“Not yet,” I said as we walked up the sidewalk, which snaked from the student parking lot around the side of the school. “But I did talk to him briefly last night. He said he has a surprise for us.”
“Uh-oh,” Charlie said.
“Yeah, that was pretty much my reaction, too,” I said.
Finn was very funny and completely brilliant, but he also lacked a moral compass. His idea of a surprise could mean an announcement that he had hacked into the Federal Reserve and transferred ten billion dollars to an offshore account. He was totally capable of doing it—Finn was a computer genius who’d developed several top-selling video games. In a review, a critic had called Finn’s most famous creation, Grunge Aliens, “the most awesomely violent video game ever made.” Finn had been thrilled. Anyway, his series of successful computer games meant that Finn was set for life, and didn’t have to worry about getting into a top college or landing a good job postgraduation. So there was even less incentive for him to stay out of trouble.
“What do you think he’s done this time?” Charlie asked, as we turned the corner and headed down the walk that led to the front entrance of Geek High.
I stopped dead in my tracks. “I think I might have an idea.”
“What?” Charlie asked, also stopping. Then, following my appalled stare, she turned toward the stairs that led up to the front door. Her mouth fell open. “Please tell me I’m not seeing what I think I’m seeing.”
“I would love to. But I’d be lying,” I said.
Finn stood at the top of the stairs, beaming down at us. He was tall and pale, with light blue eyes and a faint scar over his lip, a remnant from the cleft-lip surgery he’d had as a baby. His brown hair used to be too long and shaggy. Now the sides were shaved, leaving one single stripe down the center of his head.
“He has a Mohawk,” Charlie squeaked.
“Yes, he does. And he looks like an idiot.” I looked at her. “Please tell me this has some effect on your feelings for him.”
Charlie shrugged helplessly. “I wish I could say it does. But who am I to talk? I have green hair.”
“But you could dye your hair back to a normal color tonight if you wanted to. He’s stuck with that ridiculous look until it grows in,” I protested.
Finn took the stairs two at a time and jogged out to meet us. “Hey, foxy ladies,” he said. Finn preened, turning his head from side to side to give us the full view. “So? What do you think?”
“Do you really want to know?” I asked.
Finn looked hurt. “You don’t like the new look?”
“No,” Charlie and I said together.
“Too bad,” Finn crowed. “Because I love it. My head feels so much cooler without all of the hair. And Phoebe thinks I look sexy like this.”
“That’s because Phoebe’s a few fries short of a Happy Meal,” Charlie muttered under her breath.
“What’s that? I didn’t hear you,” Finn asked. “Were you commenting on how insanely hot I look?”
“No,” Charlie said. “I was not.”
“Because you can totally say that if you want to. Really, please feel free to admire the Mohawk all you want. I’ll even let you touch it,” Finn said, running a hand over his head.
“I’ll pass,” Charlie said.
“Miranda? I don’t want you to feel left out,” Finn said.
“No, thanks, Finn. I don’t want to touch your head,” I said.
“Suit yourself,” Finn said.
The three of us turned toward the school, and paused for a moment before heading up the stairs. When Geek High first opened, it occupied a three-story Victorian house with large dormer windows and a gabled roof. But as the school grew, two low, modern wings were added that branched out from either side of the main building. The high school occupied one wing, and the elementary and middle schools the other, while the original central building housed the cafeteria and administrative offices.
“Another year of pointless torture is upon us,” Finn said sadly.
“Just think: only two more years before we leave for college,” I said, feeling a bit nostalgic.
“Only two?” Finn said, snorting.
“That’s not so long,” Charlie said. “Just imagine how strange it will be when we graduate. I can’t imagine not coming here every day.”
“I can,” Finn said with a shudder. “I can’t wait to get out of here and out into the real world. And by real world, I mean being able to sleep until noon, play Xbox all day, and eat cereal for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.”
“You won’t miss the people? Your friends?” Charlie asked.