Rita Morse and the Sinister Shadow

  * * * * *

  By lunch, I had tons of questions in my head. I told Penny and Ryan about the encounter in the hall and tried not to let ketchup drip on my schedule at the same time.

  Penny raised a finger. “Maybe he found something out about the Shadow Regime that we don’t know yet. Or some way to avoid them. I’ve been thinking, and I know I’m stumped.”

  “I hope so,” I said. “He’s good at research stuff.” I had a sinking feeling he hadn’t found out anything good, though. Sean didn’t smile or anything when he gave me the news. “But he wouldn’t say anything about it. Maybe I ought to ask Dan about it. He hangs out with Sean all the time.” I had a feeling he wouldn’t give me attitude this time. The situation was way too serious for that.

  Penny sat bolt upright. “Uh…Rita?”

  Before I could respond, a meaty hand came down on my schedule and ground it into a ball with a crinkling sound. Another hand appeared and flipped my tray up at me. I dodged to the side in time to miss some flying mashed potatoes. I dropped my burger to the table and twisted around on the stool. “Wh—”

  Kristina’s other hand gripped my sleeve. More profanity spewed out of her mouth as she called me a bunch of things (the nicest of which was Raging Rita) that described her a lot more than me. “What were you doing, mouthing off to me?”

  My heart started to race and my body tensed, preparing for battle. Josh stepped on my tray with his hideous orange designer shoes. Mashed potatoes squished around them.

  Now was not the time to let my big mouth make anything worse. I had to try something totally different for once—diplomacy. “Hey, sorry. It wasn’t a big deal. Nobody even heard what I said.”

  “Geez. Leave her alone,” Ryan said. His voice sounded like a terrified gnome’s.

  Kristina smiled, exposing two rows of tobacco-stained teeth. She loved this kind of stuff. Josh stood behind her, grinning in anticipation. I tensed, ready to start blocking blows. The muscles around Kristina’s jaw trembled as she lifted her free arm up behind her.

  “Hey! Knock it off!” A lunch lady marched at our table, glaring at Kristina.

  She let go of my sleeve, swearing, and stalked over to the other side of the cafeteria. I let out a really quiet sigh of relief as they sat way on the other side of the room, snickering.

  Ryan brushed down his hair and waited until they were out of earshot to speak. “Man, I really hate them.”

  “Tell me about it,” Penny added. “They have to ruin everything.”