Cool for the Summer

Chapter 18

"Not fair," Alex stomped his foot. "Not fair, not fair, not fair."

"Eloquent as always," Angelica teased.

"Where's John?" Alex asked. "John knows how to calm me down."

"He's with Peggy," said Hercules. "I think they're together now."

"We saw them kiss under the oak tree," said Laf.

"Do you guys do anything other than spy on other people?" asked Aaron incredulously.

"We play Fortnite," said Laf.

"And Minecraft," Hercules added.

"Nobody plays Minecraft anymore," Theodosia pointed out.

"Minecraft shall never die," Hercules declared.

"Wait, did you say that my sister is dating John now?" asked Angelica.

"Called it!" Elizabeth Sanders shouted, earning a high five from Hercules.

Ignoring the chatter, Alex paced back and forth. He began talking to himself. "If only there was a way to get back at George. Prank him, maybe? No, that's childish. What if...we could take back control of the speakers! We'll play music on full blast, and he'll have no earthly idea what to do."

"Great plan, Alex," said Theodosia excitedly, and the others chorused their agreement.

Alex's face fell a little as he came to a realization. "Ah, I'm no good with computers. I need someone who knows how to hack stuff."

"Well," Laf began. "Thomas is good at it. He has a way with computers. Peut-être he'll help you."

"Not Jeffershit," Alex whined.

Angelica promptly slapped his arm.

"Okay, okay," he muttered. "Where is he?"

"He's by the lake, with John, Peggy, Eliza, Jemmy, Dolley, and Adrienne," Aaron informed him.

Alex blinked. "Jemmy?"

"James," Aaron clarified.

"Right. Thanks."

Alex took off running. Nothing, not even his rivalry with Thomas, would stand in the way of vengeance.

He found Thomas laying on the grass, taking in the sun. The girls were knee deep in the water. James was skipping rocks.

"Yo," said Alex simply.

Thomas opened his eyes. "Not in the mood to debate, Alex."

"Who said anything about debating? I came because I need your help," Alex sat down by his side. "I need to get back at George, and I've heard you're good with computers, so we should hack the sound system together."

Thomas raised an eyebrow. "You're asking for help? From me?"

Alex shrugged. "Revenge makes strange allies."

"Okay. I'll help you," Thomas sat up. "Let's go piss off George Kingston."

Two minutes later, they were sitting cross legged on the floor of Thomas's cabin, a laptop before them.

"The speakers are connected to the karaoke dude's computer. We'll have to hack that to access them," Thomas explained.

"What's that guy still doing here?" asked Alex in bewilderment.