Archie waited a beat- in strict command of the room, the silence almos — Robert Cormier

"Silence. Archie let it gather. He could always feel a heightening of interest in the room. It always happened this way when an assignment was about to be given. He knew what they were thinking- whats Archie come up with this time? Sometimes Archie resented them. The members of The Vigils did nothing but enforce the rules. Carter was muscle and Obie an errand boy. Archie alone was always under pressure, devising the assignments, working them out. As if he was some kind of machine. Press a button: out comes an assignment. What did they know about the agonies of it all? The nights he tossed and turned? The times he felt used up, empty? And yet he couldnt deny he exulted in moments like this, the guys leaning forward in anticipation, the mystery that surrounded them all, the kid Goober white-faced and frightened, the place so quiet you could almost hear your own heartbeat. And all eyes on him: Archie."

"Jerry had been about to protest when Janza opened his mouth. "Its okay with me. I can beat this kid any way you want." And Jerry saw, to his dismay, that Archie had counted on Janzas reaction. He had known that Jerry couldnt back away now- he had come too far. Archie had bestowed one of his sickly sweet smiles on Jerry. "What do you say, Renault? Do you accept the rules?" What could he say? After the phone calls and the beating. After the desecration of his locker. The silent treatment. Pushed downstairs. What they did to Goober, to Brother Eugene. What guys like Archie and Janza did to the school. What they did to the world when they left Trinity."

"Carter had been doubtful about using the black box, pointing out that this was not a Vigils meeting. How can we make Archie try for the marbles? Obie had the answer, the kind of answer Archie himself would have given. "Because there are four hundred kids out there yelling for blood. And they dont care whose blood it is anymore. Everybody in the school knows about the black box- how can Archie back down?"

"Mr. Trent puzzled him. He seemed friendly, like he really wanted to help find out who had murdered Alicia, wanted to help Jason remember what had really happened that day, but at the same time there was something strange about his questions. Jason used the word strange for want of a better word. He couldnt figure Trent out or what he wanted Jason to say. Sometimes he seemed unfriendly, like Jason had done something wrong, had broken a rule,a rule Jason didnt even know about. And those eyes of his. Like black marbles but alive, that didnt blink very much, that seemed to look right into your brain."

"The Vigils are more important than the school," Archie snapped. "You should have come to me, Carter. Told me your doubts. Im not the enemy. Instead, you went to the enemy-" "I thought it was the right thing to do." "The right thing to do," Archie mocked. "You guys make me want to vomit. With your precious honor and pride. Football hero. Boxing champ. Strutting the campus with your chest out and your head high. Carter, the ace of aces..." Carter had never heard such rancor, such venom in Archies voice, Archie, who was always so cool, so detached, like he had been a moment before."

"Youre a real bastard," Obie said finally, his frustration erupting, like a Coke exploding from a bottle after you shake it. "You know that?" Archie turned and smiled at him benevolently, like a goddamn king passing out favors. "Jesus," Obie said, exasperated. "Dont swear, Obie," Archie chided him. "Youll have to tell it in confession." "Look whos talking. I dont know how you had the nerve to receive communion in the chapel this morning." "It doesnt take nerve, Obie. When you march down the rail, youre receiving The Body, man. Me, Im just chewing a wafer they buy by the pound in Worcester." Obie looked away in disgust. "And when you say Jesus, youre talking about your leader. But when I say Jesus, Im talking about a guy who walked the earth for thirty-three years like any other guy but caught the imagination of some PR cats. PR for Public Relations, in case you dont know, Obie." Obie didnt bother to answer. You couldnt ever win an argument with Archie."