The police surrounded one man, who was putting on what looked like plastic body armor.
I shot a look at Kota. “What’s going on?” I asked in a quiet voice. This wasn’t a fire alarm or a check for drugs.
Kota frowned. “Hazardous waste cleanup perhaps? Maybe someone spilled something in the chemistry lab?” He fished his phone out of his pocket. The phone must have been on vibrate because I didn’t hear it ring. He punched the button with his thumb to answer it. “Dr. Green? Are you inside still?”
I glanced back over at the man in the safety suit. He marched slowly toward the school, a blue and white device in his hand that looked like a hand-held metal detector. He circled the fire trucks, heading toward the doors.
Kota dropped the phone to his chest to hold it there. “Our team,” he said in a quiet tone, but the command rang through every syllable. “Get your stuff. Let’s go.”
The boys moved at once. Silas and North, the ones closest to our book bags, grabbed them. Nathan tugged at my hand, moving behind Kota.
We weaved our way through the throng of students, heading further down into the grass yard and toward the baseball field away from the rest of the students.
“Where are we going?” I asked in a quiet voice, suddenly scared.
“Away from other students,” Kota said. “And the cars.”
We traveled a good distance from the parking lot. We got some looks from other teachers, but none seemed to care much that we’d moved away from the other students. We were still within sight and on school grounds.
Kota halted a few feet from the baseball field’s benches. He eyed them suspiciously. “Everyone stay here,” he said.
He moved forward alone, everyone else hanging back. The boys encircled me. I had to stand en pointe to peek over Victor’s shoulder.
Kota checked out the underside of the seats, inspecting every corner. When he seemed satisfied, he waved his hand at us to come sit. I slid in; Nathan sat on one side of me and Victor took his position on my other side. Always protecting.
“What is it, Kota?” Nathan asked. His blue eyes darkening.
“This is the bomb squad,” he said. “There was a bomb threat made on the school by phone. There’s an unmarked box on the main floor.”
“Why are we so far out here away from the others?” I asked.
Kota tilted his head toward me. “We’re to keep out of reach of potential threats, which means possibly rigged vehicles or students. The caller wasn’t specific. The package is only a guess by a teacher. We’re to stay out of range of everyone until Dr. Green and Mr. Blackbourne says it’s safe to return.”
“What about the other students?” I asked. “What about Marie? And Derrick?”
Kota frowned. “It’s most likely this is just a student pulling a prank or wanting to get out of class. This is just overkill precaution. We’re more of a target than they are. If we come under fire, we want to be out of range so no one else is hurt. We also want to see anyone coming if they’re trying to target us.”
“But we were in the middle of class,” I said. “If they wanted out of class, would they call a bomb threat while still inside class? It would have been obvious. And if they were outside of class trying to cut out their next one... well if they’d already skipped class, why would they try to mess up the next one?”
“Baby,” North said. He was sitting in front of me, but turned, dropping a hand on my knee. “The police are here. We’ve got our orders. Stop worrying so much. This isn’t our job.”
“She’s right, though,” Nathan said. He rubbed his palm over the top of his reddish-brown hair. “It’s an odd time to suddenly call in a bomb threat.”
“There’s nothing we can do right now,” Kota said, “We don’t have enough information.”
I twisted around, studying the other kids to see if I could pick out my sister. I would feel better if I could actually see her. She wasn’t the most friendly person, but I didn’t want her to get hurt.
Through the crowd, an all-too-familiar goatee on an angular chin distracted me. I sucked in a breath, holding it, staring in disbelief .
Greg was back. His beady eyes were a distance away, but he was looking at us from the edge of the cluster of other students.
“When did he get back?” Silas muttered under his breath.
Everyone turned their attention to Greg. He jerked his chin in our direction, turned around and disappeared back into the crowd.
I kept my eyes on the students. Greg. He hadn’t been in homeroom this morning. Did he switch classes?
The last time I saw him, he was clutching his throat trying to breathe.
After I’d punched him.
I turned on the bench, climbing up the bleachers until I was sitting at the very top, and dangled my feet down over the edge. Now that I’d spotted him, I didn’t want to turn my back on him.
The others joined me.
EXPLOITS
It was two hours before the emergency services team finally pulled back. Teachers signaled to the students to go back inside.
No explosions. No arrests.
We got word from Dr. Green that it was okay for us to enter the school. The boys and I followed the mass of students trying to get reoriented as to where we were supposed to go next. We were getting ready to split up to head in different directions when the loud speakers crackled overhead.
“Sang Sorenson, report the principal’s office immediately. Sang Sorenson, report to the principal’s office.”
My heart dropped to the floor. My fingers danced over the dip on my throat. I glanced up at the speakers, as if doing so would provide more information. Why me? What happened?
“I’ll go with her,” North said, squaring off his shoulders. His eyes darkened. “This better not be—”
“No,” Kota said. “She’s still under orders to go alone.”
North turned on him. “Don’t you see what he’s done? He’s just told the entire school Sang was probably involved in this. She’s more a target than ever. I’m not letting her walk alone over there.”
“If they think she’s involved, the students are going to want to stay away from her.” Kota’s eyebrows furrowed and lines formed at the creases of his mouth as he frowned. “I don’t like it any more than you do, but if we don’t go to class, we’re going to look like suspects if they don’t have one already. We have to let her go. We have to go to class and be counted with everyone else.”
North’s clenched fists smashed into his thighs. “This is bullshit. What about that other kid?”
“I just saw Greg walking up the stairs. He’s out of range. Now that we know he’s back, too, we need to get started. We’ll need a wire.” Kota turned to me. “Let Mr. Blackbourne know where you’re going,” he said.
I brushed back a lock of hair from my eyes, but it kept falling back into my face. “Should I say anything? What do I do?”
“Be honest.” His hand drifted up, brushing the lock of hair from my cheek and hooking it behind my ear. It stayed, as if unwilling to defy Kota. “But if you get uncomfortable, or if they try to ask you questions about this bomb threat, refuse to answer and refer questions to Mr. Blackbourne. Say you don’t know anything. He might just be trying to figure out if we’re behind it. You’ll be able to tell him we aren’t.”
I nodded, scratching absently at a spot on my arm. I had to remind myself that this was Mr. Hendricks, not McCoy. Mr. McCoy wasn’t here. I had to trust that they wouldn’t send me in with Mr. Hendricks if it wasn’t okay to do so.
I sucked in a breath, trying to look nonchalant. I waved to the others as I headed off alone to the front offices.
The hallways were overcrowded with students. Everyone was taking their time to get to class. I couldn’t imagine anyone paying attention to school work now.
I weaved my way through the crowd. I watched for Greg, trying to avoid him if he was around. I trusted that Kota was right, but I still wanted to be aware, just in case he headed back.
&nb
sp; And I still watched out for McCoy. I didn’t want to say so to the others, but without knowing where he was for sure, I couldn’t totally let go of the idea that he might be around the next corner. The guys had insisted I shouldn’t worry about it, but I couldn’t erase the thought of his bristled moustache and his beady eyes. My skin prickled uncomfortably as if I were being watched all the time.
A hand encircled my elbow. I paused, half expecting one of the guys. My eyes widened to find Karen touching me. She released me, shoving her fingers through her pixie haircut. Her usual happy smile was a little off and her brown eyes dimmed.
“Karen?” I asked her. “Is something wrong?” She usually didn’t talk to me outside of gym class.
“I was going to ask about you,” she said. “I heard your name on the overhead. What’s going on?”
“I don’t know. I guess I’ll find out.”
“Are you in trouble?” she asked. “It sounded serious.”
I shook my head. “I haven’t done anything. I can’t imagine what they want.”
She pursed her lips for a moment. “You know, they never caught whoever was stealing stuff out of our lockers at gym. Don’t let them pin that on you.”
“I won’t,” I said, although the comment caught me off guard and felt out of place, considering the bomb threat just now. “But nothing else has been taken, right?”
“Not from our class,” she said. “Although I heard a rumor that some of the other gym classes got robbed. I think they’re starting to lock the hallway down now. They need better security.”
I agreed. Whoever was getting into the girls’ lockers was pretty good. Either he, or she, knew all the combinations or could pick the locks, and could do it in a short amount of time without being seen. Didn’t Mr. Hendricks mention there was a thief breaking into the upstairs lockers, too? I didn’t know if it was still happening. I made a mental note to talk to Mr. Blackbourne. “I should go,” I said, not trying to be unfriendly, but I didn’t want to make trouble by being too late. “See you in class?”
Karen waved goodbye. I forced myself to push my concerns about a school thief to the back of my mind. I had to deal with Hendricks right now. I followed the sound of talking voices toward the front hallway.
A plethora of teachers, students and a couple of police officers surrounded the front office hallways. I weaved my way through all of them to reach the main office door.
The waiting room was just as crowded. I dropped my hand toward my breast, meaning to pick out my cell phone and alert Mr. Blackbourne that I was headed to Mr. Hendricks’ office. My fingers touched the cup of my bra and felt only the clothing material.
I’d forgotten to get my phone back from Kota. All the disruptions, left me scatterbrained. I should have gotten it back when he was right in front of me.
I knew my phone held a listening device and it was activated when they needed it. Mr. Hendricks’ office was also wired. Did they know I was heading in?
I didn’t want to risk going in alone without warning Mr. Blackbourne. I paused in the waiting room, but turned down a different hallway, away from the Principal’s office. I followed the corridor, seeking out an unmarked door.
I knocked softly.
The door opened. Dr. Green popped his head out. His sandy brown hair was mussed on the side as if he’d been napping or leaning on his hand. He wore a deep green collared shirt, no tie, and tan slacks. His smile lit up when he spotted me. “Miss Sang? It’s lovely to see you, but aren’t you supposed to be heading to class?”
Did they not hear announcements from the hallways back here? “I was called into the principal’s office, but I don’t have my phone with me.”
“Ah,” he said. His head tilted slightly and he opened the door further. “Mr. Blackbourne is out interviewing a few students. I guess it’s just you and me this time.”
My cheeks heated. I entered the room, passing by him closely when he didn’t step back. My arm brushed his, and despite my nervousness, I was drawn to remain close. “I don’t have my phone. Will you be able to hear?”
He fished his cell phone out of his back pocket. He had a similar iPhone in a purple case. “Carry this in with you. His office is wired, but I want to be able to listen closer to you. Don’t worry. When you’re done talking to him, come find me.” I took his phone from him, fingering it nervously. His hand captured my chin, his light eyes focusing on mine. “I’m right behind you, Miss Sang. You’ll be fine.”
His kind words were as soothing as his eyes. He made for a perfect doctor. He could be about to cut me open for surgery from head to toe and I’d trust his promises.
He released me. “Hurry so you can get back,” he said. “If I had to face off with Mr. Hendricks, I’d want to be done with it as quickly as possible, too.”
I reshuffled my book bag on my shoulders and stumbled off back down the hallway.
INTO THE DEN
“No book bags or cell phones down this hallway,” the secretary at the waiting room desk barked at me. She snapped her fingers and pointed to my bag and Dr. Green’s phone in my hands.
I rocked back on my feet, surprised by the new protocol. Was it because of the bomb threat? My heart pounded, uncomfortable with leaving Dr. Green’s cell phone behind. Should I give it back to him? “Mr. Hendricks called me down,” I said, as if that might gain some special permission.
The lady shook her head. “Students aren’t allowed to carry anything down these hallways.”
I gazed around the waiting room. It was crowded. How could I leave my things here? The current theft problem had me paranoid to leave anything, especially a phone that didn’t belong to me.
“Leave them in one of the empty chairs and go see the Principal,” she said.
I spotted a familiar face. He wore glasses and had his nose buried in a book. He sat off to the side from the others. I’d once sat next to him in the courtyard and then had seen him again later at a football game. I’d wondered what happened to him. Was he in trouble?
“Pardon me,” I whispered.
His eyes slid up, and his glasses slipped down his nose a little. They were a little crooked on one side, like the frame was bent. It was the first time I noticed the smattering of freckles across his cheeks. His brows lifted in surprise. I could imagine he wasn’t expecting anyone to notice him.
“Can I leave this here with you?” I asked, motioning with my bag to the empty chair beside him.
His cheeks tinted. He nodded. His lips parted, as if wanting to say something, but nothing came out.
I spoke his language; I was fluent in shy. “Thank you.” I said softly. “I hope I won’t be long.”
After showing I wasn’t carrying anything, the secretary let me into the principal’s hallway. I hoped Dr. Green would still be able to hear me. I tried to remember to speak louder so wherever his wires were, he’d be able to hear. Maybe he’d been listening and already knew my things and his phone were in the front lobby and he’d collect them.
Mr. Hendricks opened his door at the first knock. “Miss Sorenson,” he said. He towered over me with his hulking figure. His cleanly-shaved head gleamed under the lights of his office. He widened the opening, stepping aside. “Good morning. Please come in, won’t you?”
I resisted a cringe as I crossed in front of him toward the orange cloth chair. The idea that the chair was becoming familiar to me set a dead weight in my gut.
Mr. Hendricks hit the lock on his door. “I’m sorry to call on you, but as you can imagine, there’s a lot going on right now.”
I wasn’t sure if he was honest about being sorry. He could have sent a quiet note to my next class or even just directed a specific call to the classroom. Instead he notified nearly the entire school that he wanted me. No, he’d done it on purpose. The question was why. “How can I help you?” I asked. I wanted to get to the bottom of this.
His eyebrows shot up. “You’re very eager today. Any particular reason?”
I didn’t like the way he was try
ing to pry information out of me. “What happened? I imagine with the fire alarm and the police being here, that’s why you’ve called me here.”
“Oh, that?” He crossed the room and collapsed into his oversized office chair. His hands steepled under his chin as he leaned forward. “It’s a problem, but you really don’t need to worry about it. Students call bomb threats in throughout the year. There’s never a bomb, but there’s a protocol and the police get called in. It’s a waste of time. With the disposable cell phones the kids carry, someone can easily use one and call it in, preventing us getting to any real culprit.. It’s a nuisance.”
The way he said it made it sound like it happened every week. My old school never had a bomb threat. I didn’t think the kids there would have ever dreamed of doing it. He passed it off like a prank call. What kind of kids would do such a thing? I bit back a retort stating as much, but perked up to appear interested.
Mr. Hendricks brushed a palm over the side of his stern face. “When your Academy friends joined us,” he said, “there were a lot of promises that they would help deal with inner security issues until we could put together a more reasonable solution. We can’t afford to hire security guards like other schools. We can barely afford what we have now. So far, their team has done nothing but get in the way. I’ve tolerated them but I think this little game has gone on long enough.”
Tolerated was an out and out lie. “What do you mean?” I leaned forward, eager to hear. If this was a new plan to get rid of my friends, I wanted to be sure to catch his every syllable. I hoped Dr. Green would, too.
“Mr. McCoy has been missing for too long,” he said. “The school board has been talking about a replacement. Mr. Blackbourne has asked for access to the position until a suitable replacement has been voted in by the school board. That could take months or as long as a year.”
My heart stopped. “Mr. Blackbourne wants to be the vice principal?”