Cosmo Prison - Book 1: The Edge of Earth

Chapter 29

Chapter 29

*Alex Peng*

“I don’t think anyone’s in the mood for a funeral anymore,” Nidhi mutters next to me. “We can reschedule it to tomorrow, and make our plans today instead.”

“Good idea,” I whisper back.

Raising my voice, I call out to the crowd of disconsolate teenagers. “Guys, I think that’s enough for today. We’ll meet here for Dean’s funeral tomorrow at ten o’clock.”

Sophie glares at me but says nothing.

“Everyone, go back to doing what you were doing before,” I order, ignoring her.

As the crowd disperses, I walk back to Town Hall with my committee of planners. Alisha falls in step next to Nidhi, Saket, and me.

“So are you the leader around here?” she inquires.

“Sort of,” I answer. “Suchet used to be the leader of the gang kids from the other side of town, but I don’t know if he still is. You know, since Leo kicked him out.”

“Gang kids?” Alisha looks mystified.

“Yeah. In this city, there are two general groups of people. One, my friends, and two, the gang. I’ve heard that they’re involved in all sorts of crime, but we can’t be picky nowadays.”

She nods. “I see.”

Looking around, I notice that another of our number is missing. “Where’s Sophie? Does anyone know?”

“I think she ran off after she yelled at Courtney,” Nidhi offers. “But I didn’t see where she went.”

“Can I go find her?” Saket asks.

“Yeah, sure,” I say.

“Thanks,” he says, and scurries off.

Alisha’s brow is creased with worry. “Can I go look for her, too?”

I frown. “No.”

“Why not?” she challenges, sounding cross.

“Because you’re not a handsome young man,” I say, grinning.

Alisha’s lips pucker in a pout. “Well, neither is he!”

Nidhi snickers. “That’s not very nice,” she says in a tone of mock concern.

“Thank you, Captain Obvious,” Alisha responds sharply.

“Hey, calm it, you two,” I say jokingly. “We have stuff to do. Things to plan.”

“All right, then,” Alisha says, suddenly serious. “Let’s go.”

We seat ourselves around the table in Town Hall, trying to ignore the seven empty seats -- where Sophie, Courtney, Leo, Suchet, Saket, Debbie, and Dean are supposed to sit.

“Okay, so we need to start planning our spying missions,” I say.

Alisha raises her hand. “We should first decide who will actually be going on them so we can split into groups to plan. That would be more efficient.”

“You’re right,” I agree. “Okay, so are there any volunteers?”

Everyone looks at each other. For several seconds, no one moves.

Finally, one hand snakes up. It’s Jack’s.

“Let me go,” he says.

“That works,” I respond. “Anyone else?”