Chapter 1
The Principal
Haylwen Rightad glared at the principal from beneath her eyebrows. Mr. Johansen wasn’t even looking at her, he was so into lecturing her. Finally, he glanced at her, and Haylwen’s eyes dropped to her shoes. Or tried to. She knew she was short and overweight, but her feet didn’t even come close to reaching the ground and the back of her chair was so far back, her stomach pooched out even more than usual. Stupid chair. She half- listened to Mr. Johansen drone on. How long have I been stuck here, anyway?
“So,” principal Stephan Johansen said, “we are expected to believe you, and not the four witnesses who dispute your claim?” His pacing took him back to loom over her. He paused to lean in, his flowing sandy-blond hair and blue eyes swooping in beyond personal space limits. He could use a breath mint too. “And… you have a better explanation of how the library almost burned down? I suppose the wall just started on fire by itself?” His high-pitched voice only accented his sarcasm. He tried to catch her eyes, but they fled back to find her shoes. After waiting long enough to ensure she wasn’t going to say anything, he stood upright. “So, I am left with a difficult decision. What am I going to do with you, to ensure the safety of this school and all the students, teachers, and staff who come here to learn? What punishment would be sufficient?”
Haylwen’s anger twisted into fear and then back. Go ahead, she thought. Nothing could be worse than being forced to sit here and listen to you. Who cares if I’m innocent? When she was first dragged into the principal’s office, she had hoped for a brief moment that Kim would be here too. If I had even one friend to back me up, she thought, I might have gotten out of this. But now…
Just as Mr. Johansen started to talk again, there was a single knock at the door, interrupting him.
“I told you I was not to be disturbed!” he snapped.
The door opened anyway.
“Yes, your assistant told me the same thing.” Haylwen watched her father stroll in, closing the door on the protesting woman behind him. Her father looked around the large office, sneaking a reassuring smile at Haylwen. He pushed his glasses up on his nose to look up at the rather tall principal. “Abrennin Rightad, Haylwen’s father,” he said, introducing himself. “I got here earlier than usual and, rather than wait in the car, I thought I would take a look around the school. Of course, I knew I needed to check in with the principal’s office first. Imagine my surprise to overhear that my daughter was still in with the principal!” His eyes locked on the flabbergasted Mr. Johansen. “So, what is going on?”
Mr. Johansen regained his powers of speech. “Your daughter was observed using incendiary materials, resulting in substantial damage to school property. Immediate, decisive action is required to secure the safety of students, staff, and taxpayer investment, and to ensure proper punishment…”
“Sorry to interrupt,” Abrennin said. “So what action are you proposing, Stephan?”
Mr. Johansen blinked in rapid succession.
Abrennin, standing at the front of Mr. Johansen’s desk, touched the gold-edged name plate, moving it slightly out of alignment. “Very nice,” he said. “Do you mind if I have a seat?” He sat down next to Haylwen without waiting for a reply.
Mr. Johansen stepped behind his desk, reached over, and realigned his name plate with a huff. He put both hands on his desk, leaning forward to look down at Haylwen and her father. “Action? I expect her to be properly punished! In addition, I need to recoup the cost of the refurbishment, reestablish discipline, and so forth.”
Abrennin looked up at the haughty principal with an eyebrow raised. “Those costs not covered by insurance, you mean?”
“If it is covered at all!” Mr. Johansen’s whined. “I am not confident that arson…”
“Oh, arson, is it now?” Abrennin raised his eyebrows, looking over his glasses but still down at the tall man from his relaxed position in the sagging chair. “Well, don’t worry, Stephan, I will follow up and make sure that the insurance company doesn’t try to make this into something more than it is. I imagine washing the soot off will make the actual damage much less than it appears.” He stood, his compact form moving gracefully. While he only stood as tall as the principal’s shoulder, his act of standing had the taller man step back and sit heavily into the high-backed chair behind the desk. “Speaking of which, I think it is time I take Haylwen home and explain to her the punishment she deserves. Unless you had something else?”
“The school requires a punishment that fits the crime,” Mr. Johansen said, standing.
“Oh, right,” Abrennin said, extending his hand, stopping the principal’s progress abruptly. The chair squeaked as Mr. Johansen sat back down. “I think a week’s suspension is appropriate, don’t you? I will contact her teachers requesting a list of homework so she will not be behind when she returns.”
Mr. Johansen sputtered. “Yes, well, but, if this ever happens again...”
Abrennin’s voice had the quiet force of a toppling stone block. “Oh, this will never happen again, I assure you.” His hazel eyes slammed down on Mr. Johansen.
Stephan Johansen’s jaw dropped open, then snapped shut. He looked first at Abrennin’s eyes, then at Haylwen, then back to Abrennin. He sat up with a half-smirk. “Yes, well, I suppose the proper punishment will promote proper behavior.” He started to stand, but was again stopped by a small gesture from Abrennin. “That is not necessary,” Abrennin said, gesturing for Haylwen to join him at the door. “I will escort my daughter to her locker and off school grounds. I am sure you have many important things that require your attention.” He ushered Haylwen out the door, shutting it behind him.
Haylwen glared stubbornly at her father until his gaze found her eyes. “To your locker, young lady,” he said.
“But…” she started.
“Let’s discuss your punishment on the drive home, please.” He gave his daughter a look that brooked no argument. “Locker. Now.” He leaned in, his eyes still locked on hers. “But take us by the wall that was damaged, please,” he said quietly.
What? Haylwen spun and stormed off. Her anger alternated with an overwhelming urge to cry. She would not cry! She marched off, glad that everyone was still in class. A short march later, she slowed as she passed by the wall next to the open door of the library, shocked at the damage. She didn’t really get a good look the first time, her eyes so full of burning tears. This time, she saw a big area of black char completely covering the brick, flaring out from a smaller center. The center area was depressed and flat, as if the brick had melted! It looked like a bomb had gone off. A memory of what happened fluttered by her eyes, but was all a blur.
Her father paused, looking closely at the area. He surprised her with just one of his regular “Hmmmm, nothing special here” looks, just like when he was working on one of his reports. He turned, facing down one hallway, looked over his shoulder, back down the hall, then at Haylwen. “So, where exactly were you standing?” he asked as he turned to face the wall directly.
Haylwen looked around and tried to remember. She took a step back, looking at the floor and down the hall, trying to judge. She couldn’t see the area as her father was blocking the place on the wall with his body, so she guessed. “About here,” she said.
Her father turned away, giving the wall a brush with his hand. “Yes, as I thought, just a little soot.” Haylwen’s jaw dropped. The center area… no… the whole wall was restored! The wall looked like someone had just thrown some black ash on it, wiped off where her father had brushed at it. “Ok, which one is your locker?” her father said, striding off. Haylwen hurried to catch up, looking over her shoulder at the wall one last time.
Haylwen’s thoughts tumbled long past when she and her father left the school parking lot in their battered Volvo. What had happened? Had she imagined the melted brick? Her memory was blurry, but not that much. What did Dad do to the wall? Why did he just happen to be there so early, anyway? What would Kim say when she saw me? All a
t once, Haylwen’s thoughts stopped. “A whole week suspension! and whatever you are going to do! I swear I don’t know what happened, and… and…,” she blurted, and the rest was lost as her angry tears washed away the remaining words. Her father had never really punished her before. She had never done anything bad before. Well, not really bad.
His eyes on the road, her father took a handkerchief out of his pocket and handed it to her. “I know you like school, but a week suspension is the least Mr. Johansen would have allowed without demanding a school board hearing.”
Haylwen looked at the handkerchief sideways. Who carries a handkerchief? It was obviously clean and still folded neatly. Without another good option, she took it, but made sure to do so angrily. How could he be so calm? “The least? That’s forever! Especially as I didn’t do anything, I really don’t think you need to punish me more!” She suddenly thought of her mother. The thought of what she might do started tears flowing once again.
“Your mother and I will discuss what else needs to happen because of this. If anything.” Haylwen relaxed a little at the concession. Her father half-turned suddenly and fixed his hazel eyes on her. His glasses didn’t impede the power of his gaze at all, and the pattern of green and brown somehow made his eyes swallow her up. “You are not covering for your friends? I hear that you didn’t light the fire, but you don’t have any idea of how it started?” His eyes locked on hers.
Haylwen didn’t want to dignify it with a response, and thought to just answer with a glare, then dismiss him by looking out the window. She glared, but when she tried to look out the window, her eyes were trapped. She felt her weight shift as the car took a turn, but the seat belt held her prisoner. The squeal of tires sounded far away, proving the car was speeding down the neighborhood side streets much too fast. She tried to drag her eyes away, but couldn’t. They were going to crash for sure! Words jumped from her mouth. “No, I have no idea. I guess it just exploded, all by itself!”
He nodded, finally releasing her eyes as they finished the bumpy turn into their apartment’s parking lot.