The Gang Leader's Impostor

CHAPTER NINE

Radley cornered me in the locker room as I emptied my bag with books, getting ready for lunch. He had this irritated look on his face, arms crossed over his chest like some kind of bouncer ready to toss me over his shoulder and shove me into my locker. "Are you seriously gonna hang out with that douchebag?" he asked, his tone laced with annoyance.

I just gave him a casual look. "What's it to you? Besides, you don't really expect me to come to a new school and not be friends with anybody, right?"

"Then what am I? Aren't we friends?" Radley's eyes squinted, almost hurt, like a puppy that’s been kicked.

I looked at him incredulously. "Wait, you think we are?" I scoffed. "Look, Ripley—"

"It's Radley."

"—I know we got off on the wrong foot and all, so I understand that you hated my guts. But the thing is, you hate my guts and so do I. So, what makes you think that we can be friends?"

Radley was at a loss for words. I closed the door to my locker and turned to go. "I'll just see you later for the project then," I said, making my exit before he could muster a comeback.

Outside, Zack and his friends were waiting for me. Zack gave me a small nod, and we headed straight for the cafeteria. "We have our own table here," Zack said as soon as we arrived, making a beeline for the table in the middle of the room.

Two guys were sitting there, quietly eating their lunch. But when they saw Zack, they immediately grabbed their trays and scurried away. It seemed Zack and his friends already had a reputation around this place.

Suddenly, I was transported back to my days at my old school. I used to be the geeky kid with the huge glasses, an easy target for bullies just like Zack. In sophomore year, determined to escape their torment, I started dressing better and ditched the glasses. But it didn't change anything. My reputation stuck, and the bullying continued.

My grip on the strap of my bag tightened. I didn't realize Zack had been calling my name for about a minute now.

"Hey, are you okay?" he asked, snapping me back to reality. I ran my gaze around the whole cafeteria. Everyone was looking at me, and when I met their gazes, they quickly looked away. I decided to sit in front of Zack, ignoring the looks and whispers.

He just chuckled. "You know, if you're bothered by their whispering, I could just shut them up for you. After all, we're friends, right?"

"Yeah, sure," I muttered, trying to play along. But his words didn't sit right with me. Friends. It felt hollow, a convenience rather than something genuine.

Zack just studied my face with a look before holding a hand up. Almost as if on cue, a lanky guy with thick glasses and freckles scattered all over his cheeks stumbled into our table, a small notepad in hand. He’s one of the guys in my class. I noticed him at the front of the room, always squinting at the board as though he can’t make out the words written on it.

Zack pointed at him. “Give him your order. Everything here is free of charge.”

I looked at the guy and then at the menu board behind him. My eyebrows furrowed. “Does the school pay for it?” I asked and they started laughing.

Brandon, the big, burly guy who follows Zack around like a puppy, shook his head and said, “The guys here take turns taking our orders and buying the stuff for us. That’s how things are in North Shore High. We’re all friends here, aren’t we?”

As soon as he mentioned the word ‘friends’, he turned to the guy who was taking our orders and smiled menacingly, his eyes threatening him to contradict. My skin almost crawled.

“So, what’s your order?”

I turned to face Zack, my jaw clenched. “Burger. I want a burger and fries on the side.”

“And a giant soda?” he added.

I clenched my jaw harder that it was threatening to break. “Yeah. And a giant soda.”

As we ate, Zack and his crew filled the air with mindless chatter, laughing and joking about things that seemed to matter so much to them but felt irrelevant to me. Like who has the bigger ass in their class and which place they’re gonna be staying at later. My mind wandered back to what had just happened. Was this really unavoidable? If I don’t want to become the prey that everyone hunts, do I need to become the predator?

This felt wrong on so many levels. Are there really just two options? Well, no. I mean, there’s the option of just watching from the sides, knowing what’s going on but never doing anything about it.

After lunch, I made my way to the library, seeking a quiet corner to collect my thoughts before the next class. I pulled out a book, but my mind kept drifting back to the locker room and Radley's bewildered expression. It was hard to focus on anything else.

I wondered if Zack's offer to shut people up was a genuine concern or just another power play. He seemed to enjoy the control he had over others, the way people scattered in his presence. It reminded me too much of the bullies from my past, and I couldn't shake the feeling that I'd just swapped one set of bullies for another.

By the time the final bell rang, signaling the end of the school day, I was exhausted. The moment I left the room, I ran into Zack and his crew who were idly waiting for me in the hallway. They were playing around, laughing loudly, and flirting with a group of girls who seemed to lap up the attention. When Zack saw me, he broke away from the group and headed my way, a grin spreading across his face.

"Do you wanna come hang out with us? You're all done with your classes, right?" Zack asked.

I nodded.

"Then good. I know this really good pizza place near the arcade where we always hang out. If you come with us, I could introduce you to some of the girls I know," he offered, the confidence in his voice making it clear he was used to people agreeing with him.

I stood there, thinking about his offer. Turning him down might risk losing whatever tenuous reputation I was building. Besides, I didn't have any other plans. "Fine. I'll come with you," I said, trying to sound nonchalant.

Leo, the smallest guy in their group but easily the loudest, cheered and threw an arm over my shoulder. "Awesome! He’s one of us now!" he exclaimed.

Zack immediately swatted Leo's hand away, his smile never wavering. "Shall we?" he asked, motioning for me to follow.

I smiled back, ready to leave with them, but just then, I felt a hand grab my arm from behind. I turned to see Radley, his expression a mix of frustration and concern. "Aren't we supposed to be doing our project today?" he reminded me, his grip tightening slightly as if he were afraid I'd slip away.

For a moment, I saw myself hesitating. "I, uh ... I forgot about that," I stammered.

Zack's smile faded a bit, replaced with a look of impatience. "Come on, man. The project can wait. It's just one night," he urged, his tone coaxing but with an edge of expectation.

Radley didn't let go. "You said you'd work on it with me today," he insisted. His voice was quieter, but there was a firmness to it that I hadn't noticed before.

Zack turned to him with irritation, but for some reason, he kept his distance away. “Can’t you just do that all by yourself? Surely, you don’t need him to do some lame project with you.”

Radley’s jaw clenched and he inhaled sharply, snapping his head in Zack’s direction. The latter took a step back, his eyes widening. “Did I ask for your f*****g opinion?” he snapped at him and he just stood there stupidly, blinking as he transferred his gaze to his friends who wouldn’t look his way either.

I was confused by this. Where was that guy who was threatening people with just a gaze? Who the hell is Radley that he’d act this way over him getting irritated?

“So?” Radley asked and turned to me again. “Are you gonna come with them or are you gonna help me?”

I didn’t know what to pick. My eyes landed on Zack for a minute who refused to look my way and then at Radley whose eyes are close to piercing my skull with their intense gaze. I just sighed in defeat.

“Look, we’re neighbors anyway. We can just do that project anytime.”

His grip on my arm dropped and he stuffed both hands in the pockets of his uniform. He nodded. “Fine. I’ll see you after you’re done with them.”

I was just about to reply to him but he had already stormed off, making sure to bump each one of their shoulders so hard that even Brandon who was twice his size stumbled out of his way.