Double Dutch

Chapter One"Look out, girl, here come the Tolliver twins! Have mercy! They look like they're ready to bite something." Delia pulled her books close to her body and tried to avoid what looked like was going to be a direct confrontation with the two most feared boys at the school -- Tabu and Titan Tolliver."Or kill something," Charlene whispered, eyes wide with real concern. "I wouldn't want to be alone in a room with them. Every time they pass me, I get so scared, I feel like I'm gonna wet my pants!""That's disgusting!" Delia said, laughing, as she glanced at Charlene."I ain't lyin'! I'm scared for real! I heard they kill puppies and kittens for fun. Felicity Johnson lives next door to them, and she told me she found her kitten dead on her front steps. It had been stabbed with a knife," Charlene said dramatically, shuddering at the thought."I heard that, too. But that's no proof that the twins killed her kitten," Delia said, trying to sound reasonable. "Sometimes kids just make that stuff up 'cause it sounds gross.""Greg Mason's dog was also killed. Stabbed. And he lives down the street from the Tollivers," Charlene added with authority. "His next-door neighbor's cousin told me.""I heard Greg's dog got hit by a car," Delia replied. But she still watched nervously as the two unsmiling boys approached them. It was as if a double shadow was heading their way."The dog is still dead," Charlene said, refusing to accept any other explanation. "And Greg's house is awfully close to the Tollivers'. Yo Yo told me the twins carry knives and sawed-off shotguns and hand grenades in their book bag." Charlene spoke as if she believed it. "You believe that?" Charlene asked, hoping Delia would say no."Most times I don't believe Yolanda, but those two are some scary dudes. I wouldn't be surprised at anything. Before you know it, we'll be needing metal detectors on the front doors around here.""I'm surprised they haven't got around to that -- makin' this place feel like a prison. Most of the big-city schools have all kinds of security these days," Charlene stated with authority."Yeah, I know. Small-town schools, too. It's a shame. Why do you think the Tollivers dress in the same black clothes every day?" Delia asked in a whisper. "You think that's all the clothes they have?""Maybe they want to show people how bad they are!" Charlene said softly."They made me a believer!""You got that right! Quit whispering! They know we're talkin' about them!" Delia and Charlene tried to move out of the way of the twins, but the halls were crowded, and everybody seemed to be trying to do the same thing.Titan and Tabu -- tall and impressive-looking, dressed exactly alike in black jeans, black sweaters, and black skullcaps -- strode through the hall not as two people but as one unified force. Their faces wore the same menacing frown, their fists were clenched into the same tight threat, and their thick black boots stomped in unison on the scuffed hallway floor. They carried no books, even though it was almost third bell. They glared at Charlene and Delia as they pushed through the crowded hallway. With his shoulder, Titan pushed Delia against the lockers, and Tabu knocked Charlene out of the way in the other direction as they passed. She lost her balance and fell to the floor in a heap of books and papers. Tabu and Titan glanced back at them as though to make sure their authority had terrified the two girls. It had. Delia said nothing and looked the other way rather than risk a confrontation. A sea of people in the hall separated as the two forged a path through the crowd."Kids treat Tabu and Titan like they're Moses in the wilderness," Charlene said with disgust as she picked up her books and papers. "Looks like the parting of the waters of the Red Sea as they go through there.""No, not Moses," Delia said, rubbing her shoulder. "Moses was a holy man. Those two are...bad. I can feel it.Draper, Sharon M. is the author of 'Double Dutch' with ISBN 9780689842313 and ISBN 0689842317.