The Show Off

by

Joel Nedecky

Gray stole glances at Hanna from across the room in Mr. Noble’s class.

She had arrived mid-semester, gorgeous, into punk music, and smart. Funny, too. They’d talked at Leo Sandberg’s party two weeks ago, been texting every night since. She would side-eye him in class, smirking mischievously, and it drove him nuts.

He’d taken her to supper at a steakhouse, but she’d played coy after, not even a kiss. They’d gone to the movies next, and this time he made sure to flash a wad of bills.

“Woah,” she’d said, impressed.

The following weekend, at Dave Benson’s rager, Gray asked Hanna if she wanted to get high.

“Hell, yeah,” she said.

Alone with Hanna in a bedroom, he laid his supply on the dresser, pulling drugs from his backpack like it was some warped version of a clown car. An ounce of reefer. Seven grams of blow. Fifty hits of e. And thirty oxys.

“What’ll be?” he asked.

“Nothing.” She paused, and when Gray turned to her, she held up a badge. “Just your freedom.”

“Hanna…” Gray froze, the reality of her words sinking in. “You’re a narc?”

“Yes,” she said, smiling. “But my name’s not Hanna.”

Bio:

Joel Nedecky is a Canadian writer from Winnipeg. His short stories have appeared with Punk Noir Magazine, Guilty Crime Story Magazine, Urban Pigs Press, Hoosier Noir, and Shotgun Honey. His novel, The Broken Detective, will be released in 2025. For more, check out jnedecky.com.