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some way out. Brick was a good head taller than me, was stronger and tougher and would beat me to a pulp. The best defense is a good offense , I thought. I looked at him, hoping I appeared much cooler than I felt. "Are you stupid?" I asked. There was a gasp from the assembled onlookers. Everyone knew Brick had been held back, so this had to hit him where it hurt.
    His face reddened as he approached me. "Your ass is grass," he said through clenched teeth.
    I held my ground, though every instinct was urging me to run. "I'm not going to fight you here," I said, keeping my voice as calm as possible, pretending I wasn't afraid. "We'll both get suspended."
    "Anytime, anyplace."
    "After school," I said. "Four o'clock. After everyone's gone." By four o'clock I would be safely home.
    "I'll be there," Brick said, and spit on the ground. He walked away.
    I was safe for today, but what was going to happen when I arrived at school tomorrow? Everyone would know I chickened out, and Brick would kick my ass to boot. Not only would I end up beaten to a pulp, but my reputation would be ruined.
    Maybe not. I had an idea.
    The next morning, I walked to school with Edson. A worried Robert waited for us in front of the office. His mom had dropped him off on her way to work. "Brick's looking for you," he said. "You better get your ass to class fast."
    "I'm looking for him ," I said loudly.
    My friends in tow, acting as unwitting moral support, I strode around the building, past the little kids' playground, to the basketball courts, where I knew Brick would be hanging out. There was an almost visible current that swept through and energized the gathered throng of students as I stepped onto the blacktop. Brick turned slowly toward me, but before he could say a word, I advanced on him, pointing. "Where were you?" I demanded.
    He wasn't quick on the uptake, as I'd known, as I'd counted on, and, confused, he tried to think of something to say. He'd obviously and with good reason been planning to ask me the very same thing, and now that I'd stolen his thunder, he didn't know how to react. "I waited for ten minutes," I said.
    "Where were you ?" he finally got out, and the anger in his voice made me step back. I had to play this exactly right or my teeth would soon be on the asphalt. " I waited for a half hour!"
    "Where?" I asked.
    "Right here!"
    I nodded my head, letting everyone know that was the problem. "I was over by the bike rack," I said.
    "We were gonna fight right here!"
    "We never spelled it out, and I guess we both got mixed-up." I glanced around, as though checking to make sure no teachers were around. "Today," I said. "Here. Four o'clock."
    "Right here!" Brick angrily pointed to the ground at his feet.
    "Right here," I agreed.
    "You're dead meat!"
    "We'll see," I said.
    Robert, Edson and I walked away, and as soon as we got around the corner of the building, we stopped. I leaned against the wall so as not to fall down. My legs were trembling. "That was brilliant!" Edson said.
    Robert was grinning. "So what's the plan for tomorrow?"
    "I don't know," I admitted, "but I have to come up with something."
    There was going to be a big turnout for the fight—a lot of people had heard us—so the next morning, I lied and said that I'd shown, but I'd left because there were too many people hanging around. This was supposed to be between me and him. How could I be sure that someone in the crowd wouldn't narc? He tried to argue, but he wasn't good at it, and finally he ordered the assembled kids not to show up to watch; it was just between the two of us.
    We rescheduled the fight, and the next day I was even bolder. I accused him of chickening out, but I did it while there was a teacher nearby so he couldn't attack me then and there. I called him a pansy and told him I was tired of this, I wasn't going to do it anymore, he could go fight someone else instead.
    And it worked. Although we attended the same school and would occasionally see each other across