"Go ahead." He said to the class, all staring, all quiet, "We'll have a study period for ten minutes before the test." The teacher escorted Kevin out the back door of the classroom. Which filled suddenly with rapid-fire gossip, as if somebody had clicked off the mute button on a TV. Geneva waited a few seconds then followed.
Looking up the corridor, she saw Detective Bell, standing with his arms crossed, near the front door. He didn't see her. She stepped into the hallway and plunged into the crowd of students heading for their classes.
Geneva Settle didn't make for the girls' room, however. She came to the end of the hallway and pushed through the door into the deserted school yard, thinking: Nobody on earth's going to see me cry.
*
There! Not a hundred feet from him.
Jax's heart gave a fast thud when he saw Geneva Settle standing by herself in the school yard.
The Graffiti King was in the mouth of an alley across the street, where he'd been for the past hour, waiting for a glimpse of her. But this was even better than he hoped. She was alone. Jax looked over the block. There was an unmarked police car, with a cop inside, in front of the school, but it was some ways from the girl and the cop wasn't looking at the school yard; he wouldn't be able to see her from where he was even if he turned around. This might be easier than he'd thought.
So quit standing around, he told himself. Get your ass moving.
He pulled a black do-rag out of his pocket, slicked down his 'fro with it. Easing forward, pausing beside a battered panel truck, the ex-con scanned the playground (which reminded him a lot of the yard at prison, minus, of course, the razor wire and gun towers). He decided he could cross the street here and use the cover of a Food Emporium tractor-trailer that was parked along the sidewalk, its engine idling. He could get to within maybe twenty-five feet of her without being seen by Geneva or the cop. That'd be plenty close enough.
As long as the girl continued to look down, he could slip through the chain link unnoticed. She'd be spooked after everything that'd happened to her, and if she got a glimpse of him approaching, she'd probably turn and run, shouting for help.
Go slow, be careful.
But move now. You may not get a chance like this again.
Jax started for the girl, picking his steps carefully to keep his limping leg from shuffling leaves and giving him away.
Chapter Sixteen
Was that the way it always worked?
Did boys always want something from you?
In Kevin's case, he wanted her mind. Well, wouldn't she have been just as upset if she'd been built like Lakeesha and he'd hit on her for booty or boobs?
No, she thought angrily. That was different. That was normal. The counselors at school talked a lot about rape, about saying no, about what to do if a boy got too pushy. What to do after, if it happened.
But they never said a word about what to do if somebody wanted to rape your mind.
Shit, shit, shit!
Her teeth ground together and she wiped the tears, flung them away on her fingertips. Forget him! He's a lame asshole. The calc test--that's all that's important.
d over dx times x to the nth equals . . .
Motion to her left. Geneva looked in that direction and, squinting against the sun, saw a figure across the street, in the shadows of a tenement, a man with a black do-rag on his head and wearing a dark green jacket. He'd been walking toward the school yard but then disappeared behind a big truck nearby. Her first panicked thought: The man from the library had come for her. But, no, this guy was black. Relaxing, she glanced at her Swatch. Get back inside.
Only . . .
Despairing, she thought about the looks she'd get. Kevin's boys, who'd give her the bad eye. The bling girls, who'd stare and laugh.
Get her down, get the bitch down . . .
Forget about them. Who gives a shit what they think? The test is all that matters.
d over dx times x to the nth equals nx to the nth minus one . . .
As she started back for the side door she wondered if Kevin would be suspended. Or maybe expelled. She hoped so.
d over dx times . . .