“Listen,” I said, shoving my hands in my pockets. “Everything today was really cool and you guys helped me so much, but—” I hesitated. The fact of the matter was I wanted them to keep helping me. But it wasn’t fair to ask. “I don’t think you guys should do this anymore.”

Khail’s face snapped serious. “Why not?”

“Hennigan’s talking expulsion, Khail. And I don’t think he’s kidding. I can’t ask you guys to risk that for me. It’s not fair.”

Khail sighed and leaned against the wall. “I know you’re concerned for us, Jeff, but we don’t want out.”

I looked up. “Really?”

“I talked to the guys before the match tonight. I was worried about Hennigan too, so I told them that they had a one-time free pass out. And all of them want to stay.”

I didn’t understand. “Why?”

“You’re new and you don’t know all these kids, so they aren’t talking to you about the stuff they got back. Some of this is important stuff. Actually, most of it. This guy in my calc class got back an action figure worth almost a thousand bucks that he brought to school for a display for one day. A girl in my history class got a hat knitted by her best friend who moved. There was one guy who got back a pair of gloves that his mom gave him for Christmas a few months before she died in a car accident. Dude was in tears, Jeff.”

“Wow.” I didn’t know what else to say. I’d been so focused on Kimberlee, I hadn’t thought what returning the stolen items might mean to other people.

“The guys all feel like they’re helping with something that really has meaning, you know?” He slapped my shoulder and I tried not to show how much it hurt. “We’re with you, bro.” He started to walk back toward the locker room, then turned just before reaching the corner. “Unless you want to wimp out.”

I shook my head quickly. “No, that’s not it. I just don’t want to drag you all down with me if anything goes wrong.”

Khail took a step back. “We’ll be careful,” he said earnestly. “Real careful. We’ll lay low for the rest of the week. Won’t return anything. Then it’s back to business.”

“How am I supposed to come up with something that fast?”

Khail just grinned. “Desperate times call for desperate measures.” He turned and started to walk away. “Oh,” he said, reaching into his pocket. “I got you something.” He handed me a cheap, nondescript cell phone.

“What’s this for?” I asked.

“I don’t want you to think I’m taking Hennigan’s threat lightly. All the guys have this number and it can’t be traced; I paid cash for it. When we’re done, toss it in a Dumpster in Chino or something, okay?”

I felt strangely touched that Khail was kind of looking out for me. “Thanks,” I said quietly.

“We’re going to see this through to the end. You come up with a plan and we’ll be there.” He continued walking this time, around the corner and out of sight.

I let out a breath I didn’t realize I had been holding. “Good,” I said shakily. “Good.” I waited for a few more seconds to give Khail a chance to make it to the locker room so no one would realize we’d been talking.

My conscience was seriously conflicted. I mean, it was great to have all these guys on my side and really feeling like they were doing something noble, but it didn’t make me feel any better about the possibility of getting them expelled. And I hated hiding the whole thing from Sera. But not only had I promised Khail I wouldn’t tell her, judging from her reaction to the Christmas tree that morning I wasn’t sure she would like me being involved at all. Never mind being the person in charge.

I peeked around the corner to make sure Khail was gone, and pulled my head back when Sera came out of the girls’ locker room. Feeling like an idiot for hiding from my girlfriend, I was about to walk out when someone called Sera’s name. “We’re all going to O’Brien’s, you coming?”

“Not tonight,” Sera said. “I’m going somewhere with Jeff.”

“Okay,” the girl said hesitantly. She started to walk away and I got ready to pop out again, but then the girl stopped and turned back. “Can I talk to you for a sec?”

Great. My timing was fabulous. I didn’t want to eavesdrop, but now did not seem like a good time to suddenly appear.

“Uh, sure,” Sera said hesitantly.

“You know I love you, and I’ve been there for you since you first got on the squad even through, well, everything. But . . . Jeff? Really?”

“What about him?” Sera asked defensively.

“Don’t be that way,” the girl said, sounding like she cared, although I didn’t think it was any of her business. “I’m just concerned. He’s not like the guys you used to date.”

“It’s his best feature,” I heard Sera reply dryly.

“I don’t want you throwing yourself at some new nerdy guy just ’cause it’s been a while.”

Wow. Harsh. I wasn’t completely sure if her bluntness was a sign of a true friend, or someone to seriously avoid.

“It’s not like that,” Sera said softly. “He—he’s really nice. He listens to me and seems to actually care what I think. He doesn’t push me to do stuff I don’t like and . . . I need someone like that right now. And I admit: It’s nice to have a fresh start. Almost everyone at Whitestone has known me since I was in diapers. It’s . . . I think I need someone who only knows who I am now.”