and