Chris Rogers, Author

Invite the Devil In by Chris Rogers

[ 1 ] – [ 2 ] – [ 3 ] – [ 4 ] – [ 5 ] – [ 6 ]

"How'd you know that?" I typed.
"I ALSO KNOW YOU'VE BEEN OGLING JUDY SEGAL'S BOOBS AND WISHING YOU COULD COP A FEEL."
"I never told anybody that. How'd you..."
"I KNOW THINGS. WHAT'S MORE, I CAN HELP YOU."
"Help me?"
"HELP YOU PASS HISTORY. HELP YOU MAKE SECOND BASE WITH JUDY SEGAL."
"How?"
"YOU GOT A HISTORY TEST TOMORROW, RIGHT?"
"Oh, shit! Yeah, I for..."
"FORGOT TO STUDY. I KNOW. DON'T WORRY, YOU'LL PASS."
"I'll pass. Just like that?"
"JUST LIKE THAT."
"What about Ju..."
"JUDY SEGAL? FIRST THINGS FIRST"
"Would you let me finish my damn sentences?"
"TSK, TSK. SUCH LANGUAGE! HEY! YOUR MOM'S COMING! SHUT IT DOWN."

And he was gone.
I turned off the PC and dove for the covers just as Mom opened the door and looked in. "What the hell," I thought. "Guess he does know things."

Next day I stared at the history test and wished I'd spent the time studying instead of playing Antigrav with Mr. Knowitall. The questions were out of a time warp. I couldn't remember any of the names, much less put a date to them. On multiple choice, I eenie, meenie, minied my way through. On fill-in-the-blanks, I put down the first words that came to mind. When I came to the essay questions, I wrote a string of multisyllables, hoping a nonsense answer would be better than no answer at all. I made a C+ on the test.
Now in math, C+ would be devastating, but in history it was something to cheer about. I passed!

At lunch, I saw Judy Segal sitting alone at a table. She was wearing a white sweater down to her thighs and a short black skirt. The sweater looked soft as a bunny's fur and hugged her in places I wished I could. I thought, "What the hell?"

"Anyone sitting here?" I said.
"No."
I set my tray on the table. She stood up.
"Linda!" she called to Linda Blinz, sitting a couple tables over. Linda waved and pointed to an empty chair beside her, and Judy was gone.
So much for Mr. Knowitall's matchmaking.

"I passed the history test," I typed that night.
"DID YOU DOUBT ME?"
"How do I know you had anything to do with it? Maybe I lucked out."
"YOU EVER MADE A C+ IN HISTORY BEFORE?"

He had me there. Best I'd ever done was C-, and that was after cramming for six hours straight.

So, what about Judy Segal?
"SINGLE-MINDED LITTLE LECH, AREN'T YOU?"

I grinned, thinking about Judy's white sweater.

"WIPE THAT SMIRK OFF YOUR FACE AND LET'S PLAY SOME ANTIGRAV."

I looked around for a hidden camera.

"How do you DO that?"
"STICK WITH ME, KID, AND I MIGHT TELL YOU SOME TIME. RIGHT NOW, I'M GOING TO KICK YOUR BUTT."

[ 1 ] – [ 2 ] – [ 3 ] – [ 4 ] – [ 5 ] – [ 6 ]

Return to top of page.