Accidental Mobster by M. M. Cox

braces and brushing frizzy brown hair away from her chubby face. No one seems to be paying her much attention, and I appear to be a welcome distraction for the group.
    â€œDanny!” Portia says happily, unwrapping herself from the other boy and making my confidence spike. I return her smile.
    â€œHey.”
    She puts her arm around my shoulders and propels me toward the group of teenagers. Frizzy-haired girl has finally quit talking; actually, no one is speaking at all. Everyone is staring at me (and my stitches) with curiosity. That is, everyone except the boy over whom Portia was previously draped. He is glaring at me and making no effort to hide his dislike. I can’t blame him.
    â€œDanny, I’d like you to meet Tony Chen,” Portia says, removing her arm from me and standing between me and the other kid. “I’ve known him for years. My dad sold his dad his first car after they moved from China.”
    I immediately hate Tony simply because he has known Portia for years, and I have only known her for about five minutes. How can I compete with someone who has a lifetime of knowledge about what Portia likes and what she doesn’t? I know I have some serious ground to make up.
    â€œHi, Tony,” I say, keeping my tone as relaxed as possible. I need to learn more about my competition before I can gain the upper hand.
    â€œHi,” Tony replies, equally casual. He is studying me with suspicion.
    â€œTony and I double-team at school,” Portia says. “I’m the artsy one. I like to write, give speeches, and create presentations. Tony’s the practical one. He helps me with math and science homework.”
    I realize that Tony is much further ahead than I thought. Double-team ? Portia is practically telling me that she and Tony are girlfriend and boyfriend. I feel my confidence drop.
    â€œIs it true you’re staying at the Vigliotti house?” Frizzy-haired girl cuts in, moving closer to me. “What happened to your head? I heard you were in a fight with Tommy and that you beat him up!”
    I quickly shift away from her; she makes me uneasy with her rapid-fire questions. I choose only one of her questions to answer. “Yeah, I’m staying at the Vigliotti’s,” I reply, but I’m not looking at her. I’m watching Tony’s face, because at the name Vigliotti, Tony’s jaw tightens. If Tony disliked me before, I think he might hate me now, and I wonder why the name makes Tony angry. Portia does not seem to notice Tony’s reaction.
    â€œDo you want to hang around with us today?” she asks me quietly, so that the giggling, chattering girls won’t hear her.
    I stare at her, surprised. Of course I do. Well, I don’t really want to hang out with Tony—but I definitely want to hang out with her—all day, every day. “Sure,” I say, trying not to sound too eager.
    â€œGreat! Because if our experience in middle school is any indication, we need one more member on our team. Now we’ll have personality, brains—” She smiles at me “—and muscle.”

Chapter 6

    So I’m the bodyguard. Portia seems to like me because she feels safe with me. That’s okay—I would rather be the bodyguard than the nerd. I could never be the nerdy guy, even though I have always managed to get decent grades at school. A kid can get good grades and pull off being cool as long as the good grades don’t define who you are. I’m glad that the girls I’ve met know I beat Tommy in a fight—if everyone thinks the stitches are from fighting Tommy, I can hide the fact that I’m from a poor town and belong to hopeless parents.
    I know it’s only a matter of time before I will confront Tommy Gallo again. Tommy is a sophomore at Newcastle High, like Julia, so his reputation is already established. And I also know from Vince that Tommy’s reputation is one of a tough guy—a tough guy who