It was lunchtime. Once again, Michael found himself disappointed in his lunch tray. He shook the Styrofoam bowl filled with a suspicious-looking tomato soup. A thin layer of film was on top; beneath it, he could make out celery chunks and some certainly soggy goldfish crackers. He never really liked tomatoes anyway. Pushing the tray away, he picked up an orange from Asante’s tray and began peeling. He was too focused on his tablet again.
“Let’s see. We’ll need…oh, and some of those…and I think there’s still a few…” Asante muttered to himself.
Asante hadn’t touched his tray since he sat down. LaNiya had taken two bites of her sandwich before getting lost in her phone. She didn’t even look up when Michael stole her cup of mandarin oranges. No point in all of them skipping lunch. After the morning that they had, he needed to replenish his energy.
“Are you using your spork, Zuriya?” Michael asked, “Hey, Zuriya?”
Nothing. She didn’t seem to hear him, just picking at her food. He waved his hand in front of her face, trying to wake her from her trance. She soon snapped out of it and then turned to Michael, confused. He frowned and pointed to her plastic bag of utensils. She handed it to him without a word, returning to her dazed state.
She’d been uncharacteristically quiet since their run-in with the vice principal. But ever since, he’s noticed her nervously glancing around their table at the slightest sound. If someone dragged a chair, she’d jump. If anyone sat down at their table, she’d huddle closer to LaNiya. She kept eyes on any teachers or faculty that walked by. If they so much as looked in our direction, she’d stare at the table until they passed. She seemed so anxious that it was giving him a stomachache.
“Hey, what’s up with you?” Michael asked, eating an orange slice.
“I-I’m fine,” Zuriya asked.
“No, you’re not. You’re shaking the table every time someone walks past. You haven’t relaxed since we escaped those…janitors.”
“Well, how am I supposed to act now that anyone could be watching us?” she whispered.
“Who’s watching us?” LaNiya asked, pulled from her magazine.
“What if they’re all in on it? The janitors, the teachers, Ms. Mendoza, Ms. Mays…”
As she rattled on, Michael continued peeling his fruit. He thought about how the girl in front of him, just a day ago, was desperately trying to convince them to go to the faculty or officers for help. He couldn’t help but chuckle at the irony as she rattled on.
“There’s nothing funny about this, Michael!” Zuriya shouted, banging on the table.
“Huh?” Michael asked, popping an orange slice into his mouth.
He didn’t think they would have heard him over Zuriya’s ramblings, but her scowl assured him he had been caught. Some other students turned their heads to see what was going on.
“Hey, don’t make another scene. People are already watching us, thanks to you,” he said.
When she looked confused, he eyed the table next to them with a bunch of girls whispering amongst each other. She sank back into her chair, realizing she was drawing unwanted attention. Her face flushed red with embarrassment. She stared at the table again, clasping her hands on her lap. Without trying to look obvious, she tried glancing at the table again; the girls giggled as they pointed towards them, whispering.
“They think we’re crazy, don’t they?” she mumbled.
“No—,” LaNiya said.
“Yes,” Michael said, swiftly cutting her off.
“Can you at least pretend to be sympathetic?” Zuriya asked.
“Okay. They think you’re crazy. We’re all just crazy by association.”
Zuriya groaned, dropping her head into her arms on the table. LaNiya glared at him in-between trying to console her. While he knew it was wrong, he was enjoying watching Zuriya understand that they couldn’t rely on the adults. After listening to her constant pestering to tell the adults, she now can’t bring herself to look at any of them. He smiled to himself, tossing the orange peel onto his tray and moving on to the mandarin oranges.
“Ignore him,” LaNiya sighed, “Don’t worry, Zuriya. Not everyone’s out to get us.”
“Who is and who isn’t?” Zuriya asked, “How do we know when we’re safe? Or when someone could be listening to our conversation? Or if it’ll be safe to go home tonight? Will they follow us home? Attack our families?”
“They didn’t follow us the first time,” Michael said, “That’s something.”
Zuriya lifted her head; her face was already prepared for him to say something else to bash her hope. But Michael just shrugged and continued eating.
“But they could’ve just been so focused on moving Dr. Reed that they didn’t pay attention to us,” LaNiya added.
Zuriya’s face fell again. LaNiya smacked her own head, realizing what she’d done. Now, it was Michael’s turn to taunt her for upsetting Zuriya. But one look from her told him he should save his celebration for another time.
‘It’s hopeless,” Zuriya said.
“Nothing is hopeless,” David countered, taking a seat at the table.
“There you are,” LaNiya said.
“So, what did you all talk about?” he asked.
“Nothing, really. We were just—” LaNiya started to say, but Zuriya cut him off.
“Just waiting on Asante to tell us about what he was working on.”
Zuriya’s eyes pleaded with LaNiya to keep quiet, ending in a smile and nod. She then looked over at Michael. He quickly stuffed the last bit of mandarins in his mouth, slamming the cup down on his tray. The group turned their attention back to Asante, who was still engrossed with the tablet.
“Good luck trying to get anything out of him while he’s distracted,” LaNiya said, “he’s been fiddling with that thing all afternoon. Even the science teacher had to call him out on it. He almost got written up for detention for ignoring her.”
“At least someone knows how to work with those things,” Michael said.
He tried to reach for Asante’s sandwich stealthily. But Asante plopped the tablet on the table, startling them. He leaned back in his chair and groaned, covering his eyes with his arms. Michael snatched up his sandwich and took a big bite.
“Dang it,” Asante muttered under his breath.
“What is it?” David asked.
“Well…I’ve got good news and bad news,” he said
“What’s the good news,” Zuriya asked.
“Most of the materials needed for construction and wiring the networks are still stocked in the lab. We can scavenge for all the actual parts sometime after school,” Asante said.
“And the bad news?” LaNiya asked.
“We’re missing some key tools to actually build the suits.”
“I’d expect a lab as expensive as that to have all the top-tier machinery and tools? How did Dr. Reed even construct the prototype in the first place?” Michael asked between chews.
“Are you sure they weren’t just stored away?” David asked.
“No. But, I didn’t see them on the inventory list for the lab. I’m guessing those guys who took him also supplied the tools,” Asante said.
“And took them back after sweeping the place clean over anything tying back to them,” LaNiya added, “So, what tools are we missing?”
“A few can be substituted, but we really need to find a laser cutter and a micro welder,” Asante answered.
LaNiya pulled out her phone.
“That doesn’t sound so bad,” Zuriya said.
“Are you kidding? Where are we going to find a laser cutter?” Michael asked.
“Finding them won’t be so hard,” LaNiya said, showing her phone.
The others bunched together to see. She had pulled up a list of nearby hardware stores and tech supply shops. There were a variety of strange electronics and machinery, but she’d pulled up a page for portable laser cutters. They looked like miniature copy machines. But it was the price listed that made Michael’s jaw drop.
“The cheapest one is $1,000!? How are we supposed to ask for one without drawing suspicion? Let alone pay for it,” Michael asked.
“No idea,” Asante said, “But at least we know where to find one. What about the micro welder?”
Michael turned towards David with a grin. David looked confused and frightened by the action.
“Would you happen to have one of those on you, David?” he asked.
“Do you have any idea how big welders are? You think I could get away with hiding one away in my pockets?”
“It was worth a shot.”
“But we do have some smaller welders down at the shop,” David continued.
“Great. Problem solved then, right?” LaNiya asked.
“Well…”
“Well, what?” Michael asked.
“My uncle doesn’t like to lend tools out, especially the expensive ones. I’m not sure if I’d be able to convince him to lend one to us. Not to mention, what would I even say that it’s for?”
Asante looked to the others as if we had the secret answers. None of us knew what to do. How would five kids get access to tools like these without any adult assistance?
Rrrriiinnnggg!!! The bell rang, alerting everyone that lunchtime had ended. Guess we’ll have to figure it out later. Michael stuffed the final bite of the sandwich into his mouth. Asante seemed to finally notice his nearly empty tray.
“Hey, what happened to my lunch?” he asked.
Zuriya and LaNiya pointed at Michael, who was still chewing. He had eaten too much at a time. The dry bread was blocking his airways. Asante pushed his bottle of juice over towards him with annoyance. Michael just nodded, taking a few gulps to clear his throat.
“Thanks,” he said.
“Can’t have you dying on the cafeteria floor,” Asante said.
The group made their way up toward the cafeteria exit. Once they were in the hallway, Zuriya stopped them.
“Wait, so what are we doing about the tools and the building stuff?” she asked.
“I don’t know yet,” Asante answered, “Let’s just keep in contact until tonight. I’ll try to think of something.”
“Are we still meeting after school today?” Michael asked.
“Yeah, in the English classroom. We’ll head down afterwards.”
“What about those guards…umm, I mean janitors?” Zuriya asked.
“I don’t think that they’ll give us much problems for now. At least not while in school.”
“How come?” David asked.
“Because we saw their faces, heard their voices, and now know their secret. Their covers aren’t valuable here anymore. Plus, there was the whole…morning event, so they can’t rely on remaining undetected.”
“So we don’t have to worry about guards coming after us?” Zuriya asked.
“Not exactly. The two from today likely didn’t get a good look at our faces. Plus, any ones that are assigned here later, would have no idea who we are. So, for at least now, we should be pretty okay.”
Zuriya breathed a huge sigh of relief. LaNiya lightly punched Asante in the shoulder.
“Ouch, what was that for?” he asked.
“For letting Michael and me try to calm Zuriya in vain while you already had the answer.”