Free Crackback by John Coy

kind of cult.
    In Halloran’s class, kids scramble to staple papers. Strangler claims he didn’t finish because he had to take his ferret to the vet.
    â€œYour ferret wasn’t sick because he ate your homework?” Halloran asks.
    â€œNot the final paper,” Strangler says. “He ate the rough draft, and he’s allergic to ink. That’s why I had to take him in.”
    â€œBring it in tomorrow,” Halloran says. “I’ll take points off for being late, but if you write a story about your inkeating ferret, I’ll add a few back.” Halloran collects papers. “What was the most shocking thing about the Middle Passage?” he asks.
    â€œHow long slavery lasted,” says Strangler. “Africans were taken as slaves for over four hundred years.”
    Halloran nods. He seems surprised Strangler knows this.
    â€œHow strong people had to be to survive the journey.”
    â€œHow many Africans died.”
    â€œHow the ships were packed so tightly because they knew many people would die.”
    â€œHow Africans were treated worse than animals.”
    â€œHow much money was made in England, Holland, and Spain and how the American economy was built on slave labor.”
    â€œYeah, slaves helped build the Capitol,” Strangler says.
    All kinds of kids are raising their hands, including some who usually don’t. Halloran doesn’t comment. He keeps calling on people.
    â€œLucia.”
    â€œI’m shocked by how religion was used to justify slavery. Many people believed it was God’s will.”
    â€œAnybody else?”
    I raise my hand. “I’m shocked that people dove off the ships to commit suicide rather than be slaves.”
    â€œYes,” Halloran says. “All these things are shocking. It’s difficult to imagine, but I want you to try. Close your eyes.”
    I shift in my seat. Everybody closes their eyes.
    â€œLet’s explore this,” Halloran says. “Imagine if someone showed up in Confluence, put a gun to your head, and locked you in chains. Imagine being dragged from your family, held in prison, packed in a boat. Imagine being beaten by people who spoke a language you didn’t understand.”
    I try to picture this.
    â€œNow imagine what you would have done if you had the chance. Would you have jumped overboard to kill yourself or would you have tried to survive?”
    My mind blanks. I don’t know.
    â€œWhich action do you think was braver?”
    I don’t know that either.
    At lunch on Friday, guys are talking loudly at the football table. Fox already looks nervous. What’s he going to be like tonight with blitzing safeties and trashtalking linebackers?
    â€œYou’ll do fine, Foxy.” I slap him on the shoulder. He doesn’t look convinced.
    Zach waves me over. Am I imagining it, or is he getting bigger? “Shipment’s in.”
    At his locker, Zach looks both ways, then opens the door. On the middle shelf are three bottles and three syringes. “This is the best way to juice,” he says. “Meet me and Tyson here after school.”
    I glance at the syringes. This is moving too fast for me. “I don’t know.”
    â€œWhat do you mean?”
    â€œI’m not sure.” I’ve never liked needles, but I can’t tell Zach that. “I looked up some side effects: liver damage, acne, shrinking testicles, impotence.”
    â€œYou scared?” Zach closes the locker as a group of band students comes down the hall.
    â€œI’m not scared. I just don’t know if it’s worth it.”
    â€œOf course it is. You need some guts. You need to be willing to pay the price.” He slams his hand on the locker, turns his back, and stalks off.
    Roid rage. That’s another side effect. Guys going off. Zach didn’t used to blow up like that.
    I’ve got half an hour after school before the bus for Twin Falls. I’m not as