* * *
Ackers was going to kill him.
That was the main thought that kept racing through Johnny’s mind while he sat in class. He kept trying to push the thought out, but it kept coming back again. Realistically, the most Ackers would do was lecture his brain away into a melted pile of unrecognizable goo. It was probably one of the worst forms of torture, and Ackers was particularly good at it. And thanks to technology, he could do it from anywhere, and at anytime. Johnny realized again that he was thinking about it, and tried again to push it out of his mind. He brought his attention back to the class. Ms. Sniders walked around the room with a menacing stare. She was wearing another one of her loud polka dot dresses and Johnny couldn’t understand how someone could wear such ugly clothes that made them stand out to such a high degree; it was almost as if the dots and varied colors were specifically made to clash as much as possible.
Ms. Sniders looked his way. Johnny did his best to act like he was paying attention. He remembered how foul her breath had been, and he didn’t want to do anything to call her attention and bring her nearer. It was already bad enough that he had to have detention with her, he didn’t want anything to make it worse. Finally, her attention wandered to other students and Johnny was free to stop pretending.
He glanced over at Nancy’s empty desk. She hadn’t come to school that day, and Johnny couldn’t help thinking that something had gone terribly wrong. Where could she be?
That was the second thought going through Johnny’s mind, competing with Ackers wanting to kill him. He looked at the time; she was more than an hour late. Johnny started to wonder if something bad had happened to her. She was obviously concerned that Johnny chose to go to school before delivering the Super Chip to Department X. Both Nancy and Ackers agreed on that point, and the two of them joining sides to lecture him was beginning to look like a crazy nightmare about to come true.
Was she going to try and take the Chip from his house while he was at school? Johnny couldn’t believe that. He knew he had only been working with her a short time, but he trusted her enough to believe she would never try anything like that. But then again, she had gone along with him without any qualms about handing the Chip over once they got it. Wouldn’t her handler, whoever that was, want it for themselves?
Johnny was beginning to worry.
“Mr. Clunker?”
Johnny shook himself out of his thoughts to see that Ms. Sniders and the entire class were looking at him.
“Day dreaming again, are we?” Ms. Sniders continued.
Johnny bent low over his notebook and pretended to write something down.
“No, I’m listening,” he said, somewhat pathetically.
Johnny’s mind was racing. The last thing he wanted was for Ms. Sniders to come close to him and make him smell her horrid breath again.
“Then I suppose you would like to enlighten us with the answer?” Ms. Sniders asked.
Great, thought Johnny, she just never gave him a break.
“I don’t know the answer,” he admitted, breaking eye contact and staring at the floor.
Ms. Sniders gave an exaggerated sigh.
“It seems you make it a habit of wasting our time. It is fortunate that you will be spending detention time with me, where I can perhaps find a way to get that one track mind of yours on the right track.”
Ms. Sniders went on with her English lesson.
Johnny just shook his head; this was going to be a long day.