Free The Locker by Richie Tankersley Cusick

it was supposed to be about, and that’s why she’d forgotten to write it. I was so busy listening to her that I didn’t realize someone had come up behind me until I felt a tap on my shoulder.
    â€œHey,” Tyler said, just loud enough for Noreen to hear. “You forgot your clothes.”
    Beside me Noreen braked to a halt, and we both spun around to face him. He was holding out his hands, and I recognized the filthy jeans and shirt I’d been wearing yesterday. As I stared down at them, I felt my cheeks go beet red.
    â€œWow!” Somehow Noreen managed to keep a straight face. “Is there something I should know about?”
    A faint smile played over Tyler’s lips, and he shook his head mysteriously.
    â€œOur secret,” he whispered. He dropped my clothes on my armload of books and moved out into the flow of students rushing to class. I opened my mouth to yell at him, but he’d already disappeared.
    â€œIt’s not what you think,” I stammered, but Noreen only hooted with laughter and linked her arm through mine.
    â€œCome on, I know Tyler. Shall I help you kill him now or later? ”
    â€œHe showed me his family’s cabin last night.” I felt like I had to say something to explain, so I rushed on. “I tripped and fell and rolled right down the river-bank. Definitely one of my more graceful moments.”
    The picture I painted was enough to send her into fresh peals of laughter. Kids at the other end of the hall actually craned their necks to see what they were missing.
    â€œHe was so nice about it,” I added, remembering. “Come to think of it, he could have taken the steps down to help me, but instead he just came sliding down in the mud.”
    Noreen and I looked at each other.
    â€œI think he was trying to be polite,” I said.
    At this we both exploded into giggles. Students hurrying past gave us weird looks, and we pressed back against the wall, trying to get ourselves under control.
    â€œHe’s not like anyone else in the world.” Noreen caught her breath at last and rubbed tears from her eyes. “I remember as far back as kindergarten, he was always just a little out of sync with the rest of the human race.” Her face screwed up in deep thought, and then she added, “He’s totally unpredictable. In fact, that’s the only thing predictable about him—is that he’s un predictable.”
    We started walking again, and Noreen sighed, throwing me an amused look.
    â€œYou know, when I was little, I used to think Tyler was an alien? No, really! ”
    Again we burst into laughter, taking several more minutes of concentrated effort to finally quiet down.
    â€œI believed he was an alien,” Noreen went on breathlessly, “and I kept waiting and waiting for him to show me his spaceship, and I wanted so bad to go off with him to some other planet.” She gave a wistful sigh. “I figured it had to be the most fun planet in the whole universe if Tyler was from there.”
    We rounded the corner, and suddenly I stopped, taking her arm.
    â€œLook, Noreen, who’s that?”
    â€œWhere?”
    â€œThere. That guy standing next to my locker.”
    â€œOh, him?” She raked one hand through her curls in a nervous sort of way. “That’s Jimmy Frank Baldwin. Why?”
    I shook my head, watching as he shoved some books inside, stepped back and closed his locker door.
    â€œI don’t think he likes me.”
    â€œWhy not?” Noreen’s glance flicked between me and Jimmy Frank and she frowned. “Does he even know you?”
    Shaking my head, I said, “It’s just his attitude. We were both at our lockers yesterday, and I thought he was kind of rude. You know … making assumptions about me that weren’t even true.”
    â€œYeah,” she sighed, “he’s not exactly known for his tact. He’s kind of a loner—doesn’t like