by Addison Jane
“Have a nice day,” She whispered darkly. “If you last that long.”
I wanted to turn and question her, but a handful of Bray’s friends surrounded us, greeting him as we moved down the corridor. They all laughed and joked but kept their distance, their eyes occasionally flicking to me as if they were being cautious.
Something was wrong, I knew it.
A body appeared in front of me, and I frowned, annoyed. That was until I looked up and saw a concerned Lucas staring back at me. “Go home, Fay.”
“Bro, what the hell?” Braydon growled. “Is it asshole day or something? Did I miss the memo?”
Lucas ignored him. “I’ve already called Heath, he’s gonna meet you at the car.”
“Lucas, seriously, what’s going on?”
Braydon ducked around him and turned down the hall that led to our lockers.
“Fucking hell,” I heard him groan.
“Lucas…” I whispered, “…let me past, or I’m going to kick you so hard in the balls that you’ll choke on them.”
He forced a smile. “Anyone ever tell you that you have a violent streak?” He cringed as soon as the words left his mouth. “I mean—”
“Get out,” Heath’s voice boomed through the space and people everywhere began to scatter.
Lucas relaxed a little, and I used the moment to shove past him. He grabbed my backpack, attempting to use it to pull me back, but I just allowed the straps to slip off my shoulders as I moved forward, turning into the next hall.
It was a mess. Papers scattered all over the floor and covering the lockers that lined the walls. I knew what they were about instantly, the large picture of me at the top being led away in handcuffs was a dead giveaway.
Braydon and Heath had their heads bent together. Heath looked at me from beneath his brow, his usually striking blue eyes no longer reminding me of a gentle ocean, instead resembling a wild storm.
All the papers were the same, and I didn’t even need to look at it to know what it said. It was a news article, one that I’d already seen before and had almost memorized word for word. “Troubled teen stabs father in a fit of rage,” my voice echoed in the now empty hall. “I can summarize it for you if you want. It basically says, I’ve got a few screws loose and that my parents are angels for putting up with me for so long, and not having me condemned to a psych ward for my anger and violence problems.”
I remembered this article specifically because it had been the only one my dad had sent me while I was in juvie. It was all part of my father’s mind games. He wanted me to think that no one believed me and that they were all against me. I’d read it over and over again, tormenting myself with the words that described me as out of control and abusive.
The boys didn’t say anything. Braydon just stared at the floor and shook his head, and Heath, he just watched me, his fists clenched at his sides.
Crouching down, I plucked one of the papers off the ground before forcing my shaky legs to stand again. My eyes scanned the article and I laughed softly, causing both Heath and Braydon to widen their eyes in surprise.
“This is my favorite part. Greg Campbell says he still loves his daughter. He doesn’t blame her for what happened, but rather blames himself for not putting a stop to it earlier.” I rolled my eyes. “In other words, he’s disappointed he didn’t stab me first, and not have to deal with the problems I’ve now caused him.”
“Let’s go home,” Heath said, advancing on me and reaching for the paper in my hand.
Snatching it away before he could take it I asked, “Why?”
“Because this is bullshit, and you don’t need to deal with it.”
I shook the paper in my hand. “I’ve been dealing with this since I was fifteen. Criticism, judgment, people saying I should be put away for life for stabbing a man who did so much for the community.” Just saying the words made me feel sick to my stomach.
If people only knew.
No.
They did know.
They just chose to ignore it.
They took his side.
“It happened. I did it. Hiding isn’t going to change the fact that people are going to find out.”
The school bell rang to signal the first period. Students scurried down the hallways, some avoiding eye contact and others blatantly looking horrified as they passed me.
“We can come back tomorrow when it’s all gone,” Heath reasoned quietly, his hand reaching out and taking mine.
“Why?”
He stepped in again, dipping so our foreheads touched softly. “Because you don’t deserve this.”
“Miss Campbell,” the authoritative voice spoke from behind me. I turned to find a woman dressed in an immaculate gray business suit. Her glasses sat perched on the end of her nose as she surveyed the mess around us before finally returning to mine. “May I speak with you in my office, please?” Her tone wasn’t malicious, but it definitely demanded no nonsense. The badge on her chest read Vice Principal and in my mind, I groaned.
Not what I wanted to deal with today.
“Sure,” I answered glumly. Lucas held out my backpack which I took with a grateful smile.
“Boys, to class, please. You’re already late.” Braydon and Lucas both gave me supportive smiles as they passed, but Heath didn’t move. “Mr. Carson, I appreciate you wanting to watch out for her, but there’s no need. I just want to talk.”
I pried my hand from Heath’s grip and placed it on his chest. He stared at the woman like he was conveying some kind of silent message to her before he finally moved his attention to me. “I’ll see you at lunch.”
I nodded, watching as he stormed off down the hall and disappeared around the corner.
“Let’s go to my office.”
Two men dressed in overalls passed us with large rubbish sacks as I followed her toward the administration block of the school. I guess at least the flyers would be gone soon, but no doubt the damage had already been done.
People knew now.
And as much as I’d tried to make it sound like I didn’t care, I did.
The lady who I had yet to find out her name held the door for me as I stepped inside her office. There was a desk, a couple of chairs, some book shelves and awards on the wall. I took a seat as she closed the door and rounded the other side of the desk to sit in a large office chair.
“It’s nice to meet you, Keira. My name is Mrs. Fallon.” She smiled as she introduced herself and I attempted to return it.
“I prefer the name Fable.”
She looked down at the file on her desk which I realized had my picture pinned to the top. It was one they’d taken when Helen had come to register me on Friday.
“Oh yes, it does say that here. Apologies.”
“No problem.”
“I was going to ask you how your time here has been so far, but I’m going to take a wild guess and assume not so great.” She reclined in her chair reminding me of a counselor, asking me to share my problems with her so she could analyze me.
I shrugged. “You could say that. Who knew I’d start the week with such a bang.”
Mrs. Fallon nodded. “Someone did go to a lot of trouble to welcome you didn’t they?”
The dark emphasis on the word welcome didn’t slip past me. She was unimpressed with what had happened this morning, and I was thankful to finally meet a teacher here that didn’t condone the untouchable attitude that these kids held themselves with.
I scoffed. “Oh, I have a feeling I know who that someone was.”
“Really?”
Jay had been the only one so far who’d made her annoyance well known. I didn’t doubt that even with my few brief interactions with her that she was the type to hit below the belt. Passive aggressive, that was her style, I could already tell. She liked to bury herself beneath your skin and eat at you from the inside, but I wasn’t going to let her.
My skin was thicker than she gave me credit for.
“I just want to get on with my day and for
get about it.”
She pursed her lips and blew a puff of air out her nose. “Yes, I understand. I just wanted to let you know, Diamond Cross is a very highly respected school. Not only in the state but in the entire country. Having this kind of… trouble could bring a lot of bad light on us.”
My eyes narrowed. “You think having me here might taint your reputation?”
She closed the folder on her desk and linked her fingers together as she rested them on the top. Her attitude had suddenly changed. I realized now that I’d misinterpreted her. She wasn’t disappointed in the way one of her students had acted by posting up the flyers. She was upset about how my presence was affecting them and the school.
“Look, Keira…”
“Fable,” I corrected, my voice sharp.
She frowned at my reply, just another person who was not used to someone challenging her.
“Right. Fable. I know this must be hard for you. You came from nothing. No home. No great parenting figures.” Her words were digs at me, but I held my tongue. “It’s best if you try to fit in here. Try to keep your head down and don’t disrupt the flow. We wouldn’t want your presence to cause any more problems.”
“Are we done?”
Mrs. Fallon nodded and gestured to the door. “You’re free to go to your first class. Have a nice day, Fable.”
I stood and threw my backpack over my shoulder, not even looking back as I left her office, and nobody even attempted to stop me as I walked past the front desk and out the main doors.
I was done.
The walk home was long and slow, and I grumbled the whole way about how I wished I just had my blades.
I just couldn’t do it, not today. That article was as false as they came. I’d spent months in juvie going over and over the words they had used to describe me.
Hateful.
Out of control.
Deranged.
At some point, I think I’d even convinced myself that they were true. It had been turned around to make it seem like I was the aggressor and Greg Campbell was the victim. It was laughable. He was never the victim because he was smart enough to never pick on someone who could fight back. He held an image. He was important, a man that people looked to. He held power and others flocked to him because of it, holding him on a pedestal.
Diamond Cross wasn’t much better, and I was beginning to think that this was my karma for what I’d done. The streets had given me freedom to grow, they forced me to be strong, not just for me but for my friends. And now here I was again, back to being belittled and tortured because I wasn’t good enough.
The only question now, did I let history repeat itself?
A car I was unfamiliar with sat in the driveway, but I bypassed it. I threw the front door of the house open, tossing my bag onto the staircase and not caring as it tumbled the few steps back to the bottom. Soft voices flowed from the living room area, and I made my way toward them.
Helen sat in the large armchair, holding a coffee mug in her hand. She looked up in surprise. “Fable? What are you doing home?” She placed the cup on the glass side table and stood up.
“Someone decided to redecorate the hallway at school.” I pulled out the paper that I’d scrunched into my pocket and handed it to her. Her eyes widened as she scanned over the mutilated article.
“Wow, I don’t miss high school at all.”
I hadn’t recognized her when I’d stepped in, but I remembered her voice. Lena, the policewoman from the city. She wasn’t in uniform, but in dress pants and a collared shirt. When she stood up to greet me, I noticed the badge that was hooked on her belt.
“Hey.” I tried not to make it awkward, but I couldn’t help but rush through my mind, searching for a reason why she would be here.
Helen placed a hand on my shoulder and nodded to the couch where Lena sat. “Take a seat, Fable.”
Reluctantly, I did. Lena hit me with a kind smile while Helen moved back to her own chair.
“Lena just wanted to check up and talk about some developments that have come to light.”
“Without me?” My brow creased.
Lena touched my hand. “Since you’re a minor, there are rules I need to follow, like discussing things with your caregivers first.”
“Okay… so what’s going on?”
Lena looked over at Helen, who gave her a gentle nod to continue, “I looked a little further into your case. It seems that Judge Morrison who controlled your release is currently under investigation. He’s being accused of receiving bribes.”
The words I wanted to say wouldn’t come. I was struck by a range of different emotions—anger, joy, frustration.
Lena continued through my silence. “The lawyer that represented your parents is one of the people under suspicion. And it seems it isn’t the first time he’s done it.”
“The lawyer requested the date that you appeared, saying it was the only day your parents were free to attend. It was also the only day that Judge Morrison was running proceedings because his wife was ill.”
I shook my head. As much as I wanted to say it couldn’t be true, I knew it was. “He kept all the money he made to himself. Whenever I got sick, he wouldn’t even pay for me to see a doctor or let my mom go and get me some medicine.” Once I went to school so sick that the school nurse sent me to the hospital. I paid for that for weeks when I got home. He refused to let me have my pain medication they’d given me.
My whole body shuddered as I remembered wishing that I would die. That I would go to sleep and not wake up.
“Oh, honey…” Helen’s eyes glistened with tears, “…we’re going to sort this out. I promise. He will be taking responsibility for what he’s done.” Her words were clear and strong. She believed them with all her heart, and it made me want to believe them too.
“Fable, you have the best opportunity here to move on,” Lena said, turning her body to face me. “I know that people will take your life and examine it and pull it to pieces, finding anything they can to bring you down.” She pointed to the screwed up paper that Helen still held in her hands. “But just remember, you’re a survivor. You did what you had to do in order to make sure you continued to live. You’re alive because you were brave and took a stand.”
Tears clogged my throat, and I bit down hard on my lip, attempting to keep them at bay.
“You’re not alone anymore.” Helen smiled as a single tear dripped down her cheek. “We will stand with you. Don’t feel like you have to do this alone.”
Nodding was the only thing I could do. I knew as soon as I tried to speak that I would burst.
“Okay, I’m going to go. But I’ll keep checking in and keeping you updated,” Lena said, and we both stood, her hand still covering mine. “Don’t be afraid to call if you need something.”
Helen and I walked Lena out to her car and waved as she drove away. The sun beamed down on us. The spring weather was warm, and I welcomed it with joy.
“All right, let’s get a drink and talk about this stupid piece of paper you brought home.” She grabbed my hand and led me inside, her sad mood now full of determination.
I took a seat at the kitchen counter as she pulled a carton of juice from the fridge and began to pour us both a glass.
“How many of these was there?” she asked, sliding the glass across the bench top.
“A whole hallway full…” I groaned, “…and I have no doubt that someone has already posted it up on social media for all the kids who missed it.”
“Ah yes, the Internet. Both heaven and hell.”
Running my fingers through my hair, frustration filled me. “Two days, that’s all it took for them to make me run. I’ve survived two years living in a tent in a back alley. Sure it was hard, but I fought. Today, I just didn’t want to fight.”
“When you were living in the city, you had your friends. They stood with you, and they held you up when you couldn’t hold yourself.” She was right. I never did anything alone. We always stuck together because that was
the safest, and it made people think twice before picking on us. “You need to realize that there are people here who’ll stand with you too.”
“Heath and Bray?”
She laughed. “Yes, my boys will fight tooth and nail to protect someone they care about. And I do know for a fact, Heath cares a lot about you, in particular.”
My hands held tightly to the cool glass of orange juice, hoping by some miracle that it would cool the flush that was creeping up my body.
I rushed to change the subject. “What if I changed schools and went to the public school?”
She seemed surprised by my admission. “Diamond Cross will give you the best advantage for your future. I know it’s hard now, but—”
“The only reason they’re giving me anything is because they were paid to.” The words hadn’t meant to come out so cold and accusing. I attempted to soften my tone. “Mrs. Fallon pulled me into her office after she saw the flyers. She made it quite clear that she didn’t want anything there to bring down the school’s amazing reputation.”
“Mrs. Fallon is a bitch.”
I stared at Helen, caught completely off guard.
She laughed at the obviously horrified look on my face. “Tina Fallon went to school with the kid’s father and I. Arthur came from a reasonably well-off family, but I didn’t. My parents worked hard to pay for me to go to that school so that they could give me the best opportunities for my future.”
As I looked around the room, I couldn’t help but be impressed by just how well she’d used those opportunities. Her husband Arthur was famous and ridiculously wealthy. But Helen had built an empire of her own. She was a highly sought after lawyer, with a list of clients and associates almost as impressive as her husband’s.
“Tina hated that I was there. She believed that Diamond Cross was for the elite, a place for future leaders to make… not friends, but connections. I had no connections to give her, unless she wanted her car fixed or her hair done because those were the jobs my parents had. To her, I was taking up a space that could have been given to someone more important and worth her time.”
It made sense now, the way that Heath had stared her down in the hall.
