Chapter 5

Miguel knew what he was doing; he had a plan. When he sided with Chuck over Darius, the point was to protect his buddy while ingratiating himself with his quarterback. He didn’t expect to be trusted, and there wouldn’t be a big TV style confession from any of the three. What Miguel needed was information about movements, locations, and the right time to strike.

He was dragged around like a member of Chuck’s crew. He had to listen to the three of them babble on about how great they were, Chuck’s UCLA scholarship, and girls they hooked up with. Miguel just played along, feigning amusement at their stories. He found it nearly intolerable but stuck with his plan.

Chuck and Miguel had never really been friends, per say, but they did know each other well. They met at tryouts for the football team freshman year, and both rode the bench most of that year. That was when Chuck met Brittany, and Miguel was looking for any girl that would give him attention.

Sophomore year, Chuck got his big break, thanks to the senior quarterback breaking his throwing hand in a misread blitz. From then on, Chuck was the darling of the school. He could do no wrong and was mostly allowed to do whatever he wanted with turned heads and a pat on the back.

Miguel’s big break came right at the tail end of that sophomore season. He took a few plays while the starting receiver recovered from a big hit. Miguel made the most of it by catching a bullet pass with his fingertips outstretched and getting an important first down. He secured the starting position at the beginning of junior year.

The two players got along well enough, with Chuck trying to get Miguel to hang out with his crew more. Miguel preferred hanging out with his best friend Darius. They all went to the same parties but mostly kept separate beyond an occasional ’how’s it going?’. It annoyed Chuck that his best receiver preferred to hang out with a basketball player. He was a good one, but basketball wasn’t a real sport.

That desire of Chuck’s to finally pull Miguel away from his best buddy, Darius, was exactly what Miguel had banked on. It worked flawlessly. Miguel avoided Darius and anyone else from the Science Club at school. He didn’t want Chuck to suspect he was a spy.

He’d message the group at night using the Dis-CREET app, but during the day, he had to find an alternative. If he needed to relay information that couldn’t wait, he used his little sister’s friend Willa. The cute, strawberry-blonde sophomore was the perfect cover. As he’d whisper his message in her ear, it looked like he was hitting on her, which Chuck approved.

Miguel suspected Willa had developed a crush on him at some point, and she was happy to help. If he hadn’t gotten tangled up in the whole Science Club and Heat fiasco, he probably would have taken his shot with her. Now that he had easy access to multiple willing girls, including a teacher, the thrill of the hunt had faded. It wasn’t worth the hassle of dealing with his angry sister or the potential of losing access to the girls from Science Club. While they agreed they could date outside the group, none of them had. He didn’t want to be the first.

Tuesday after school, he found himself in the weight room working out with Chuck and his guys. He really didn’t want to. He figured he’d spent enough time with these jackasses already, but he hadn’t nailed down his plan yet. When they arrived, the place was empty.

“Is it always this empty?” inquired Miguel.

“Pretty much. After football season, no one stays after school,” Craig replied while doing some bench presses.

“Huh,” said Miguel, putting a plan together. “There’s gotta be people here on Friday, though, before the game?”

“Are you kidding? The school’s deserted till right before tipoff. We can actually crank the music on Fridays, and no one cares,” Chuck shouted from the free weights.

Miguel looked around the room between his sets. He was looking for weaknesses, access points, and other potential venues for revenge. He found a couple in the ventilation ducts. They’d be too small for a person, but maybe his robot. The plan was coming together ... he just needed a little help from his friends.

Brittany collected Warren’s homework every day and dropped it off to him each night. He was doing better. He was released from the hospital on Wednesday evening and would likely return to school the next week. His injuries would mend with time, although the fracture in his arm would take the longest. The physiotherapist he’d talked to before he was released suggested squeezing something soft in his hand like a tennis ball. Brittany offered herself as a better alternative.

She ended up having an uncomfortable conversation with Warren’s mom the night he got home from the hospital. She’d only had to do the ‘meet the parents’ conversation once before, and that was years ago. Warren’s mom was very suspicious of her. The Rodgers’ had loved her immediately. Granted, this time, she could understand the reason for the concern, finding out about the relationship while finding her son in the hospital.

Warren’s parents were separated but not divorced. His dad had moved to Milwaukee. Brittany finally met him Thursday after school, when he was able to drive down to visit his recovering son. He was shocked to find such a pretty girl interested in his son, but it all made sense when they started on the homework Brittany had brought. Academically, they were two of a kind.

While not directly involved in Miguel’s plot, they both kept an eye on the message exchanges. They laughed at the idea, thinking it was a brilliant, cold revenge. With only one small task asked of her, Brittany made sure her part was played, and then it was back to the matters at hand.

“Are you going to the big game on Friday?” asked Warren as he completed his chemistry assignment.

“I thought I’d hang out here with you. Keep you company,” smiled Brittany.

She wanted to go, and he knew that. He wanted to go, too, actually. He never much cared for sports, mainly because he was so bad at them. But recently, after getting to know Miguel and Darius, he had someone to root for. He didn’t care about the school spirit, pride, or really any of that crap. He did want to support and cheer on his new friend.

“You should go,” Warren argued. “Cheer on Darius. You remember what he was like before the last big game.”

“I don’t want to leave you by yourself. That’s not fun. Besides, what if Miguel’s plan works? I want to watch it happen with you.”

Warren laughed, which made his bruised ribs hurt. “Yeah, that would be funny. Maybe ... maybe if I’m feeling better, I can stop by the school to watch that with you. Don’t tell anyone, though, just in case I can’t.”

That brought a big smile to Brittany’s face. As great as it would be to see the game, it would be better for everyone to see Warren. It would also do him some good to see other people, too. He was never the most social person, and being cooped up in his house probably didn’t help that.

Brittany had one other problem; one she couldn’t tell Warren about. She was horny, very horny. Since they hadn’t gotten together the past weekend and didn’t hook up all week, she was dying to get laid. Normally, she could have pulled someone aside after school in the drama room. There was usually someone hanging about in there. But since she went right to Warren’s directly from school every day, she hadn’t been able to scratch that itch. Her pussy ached for attention.

She’d actually been feeling shaky. She imagined going through withdrawal would be like that, only this was milder. She’d been feeling weak the last day or so, like she’d skipped a meal or two. At times, she could verbally snap at people, but most forgave her due to Warren’s situation. She’d have small tremors in her hands, once even during lab work. She had to use two hands to pour her sodium hydroxide into the hydrochloric acid. If any had sprinkled onto her hands or skin, it could have burned her. She needed it badly, and before Friday’s game seemed like the best chance to get it. She felt bad for Warren, though.

On Friday, the school was buzzing with anticipation for the upcoming game. Students and even staff had a hard time staying on task, often devolving to less critical matters. For Darius, as his final class drew to an end, the creeping sense of dread and pressure built up inside him. It was more manageable than his previous panic attack, since all the events of the past week had been a distraction. The other thing was knowing the best way to deal with it was just a huff away.