“We’ll worry about that later. Right now we’re trying to raise bail money.”
“What’s that?” Woody said, nodding at the textbooks.
“Your homework. Mrs. Gladwell and Mr. Mount have decided that I need to tutor you so you won’t get behind.”
“I’m already behind and you can take those books back where they came from. If I wasn’t doing homework at home, what makes you think I’ll do it here?”
Which was a very good question and one Theo had been contemplating. Woody grimaced and pressed both hands against the sides of his head. “I don’t know how many times he kicked me but my head is killing me. It’s throbbing and my ears are ringing.”
“Listen. We’ve got seven hundred dollars already. If we get a thousand then we can bail you out and go to work on Tony’s bail.”
“No. I’m not leaving here without him. It’s both of us or nothing.”
“Come on, Woody. You’re thirteen, he’s sixteen. He can survive here longer than you.”
“Oh really? You should see him now, see how well he’s surviving. I’m not leaving without Tony.”
Theo shook his head. “Okay, okay.”
Nothing was said for a long minute. Woody gently massaged his temples as he frowned and closed his eyes. Theo felt like crying, but not here. This was jail and everybody played the tough guy.
“What’s everybody saying about me?” Woody asked. “I’m sure the whole school knows I’m in jail.”
“I haven’t talked to the whole school. Our gang knows what’s going on and everyone is on your side. You’ve done nothing wrong and all your buddies are trying to get you out. Mr. Mount is concerned and wants to help. Mrs. Gladwell has talked to the judge. We’re with you, Woody.”
Woody took a deep breath and managed a smile, as if relieved.
Theo said, “Don’t worry about everybody else, Woody. Only your friends matter and we’re all on your side.”
“That stupid kid Garth. I wish Jock could go a round or two with him.”
Theo slowly put the textbooks into his backpack. “You’re not leaving, are you?” Woody asked. “What’s the hurry?”
“No. I won’t leave until they make me.”
They chatted for almost an hour and Theo managed to get a couple of laughs out of his friend. Officer Randolph tapped on the door and said time was up.
At the front desk, Theo picked up his cell phone and checked his messages. Mr. Mount texted that he had two hundred dollars for the cause. Chase was calling a meeting of the gang at Guff’s Yogurt for four thirty.
Theo hopped on his bike and raced to the shabby old office where his uncle Ike worked occasionally. Ike was the older brother of Woods Boone and had once been a prominent lawyer in town. But he encountered some sort of vague “trouble” and was forced to leave the profession. He spent a few months in jail, long before Theo was born. Ike never talked about what happened, nor did Theo’s parents.
His office was on the second floor of an old building owned by a Greek family that ran a deli downstairs. Theo hustled up the stairs, barged into the office, and found Ike at his desk, buried in paperwork, sipping a late afternoon beer, and listening to the Grateful Dead on the stereo. “What’s this?” he growled. He adored his only nephew but didn’t like the surprise intrusion.
Theo stopped by every Monday afternoon for a required visit, but never on Thursdays. He blurted, “Ike, I need to borrow some money.”
“I don’t have any money, Theo. What’s going on?”
“Okay, I’ll be brief. One of my good friends is in jail and I’m trying to bail him out. His family has no money for bail and I’m trying to round up two thousand dollars. I’m putting up all of my savings, all four hundred dollars.”
“Must be a real good friend. Why was he arrested?”
“Armed robbery. It’s a long story but he’s not guilty.”
“Don’t they all say that? A kid charged with armed robbery?”
“Look, Ike, I’ll explain it all later. Right now I need some money. I’ve never asked you before and I’ll never ask you again. And it’s a loan. I promise I’ll pay it back. One day. Somehow.”
Ike scratched his beard and pulled at his gray ponytail. “Pretty serious aren’t you?”
“Dead serious, Ike.”
“How do you plan to pay it back? You’re not exactly employed yet.”
“I’ll think of something. Trust me.”
Ike studied him for a long time and began to smile. Slowly, he reached into a drawer, removed a three-ring checkbook, and scribbled something. He tore out the check and handed it over. “Two hundred dollars. It’s the best I can do. And it’s a loan, not a gift.”
Theo snatched the check, said, “You’re the greatest, Ike,” and took off.
As Theo climbed onto his bike, his phone buzzed. It was a text from Daisy. Woody’s father had somehow found $100. Their effort was now at $1,200, enough to spring Woody.
Theo texted Elsa at the office and explained that he was helping Woody with his homework and would be running by the office. He was expected to stop there every afternoon, check in with Elsa and his parents, and hit the homework. At thirteen, he was growing tired of this ritual and longed for a bit of freedom. Next year he would enter the ninth grade, and high school, and he often wondered how his routine might change. Surely his parents would relax a little and give him some space.
But on the other hand, Theo loved being thirteen and an eighth grader. He and his buddies were the big dudes on campus and the younger students looked up to them. He had heard stories of ninth-grade boys and how they were ignored in high school, especially by the ninth-grade girls who became infatuated with older guys.
He pondered these things as he headed downtown. He also continued the debate about asking his parents for a loan. He knew they would freak out when he told them he was handing over his savings for Woody’s bail. That would be an ugly fight but he was determined to follow through. Once that discussion was over, he doubted they would be willing to contribute more. Though he admired his mother for showing up in court that morning, last night’s family argument was still fresh. He was right and they were wrong, but he didn’t have the stomach for more fighting.
Of Theo’s inner circle of friends, Chase Whipple was the kid who spent more time online than anyone else and could perform magic with a computer. For fun, he often wrote his own software and seemed able to find anything on the Internet in a matter of seconds. His parents were affluent and bought him the latest devices and gadgets and he was always one step ahead of the others in the high-tech race.
The gang — Chase, Aaron, Brian, Edward, and Joey — were in the rear of Guff’s Frozen Yogurt huddled around a table. Theo got a small vanilla with cookie dough and joined them. “What’s the latest?” Chase asked.
“We’re at twelve hundred dollars,” Theo reported. “Four hundred from me, three hundred from Woody’s mother, one hundred from his father, two hundred from Mr. Mount, and I just got a check for two hundred from Ike, a loan.”
“You’re putting up four hundred dollars?” Aaron asked in disbelief.
“Yep, all my savings.”
“That’s awesome, Theo.”
“Wish I had more. I just spent an hour with Woody and he got beat up today. Big black eye, a cut. Some dude jumped him in jail. We gotta work fast, guys.”
“I have a hundred in savings,” Aaron said.
“Me too,” said Joey.
“I’m still looking,” said Brian.
“That’s great. Fourteen hundred.”
“Isn’t that enough to get him out?” asked Brian.
Theo said, “Yes, but that’s not the deal, remember? Woody won’t leave without Tony, so we need two thousand dollars, like I said.”
“I’m broke,” Chase said, “but here’s the plan. Ever hear of MobMoney?”