The F Factor (9 page)

“That's ‘cause your mom watches
las novelas
,” Andy answered. He grabbed the bottle, smothered his fries with red ketchup, and passed the bottle over to Javier. “And how many did
you
get right? You
always
throw off the test curve for the rest of us.”

“The quiz made me feel stupid too,” Javier said. “Who knew Lake Victoria was in Africa? I thought it would be in England—you know, named after one of the queens.”

After Javier used the ketchup, he followed his friends into the main cafeteria area. He spotted Pat at the end of a table where sophomores often sat. There were several empty chairs around him. “Let's sit over there with Pat.”

“Only ‘cause it might get me in good with his sister,” Andy replied.

Javier was starting to understand why Pat got irritated by everyone's interest in his sister. “Why can't we just sit with Pat because he's in our class?”

“Some things never change,” Ignacio said. “Javier always brought home sick birds or lost dogs, and now it's Pat Berlanga.” But he walked in Pat's direction anyway.

Javier sat next to Pat. Ignacio and Andy sat across from them.

“Hey, Pat,” Javier said and quickly started a conversation they could all relate to. “We were all talking about that quiz Mr. Seneca gave out. What did you think?”

Pat looked around at all of them and just shrugged. “It was okay.” He took a bite out of his hamburger and chewed on it slowly.

“Obviously a guy with great conversation skills,” Ignacio said, dragging his words along. “So, is this what we can expect tomorrow? Is Javier going to do all the talking?”

Pat frowned. “Maybe.” He took another bite and slowly chewed it.

Now it was Javier's turn to frown. Why was Pat acting like he didn't want to talk to them? Earlier he had been friendly, even made Javier laugh. What was his problem?

Andy drummed on his tray with his plastic fork and spoon. “Let's talk about the weekend. Javier, are you coming to the football game?”

“If I can find a ride.” Javier just gave the same excuse as last year, but this time he added, “It's not like I can go on the band bus with you two.”

Andy shook a spoon at Javier. “Jack, I
told
you back in middle school to play a flute or beat a drum, triangle, cymbals, something! You did Young Astronauts instead.”

Ignacio chimed in. “Then you became president of the Junior National Honor Society in eighth grade. Could you be more of a nerd, Jack?”

“Why do you call him Jack?” The question came unexpectedly from Pat.

They all stared at him. Javier was surprised Pat had spoken to his friends.

“It's a nickname from grade school,” Andy said. He started laughing and gestured with his spoon as he talked. “Back in fourth grade, we built a pair of tall wooden ramps for our bikes. There goes Javier down the first ramp. Then he tries to make the jump onto the second ramp. He goes this way, and his bike goes that way! Smash, crash, kaboom! Javier totally wiped out! His bike looked like a pretzel!”

Ignacio was laughing too. “He had to get stitches under his eye, and his dad started calling him ‘One-eyed Jack'.”

“Ha ha ha—so funny!” Javier's voice was thick with sarcasm. “You guys scarred me for life!”

“Aw, well, save it for Brother Calavera.” Andy grinned at Javier. Suddenly his eyes widened. “Hey, what if your scar is magnified when you go on TV tomorrow?”

“What scar?” Pat said. He looked curiously at Javier. “You have a scar?”

Javier self-consciously rubbed his cheek. That zigzag scar was visible under his right eye. He felt worse as Pat studied it for a long moment.

“Shoot, that's no scar!” Pat said. “Have a kidney transplant! Now that's a scar!”

They all stared at Pat again. Javier was the first one to say what they were probably all thinking. “Who do
you
know with a kidney transplant scar?”

Pat took another bite from his hamburger. He chewed slowly.

Andy's dark eyebrows tilted as he stared at Pat. “You say something weird like that but don't explain it. What's up with that?”

“What's it to you?” Pat said in a gruff voice and took another bite.

Javier saw Andy draw in a breath and knew from experience his friend was losing his patience. Were Andy and Pat going to start a fight over nothing?

It was Mr. Quintanilla's sudden appearance at the end of the table that changed everyone's next move. Pat put down his burger. Andy stopped tapping the spoon. Ignacio sat up like someone shoved a board down his shirt. Javier felt a million ants scrambling over his feet.

The Dean of Students seemed to tower above the table top. He wore a striped dress shirt and navy blue tie. He placed his big hands on his hips and lowered his head to
fix a pointed stare right at Pat and Javier's side of the table. “I understand you two are going to be the first team on Guardian TV tomorrow morning.”

“Yes, Sir, that's right,” Javier said. At the same time, he jabbed his elbow into Pat's thick ribcage. He noticed Pat's face starting to melt into that blank expression of his, but Javier jabbed him again. Hard.

Pat grunted, but then he raised his chin and said to Mr. Quintanilla in a surprisingly clear voice, “I guess Mr. Seneca told you about us.”

“No. Dylan Romo told me.” He looked from Pat to Javier. “And what kind of team will the two of you make?”

“The best kind,” Pat said, echoing Dylan's words with the same bragging tone.

Javier wanted to strangle Pat. He tried to sound less cocky than his TV partner when he said, “We're going to try our best, Mr. Quintanilla.”

“Do that, Mr. Ávila. You and Mr. Berlanga here will set the tone of this program from day one. Everyone in this school watches and learns from you two.” One hand whipped from his hip and Mr. Q. pointed directly at Javier and Pat. “I don't understand why a new teacher would choose sophomores over seniors, but you two got selected first string. There's a lot of time and money invested in this new equipment, gentlemen. Do better than your best!”

Javier felt a large boulder drop on his shoulders. He struggled to sit still, his back stiff against the cafeteria chair. “Yes, Sir.”

Mr. Quintanilla nodded at all of them, turned his tall frame away, and walked down the side of the cafeteria.

Andy was the first one to speak. “Ha-ha! No pressure! It's like a spy movie with a ticking bomb.”

Ignacio picked up his fruit cup and placed it on Javier's tray. “You can do this, Jack—uh—Javier. Remember, just be Mr. Cool.” Then he looked at Pat as if he was studying a difficult math problem. “I hope you got his back, Berlanga. There's no falling asleep on TV or pretending you can't talk. Our buddy here needs
you
to step up.”

Javier looked at Pat, wishing he knew the guy better, could trust him and depend on him like he could his two best friends. He wanted more time to plan for the bumps in the road. Javier didn't want to wipe out again, especially in front of the whole school.

Pat had picked up his hamburger and looked ready to take another bite. Instead, he turned to Javier and said, “If you need a ride to the game Friday night, my sister can take us. I know where you live. It's no problem.”

Javier waited for Andy to say something stupid about getting a ride with Feliz Berlanga, but Andy just nodded. “Cool! You'll be at the game.” Then he started tapping on his tray again. “It's about time, right, Ignacio?”

But his friend still watched Pat. Under a sweaty brow, Ignacio's dark eyes could have given Mr. Q some competition in a Most Intimidating Glare contest.

Javier tried to bring Ignacio back to a better mood by saying, “You realize if the freshmen don't perform well at half-time, Mr. Q's ticking bomb might be sitting in
your
lap next.”

“You, me, and Andy … we can handle the pressure.” He raised one eyebrow, still focused on the guy sitting across from him. “What about you, Pat?”

Pat didn't blink an eye. He pointed at Ignacio with his burger as he said, “You're going to have to wait and see what happens tomorrow, just like everyone else.”

W
hen Javier entered Mr. Seneca's room after school, he expected to see Kenny standing beside the camera untangling cords. However the sight of his new English teacher, Ms. Maloney, adjusting the camera onto the tripod made him stop and look around for other surprises—like the principal, Brother Lendell, standing behind Landry and Steve at the computers and listening to Mr. Seneca give directions. And who expected Brother Calvin to be sitting beside Pat in the desk area shifting white note cards around on the table like puzzle pieces?

Javier slowly dropped his backpack on the nearest table and walked toward the desk area. He noticed the two microphones already positioned on it. “Am I late? I walked as fast as I could from chemistry class.”

Pat shook his head. “No, the rest of us have Brother Lendell's theology class last period.”

“Is that why he's in here?” Javier asked, feeling his stomach twist and turn at the extra stress that comes when your school principal's in the room. “To watch us?”

“Yeah. Kenny told him what we were doing after school. We set up pretty quick, didn't we? I put out the microphones but nothing's turned on yet.” He was still looking down at the cards in front of him. Some had typed words, and others were handwritten sentences.

“What are the cards for?” Javier asked.

“These are your note cards for tomorrow,” Brother Calvin said. “I gathered up the announcements in the front office and put them in a better format.” One long finger pointed at a card in the middle of the table. “You must start with this announcement. It's the most important.”

“Then it should come later,” Pat answered and looked up at Javier. “The guys are still going to be shocked that
announcements are on TV. They won't hear the first couple things we say, right, Javier?”

“I disagree.” Brother Calvin spoke up before Javier could respond. “I watch the news every night. I've seen the newscasters start with what they call ‘the top story of the hour.' This financial aid deadline is very important to the seniors. It needs to be announced first.”

Javier frowned, wondering why Ol' Calavera thought he was in charge. Shouldn't he and Pat be working on the order of announcements? He tried not to sound annoyed. “Thanks for your help, Brother Calvin. Pat and I can handle this job, can't we, Pat?”

Pat nodded before he stared at the older man and said, “Actually, you're in Javier's chair. Could you sit someplace else?”

Javier knew he couldn't laugh but he wanted to.

“That was rude, Mr. Berlanga, but I'm a man who knows how to take a hint.” Brother Calvin stood up and gave a quick look to both boys. “I still don't understand this pairing. I expected Javier in front of the camera right away, but you, Mr. Berlanga? I'm slightly disappointed by Mr. Seneca's choice to be honest.”

Pat's shoulders stiffened against the chair. There was no mistaking the dark glint of hurt shining in Pat's eyes. The unwarranted cruelty made Javier angry. He spoke without thinking about good manners. “Pat and I might not be everyone's first choice, but that doesn't mean we can't do a helluva job.” He ignored Brother Calvin's narrow glare. “You'll have to wait and see what happens tomorrow, just like everyone else.”

When Pat heard his own words echoed, his eyebrows lifted. Quickly he stood up beside the school counselor
and said, “Thanks for your help, Brother Calvin. Javier and I will take it from here.”

The man didn't look at either of them as he stepped away from the desk. He wandered toward the computer area, leaving Javier with an odd taste of relief and worry in his mouth. He couldn't wait for the first practice, first broadcast, first
everything
to be over and done with.

Ignoring an itchy tingle inside his shoes, Javier motioned for both of them to sit down. “Okay, Pat, so what do we have for announcements?”

“The usual crap.” Pat picked up a nearby card. “No wonder everyone falls asleep during announcements. I never cared until I saw these. They're so boring!”

Javier grabbed a couple of cards, read them over quickly, and said, “Well, we don't have to be
Entertainment Nightly
. We're supposed to get the word to the students. That's all.” He sighed. “I just hope our first broadcast isn't a gigantic flop.”

Pat crumpled the card in his hand. “If you think we're going to blow it, you might as well quit now.” He gave Javier a harsh, angry glare. “I don't plan to look stupid on school TV, so you better get on board with me! I got your back. Do you have mine?”

“Yeah … yes,” Javier said slowly. Except for the mention of Feliz, he had never seen Pat so riled up. He blinked at his partner as if seeing him for the first time.

Sounds of female laughter made them both turn and look at the camera. Ms. Maloney had laughed at something Kenny had said. Kenny looked like he had scored a three-point shot. He casually draped his arm over the camera and grinned. “Yeah, it's really true. You need to come to the basketball games and watch me play.”

Javier didn't know Kenny well, but he could recognize a snake charmer when he saw one. He suddenly felt Pat's elbow poke him.

“Hey, you missed the
real
top story of the hour,” Pat said. “I think there's something cooking between Mr. Seneca and Ms. Maloney. She walks in after school and he tells everyone she has experience with media equipment and wants to help get Guardian TV started off on the right foot. Then Mr. Seneca turns all goofy and actually makes a joke about not having two good feet and needing one of hers.”

Javier's eyes widened. “He said that in front of Brother Lendell and Brother Calvin?”