Rad

“Conrad Belknap!”

Oh, shit.

I turned around.

There was only one person – well, no, two – who would yell out “Conrad Belknap” into the dark of night.

One would be, yeah, my mom.

The other would be… Sibyl.

I stopped.

Boo sensed I was stopping, and he stopped and turned around, too. “Rad?”

“Shhh!” I whispered to him before turning to face Sibyl.

“Is that you, Rad?” Sibyl was looking down at me. I knew she knew it was me. Hadn’t she stopped me dead in my tracks?

“Sibyl. Hi. How are you?” I shoved my hands into my jeans pockets.

“Rad! What in the hell are you doing? It’s like midnight or something. And you are running down an alley in Delphi.” Sibyl sounded like a grown up who had no responsibility for anyone else but who thought she should sound responsible, because she was an adult.

“Oh, Sibyl.” I looked down at my watch. “It’s actually only about ten.”

“Whatever!” Sibyl waved her arms wildly. “But what are you doing running through the streets of Delphi at ten o’clock at night?”

Actually, we were darting down the alley behind Sibyl’s mom’s art gallery. We weren’t “running through the streets of Delphi.” I mean, normally no one would know what Boo and I were doing. No one would have even seen us.

Figures Sibyl would be out prowling late at night.

“Does your mother know where you are?” Sibyl asked suddenly. Out of character.

“Uhhh… well, she knows I’m not home,” I said. “She doesn’t know I’m right here, in this… alley.” I looked around.

“Uhuh.” Sibyl crossed her arms. “And where does she think you are?”

“At the library!” Boo offered.

I glared at him.

“The library?” Sibyl was caught off guard.

“Yeah, “ I said. “Boo and I were doing homework.”

“Really?” Sibyl looked genuinely amused. Like it was beyond her comprehension that we might have been at the library. Doing homework.

I know, I know.

It sounded lame.

But, actually… it wasn’t all that far from the truth. I mean, yeah, I had told my mom I was going to the library to do math homework with Boo. And, yeah, we did meet there. We didn’t actually do our math homework together. I had actually done my math homework before. But it was kind of like, you know, our cover. For MATH.

Boo and I had gone over to the Borough Building. We were snooping around, trying to figure out how we could get up on the roof and investigate the horn. Without anyone noticing, of course. I mean, it was dark already; we didn’t think anyone would see us. But then this old policeman dude came out of the Borough Building. And he saw us and yelled at us. I am not sure why – we weren’t doing anything wrong. But it startled Boo and me. And we just started running.

Away. As fast as we could.

We darted down this side alley. And it just happened to be where Sibyl’s mom’s store was, and Sibyl just happened to be coming outside then. Not sure why. ‘Cuz it was rather late at night and all.

I think we scared her about as much as she scared us.

“What are you doing out this late, Rad?” she asked accusingly.

“Nothing.” I shrugged. Boo nodded in agreement.

“Uhuh.” She kept looking from me to Boo and back again. “And I should believe you because…?” She gave me that evil eye kind of thing that grown ups do.

“Oh, c’mon, Sibyl. You know me!” I nudged Boo, trying to tell him not to open his big fat mouth and to let me handle things.

“Yeah.” Sibyl’s eyes narrowed. “I do know you. And I know you’re not supposed to be out this late.”

“We’re on our way home!” I offered.

Sibyl looked at me, and then she looked at Boo. I knew she thought we were like totally up to no good.

“Hmmm. Are you on your way home right now?” she asked.

“Yes,” I said.

“Yeah!” Boo said. “Cross my heart, hope to die. Stick a needle in my eye!”

I glared at Boo like he was the moron he is.

“Well,” Sibyl smiled weakly. “Okayyy…”

“Thanks, Sibyl!” I gave her a great big hug. And that seemed to shock her even more.

“Yeah! See ya, Sibyl!” Boo yelled.

Sibyl laughed. “You guys are going straight home now, right?”

“Yes!” Boo and I shouted in unison.

“O.K. Then scram!” Sibyl shooed us away. “Before I have to go and call your mom and tell her how you two are up to no good!”

“Right!” I yelled.

“Thanks!” Boo yelled.

And we were gone.

But I knew Sibyl knew we were not where we were supposed to be and that we were up to no good, as they say in those police detective stories on PBS.