theyâre probably going to grow up to be bigger bullies.â
âLike Mr. McMaran,â Victoria added.
I imagined Amber wearing Mr. McMaranâs old suit and reading a cigar magazine. âYuck. Imagine having Amber as a teacher. At least weâll all be long gone by then.â
Felicia started to laugh. Then she stopped, frowning. âItâs awful about your brother,â she said. âIs your mom going to call the school?â
âI donât think so.â
âShe should,â Victoria said. âThereâs got to be something the school could do.â
âThereâs a zero tolerance program for bullying,â I said. âI totally think Mom should call Mrs. Goldstein, but Ben begged her not to. He says if Tyler knows he told on him, it would make it worse.â
âYeah, it probably would.â Felicia looked away, staring down at the ground.
I wondered if she was thinking about her own experiences. âIt sucks, doesnât it? I mean, Ben gets picked on because heâs small and smart.â And because heâs my brother. I pushed the thought aside. âAnd me, because of the stupid lisp, and Victoria, because sheâs new, and Nathan, probably because heâs the only black kid in the whole school, andâ¦â
Felicia finished my sentence. âAnd me, because Iâm fat.â
âYouâre not fat,â I said automatically.
âI am though. I mean, I know youâre trying to be nice, but itâs a fact.â She looked at me. âIâve always been overweight. My whole family is.â She grinned. âMom and I have started going to the gym together.â
âI think you look fine.â I did too. She had a round pretty face with huge dark eyes and a wide full-lipped smile and masses of gorgeous, curly, black hair.
âThanks,â she said. âI sort of think I do too. But itâs hard, hearing the stuff Amber says all the time.â
âTell me about it,â I agreed.
Felicia raised her eyebrows. âYou look like it rolls right off you. Like you couldnât care less what Amber says. Honestly, I think you intimidate her.â
I rolled my eyes. âIâm a good actor,â I said. âI donât want to give Amber the satisfaction of knowing she bothers me.â I thought about it for a moment. âYou know, now that weâre all friends, it doesnât really bother me so much.â
âAt least Amber doesnât threaten to hit people,â Victoria said. âPoor Ben. Did you get in a lot of trouble from your mom?â
I made a face. âShe was pretty upset at first.â
âBut youâre not grounded or anything?â
âNo, Mom doesnât really do that.â I thought Iâd prefer it if she did. I could still hear her saying she was disappointed in me, and that was far worse than a simple punishment would have been. âIâm trying to think of a way to get back at Tyler and his friends,â I said. I gave Victoria a meaningful look, hoping sheâd understand.
âWhat can you do?â Felicia asked. âI mean, if you talk to Tyler, heâll take it out on Ben.â
âI hate bullies.â Victoria closed her eyes for a moment, as if she was thinking hard. When she opened them again, she was looking right at me.
My heart leapt. The last time sheâd said that sheâd been talking about McMoron. I didnât want to say anything about telekinesis in front of Felicia. âMaybe we can do something about it,â I said carefully.
Felicia shrugged. âI donât see what.â
âNo.â Victoria met my eyes for a second; then she dropped her gaze and her cheeks turned pink. âI donât either.â
Sixteen
Ben and I were standing side by side at the sink, washing the dishes from dinner, when he suddenly crashed a saucepan down on the counter and turned to me.
âCassidy, can I
Robert & Lustbader Ludlum