For The One(9)

I reach up and tug on the bell hanging from a string at the entrance.

“Come,” says the voice from within.

I lift the flap of the canvas and enter with Jenna right behind me. Doug spins and looks at me, then at her, then back to me. “What do you want?”

“I’ve come to retrieve the item that belongs to Mistress Kovac.”

His mouth curls up into a smile, but it looks more like an animal snarling. “I don’t have anything that belongs to her. And if she’s sicced you on me because of her little tiara, that’s mine. I bought it.”

Jenna steps forward to stand next to me. Her pale head of hair barely clears my shoulder. “You had no right to buy that back from Tim. I told you I didn’t want to borrow money from you.”

“It’s my money, Jen,” he says to her. His tone of voice and the way he shortens her name make me want to punch him. Right in the mouth. That way, he’ll never use that mouth again to say anything that will hurt her.

I step forward. “I’ll purchase it from you. Right now. With cash.”

He looks me up and down. Maybe he’s trying to figure out where I could be hiding the money.

“No.” He crosses his arms over his chest.

So he’s choosing to be difficult. I don’t understand why. Doug and I have never had much to say to each other. Now isn’t any different, apparently.

“I will pay you triple what you paid for it, then.”

He just stares at me, and since I can’t read faces—and don’t do staring either—I avoid looking at his face. I have no idea what’s going through his mind, but when I glance up again, he’s staring at Jenna and smiling. A quick look at her confirms that she is not smiling at him.

I should be happy that she’s angry at him and doesn’t want to be his girlfriend anymore. I’ve liked her for so long and it’s angered me all these months that she was with him. I have no claim on her now, but someday…I will.

But right now I’m worried that she’s going to change her mind. That she’s going to decide she wants to be with him after all, even if it is just to get her tiara back. Come to think of it, I’ve never seen Jenna wear a tiara—or any sort of expensive jewelry. This must be worth a good sum in order for her to pawn it for two thousand dollars.

Doug’s now looking at me with his head tilted to the side. “I see why she brought you in here. You’ve got money. Isn’t your brother a billionaire or something?”

I shake my head, annoyed now. “I don’t have a brother. You mean my cousin. Yes, he’s a billionaire, but I don’t spend his money. I have my own job. Now, if I give you fifteen thousand dollars today, will you give her back the item?”

He holds his fist up in the air and makes a sound like a buzzer at a game show. I have no idea what that means. “Try again.”

Jenna is tugging at my arm now. “Come on, Wil. We can take it to the clan council. They’re meeting after lunch.”

“Yeah, you do that, Jen,” Doug taunted. “Go—and take your idiot with you. You know what they say, like attracts like.”

I stiffen. There it is again…that word. Idiot. Just like the others I’ve heard throughout my life. Moron. Retard. But this is much worse. He called Jenna that name, too.

Her fists tighten at her sides. “How dare you—”

“Jenna,” I interrupt, stepping forward and putting my arm out to block her from advancing on Doug. I can fight my own battles. To Doug I say, “I haven’t insulted you. I don’t care if you insult me because your opinion means nothing to me. But you won’t insult her. Apologize.”

“Not gonna happen.”

I take another step toward him. His eyes get round, but when I think he’s going to step back, he doesn’t. We’ve just had a confrontation while both dressed in armor. This feels much more real, more immediate, just inches from each other and no metal between us. “Whatcha gonna do, retard?”

Suddenly, heat rushes up from the depths of my being and my skin is on fire. I reach out and grab a handful of Doug’s t-shirt. “Stop trying to provoke me.”

He pushes against my chest and I let him go. He takes two steps back, brushing himself off. “Back off, psycho.”

“I don’t need to back off. You just did. Now apologize.”

Silence.

I’m getting ready to take another step toward him when he holds out his hand. “Fine. I’m sorry. Get the hell out of my tent.”

“You should be ashamed of your unchivalrous behavior toward Jenna.”

Doug’s face scrunches up. “Get out.”