Suki Clear's Arc

Chapter 3 of 3

The lunchroom roared with noise. Suki carried her tray between the tables, black sleeves pushed up, her side ponytail swinging. Chii trailed close behind, clutching her own tray with both hands. They looked for two open seats. Suki had spent the morning turning over what Chii told her about Hidan. Two years in charge. No one had knocked him down. Somewhere he had a crack. She just needed to find it. A boy stood up three tables away. He wore a beanie and a hoodie two sizes too big. His hazel eyes locked on Suki and stayed there. He forgot his own lunch and walked straight over, nearly tripping on a backpack strap. "Hey," he said, too loud. "You're new. I'm Jay." Suki knew the look on his face. She'd seen it before. He stared at her like she'd hung the moon. To her it meant nothing. He felt like a little brother trailing after her, sweet and harmless. "We're finding a table," she said flat. "Sit with me," Jay said fast. "I've got room. Best table. Trust me." Beside Suki, Chii went pink. Her cheeks glowed under her bangs. She stared at Jay, then at the floor, then at Jay again. Suki caught it all. Chii wasn't blushing at the food. Interesting. Suki almost said no. But a table was a table, and Chii looked ready to melt into her cardigan. "Fine," Suki said. She steered Chii ahead of her, and they followed Jay across the room. The table sat in a back corner, half hidden. A laptop rested there, open. Layers of skater stickers covered every inch of the lid, peeling metal bands and grinning skulls. The screen showed lines of code, green text scrolling in a black window. Suki set her tray down slow and looked at it. "You do that?" she asked, pointing. Jay grinned and dropped into his seat. "Yeah. Little project. I got into the school's grade system last week. Just for fun." He tapped the keys. Files opened, closed, opened again. "I can pull up pretty much anything. Records. Schedules. Whatever." Suki's mean face didn't move. Inside, something clicked. This boy who followed her like a puppy could crack open locked doors. Grade records. Discipline files. Everything the school buried about a boy who'd ruled the outcasts for two years. She pulled the chair beside him and sat. "Anything," she repeated. "What about one student. Everything on him." "Sure. Name?" "Hidan." Jay's fingers stopped. He glanced up, hesitant now. Chii's eyes went wide across the table. Suki leaned toward the glowing screen, her red bangs falling forward. "Find me his weakness," she said. "Everybody has one." Jay swallowed, then started typing. The stickers on the laptop caught the light. For the first time since the lot behind the school, Suki felt the ground tilt her way. She had a spy now. And a way in.