Missing Rugby

"I'll tell the coach you've got food poisoning." Levi held up his hand as if solemnly swearing to tell the full truth, nothing but the truth, and utter BS. "I'll tell him you're dying."

"If her father finds out, he'll kill me," Max said.

"He's already trying to kill you. So no worries," Levi replied cheerfully.

Max's grin widened. Then it shrank a little. "Yeah, okay, but it looks like it's not just me and Miley going. It's me, Miley, and Amelia."

"And is there any justice in that?" Levi said with a sigh. He clapped Max on the shoulder. "Go, my friend, go be a man. I'll take one for the team." Then he glanced longingly in Amelia's direction, sighed again, and took off toward the boys' locker room.

When Max returned to the girls, Amelia was reapplying her lip gloss and Miley was looking kind of guilty and a little nervous as she held her phone to her ear. Seeing Max in her makeup mirror, Amelia said to his reflection, "So it occurs to me that I have tons of math homework, and I was wondering if you two could handle the trip to the motel on your own."

She popped the cap back onto her lip gloss and turned around to allow Max to admire her. Her lips were very shiny. "I'll go camp out at Leo's, in case he shows."

"Okay, sure. Thanks, Mom," Miley said into the phone. She disconnected. "They said okay." Her forehead was furrowed, as if okay was a bad thing. Max remembered that she'd been grounded. He had, too, but he was on the honor system. He had rugby practice, and his mom had the night shift. They wouldn't be home at the same time until tomorrow morning. Which meant that he could sneak around if he needed to.

"So you can go," Amelia translated, and Miley nodded. Amelia mimicked putting a phone to her ear. "You let me know what you and Max find out the minute you get there," she ordered Miley.

"I'll call you. Promise," Miley said.

Amelia took off, and Miley and Max walked to the parking lot. By the time they'd reached her car, she was still looking weirded out, and Max paused beside the door.

"Is this okay with you?" he asked her.

"Yeah," she said, relaxing a little as she slid her arms around his waist. "It's just... I didn't expect my parents to say I could go to Amelia's. Last night my father said I would be grounded until the end of time, and today he seemed almost glad that I wasn't coming home."

"Oh." Max didn't know what to make of that, and it worried him a little. Maybe the Evelyn's were going out vampire hunting. "But he thinks you're going to Amelia's, right?"

She caught her bottom lip between her teeth, lowered her head, and nodded. She didn't like lying to her parents. He knew how that felt. He hated lying to her.

"Yeah," she said. "He thinks that first we're going to study in the library, where we're not allowed to have cell phones on. And then, he, um, thinks I'm spending the night at her house." She gazed up at him mischievously with those huge dark brown eyes of hers, and he thought he would explode. He still couldn't quite believe that of all the guys in school, Miley Evelyn had picked him to be her boyfriend.

"So aren't you?" he asked her. "Spending the night at her house?"

She wrinkled her nose, half shy, half flirty. "Maybe not," she replied.

...…

Levi suited up and hit the field. Coach Huggins's black hair was wild and free, his gray eyes blazing, and he was taking roll while bellowing out warm-ups. He saw Levi and said, "Where's Blake?"

"He had to go home, Coach," Levi said, eyes wide and innocent. "Food poisoning."

The coach did a double take. "What? He makes first line and then he takes a day off on account of a little food poisoning? Where's the team spirit in that?"

"He's really sick," Levi replied, keeping the innocence vibe flowing. He was the king of the "who-me?" fake-out, after having trailed after his father on so many of his calls, then pretending not to know any of the gory details. Before the return of Ryan Harley to Des Pontonniers, local crimes hadn't actually been all that gory. But now that Ryan was in town, the ick-o-meter was at full tilt. Coincidence? Levi thought not.

"Sick," Coach echoed, sounding disgusted.

"Barfing, totally barfing. Everywhere," Levi confirmed. "Hurling chunks the size of ice cubes-"

The coach made a sour face. "Okay, all right, Levi. I don't need a picture." He grunted. "Even though I've got one now, thank you very much. Hey." He looked around. "Where's my captain?"

He meant Leo, of course, and right on cue, Seth, Leo's best friend, jogged on over.

"He went out of town with his parents, Coach. They cleared it with the office."

"Right, right," Coach Huggins said, nodding. "I remember now. Excused absence. No problem."

Levi was disgusted. He knew that was a total lie, one planned well in advance. Seth might not have known where Leo was this morning, but he was playing his part now. Leo's parents were already out of town, and Amelia had asked Leo to get out of rugby practice so they could get a jump-so to speak-on their weekend alone.

Leo was the most committed rugby player Levi had ever seen-what players called a "lax-head," but hey, if Amelia crooked her finger Levi's way, he'd drop out of school if she wanted him to.

Except that Leo was missing from the party.

And Max went sleepwalking last night, Levi thought nervously.

No, no way. Max had not killed Leo. There'd be a body.

Unless he sucked him all up or something.

"Levi, are you going to puke, too?" Coach Huggins asked, peering at him. "Cuz if you think you're going to hurl, you can hit the showers, buddy. We'll do fine without you."

Leo's little posse of minions snickered, and Levi felt his cheeks go red. Guys like Leo-rich, athletic-they always got the breaks.

"I'm fine," Levi insisted.

"Okay, then let's get it moving. And tell Blake one more missed practice, and he's benched."

Guys like him and Max, not so much.

Yet despite my class envy, I hope Max didn't kill him. Talk about your food poisoning.

"I'll tell him," Levi said. "And hopefully, he won't be behind bars when I do."