by C. L. Stone
“I was going to sleep all day. Her bed is pretty comfortable,” Derrick said, and jerked his head in my direction. “But she tackled me.”
“I thought you were Gabriel!”
Derrick laughed, pushing a hand through his brown hair. “And I thought you were trying to kill me. I didn’t mean to throw you that hard.”
I was giggling at this until I caught a sullen look from Nathan I didn’t understand. He recovered, a smile half masking his serious eyes. “He didn’t hurt you, did he?” he asked me.
I attempted a smile, unsure how to approach that; he was looking so strange. “No. I’m fine.”
Derrick stood up, stretching. “I’m going to find Danielle. If she’s still sleeping, I should wake her up. She’ll be more of a pain Monday morning if she’s too far off her schedule.” He stumbled out of the shed, heading to the side door in the garage.
I giggled. That sounded like normal siblings looking out for each other. I wondered why Marie and I weren’t like that. I stood up, brushing the dust off of my shorts.
When Derrick was out of earshot, Nathan turned on me so fast that I startled and took a step back. “What happened?” he asked, sounding almost as demanding as Mr. Blackbourne.
A finger fluttered up and hovered over my mouth. “Huh?”
“He was in your bed? What the hell is that about? What’s been going on here?”
Was he angry with me? With a shaking voice, I told him about how I jumped on Derrick and later we came outside and fixed the bikes. I skipped over how I showed Derrick the attic. It didn’t seem important. “So I guess Danielle and Derrick spent the night.”
“He didn’t ... I mean ... you didn’t sleep in the bed with him?”
My lips parted in surprise. Why was he asking me about this? I’d thought at first he would be more concerned about Danielle and what she knew. The question threw me off kilter. “No. I told you. I thought it was Gabriel or someone else. I jumped on him and when he woke up, we came outside.”
“I don’t see why he had to sleep in your room,” he said.
“I didn’t know he was going to.” What was this? My insides rattled, feeling waves of tension from Nathan I hadn’t experienced from him before. “Honey?” I said softly. “What’s wrong? It’s okay he did, right? I mean, you guys sleep ...”
“That’s not the same thing,” he snapped, his voice deepening and thick with jealousy. His hand shot up, pointing toward the house. “He can’t sleep there.”
I stepped back, my hand dropping from my mouth to the base of my throat. My tongue stilled behind my lips. Did I mess up? Why was he angry with me over something I had no control over?
His eyes widened in surprise when I backed away from him. “Sang, I’m sorry,” he said in a softer tone.
“I didn’t know,” I said, my lips trembling.
Nathan sighed, frowning. He took a step closer to me, his arms out and open,, inviting me in, but hesitating as if worried I wouldn’t want it. “I know. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to yell at you. Come here.”
I bit my lip, keeping my hand at the base of my throat. I stepped closer. When I was within arm’s reach, he encircled me, drawing me into his body in a tight hug. Instinctively, my arms wrapped around his neck. Feeling his warm hug, I let out a shuddering sigh, relaxing.
Nathan pressed his cheek against the top of my head. “I’m sorry,” he said again. “I know nothing happened. You’re not that type.”
“What type?” I asked, still confused.
Nathan uttered a couple of syllables but whatever word he meant to say ended with a grunt. He pulled back enough to look down at me, his blue eyes locking with mine. “Sang, I know we’re kind of different. I trust Kota and the others with you. I trust our family.”
I scrunched my eyebrows at him. “Derrick wouldn’t hurt me,” I said.
“I know,” Nathan said. “He’s not us, though.” He twisted his lips, looking pained again. His big hands rubbed at my back. “I’m just a little jealous. I don’t like the idea of him sleeping in the bed you and I sleep in together. I had this image of you being there with him and I just ... I can’t think like that. I don’t like it.”
“We didn’t do anything,” I said, surprised by his frankness and wanting to ease his worries. “I swear, I thought it was Gabriel or Luke or one of the others when I walked in ...”
He half smiled. “I know. It’s not what you did. It’s what he did. And it wasn’t his fault, either. I shouldn’t really feel this way. I can’t help it. I don’t know, maybe it was arriving and seeing you both hanging out and being so casual about it. I couldn’t stop thinking about it.”
“I thought you ... you said you didn’t get jealous.” It sounded so wrong. It sounded like I just said he shouldn’t get jealous at all, as if another guy could come around and he shouldn’t think twice about it. It wasn’t what I meant. I didn’t understand.
He brought a hand around to rub a palm against my cheek. “I said we shouldn’t feel jealous over things we don’t need. Or worry over things that wouldn’t change.”
“What do you mean?”
He sighed. “Like Kota’s mom. She wasn’t going anywhere and as long as I stayed a good person and a close friend, she still cared about me and she still cared for Kota.”
The puzzle pieces clicked. “You think Derrick could make me stop caring about you?”
“He isn’t us, Peanut. If you ever dated him, or say, Rocky or someone else, they’d want you for themselves. I know we’re different, but … I mean … we’re something now, aren’t we?”
I knew my cheeks must have been a mass of redness. “Us?” I asked, without really understanding what he was trying to ask me.
This set the corners of his mouth rising. “Yeah. Us. We’re an us, aren’t we?”
I wasn’t sure again what he meant. Did he mean I was with them? As in, part of the family? “If you want me.”
His eyes softened. He picked up my hand, drawing it to his mouth, and kissed a knuckle. “I want you, Peanut. I knew it when I met you. You’re different. You belong with us … with me.”
His inflection made it clear. Kota was okay. Silas and the others were okay. Derrick wasn’t. There was a line, and it began and ended with the Academy, with this small circle of friends that I had started to depend on. It wasn’t normal, like Derrick said. What I needed to figure out was, was this what I wanted? Would I ever understand it and would I ever fit in?
SANG THE SPY
Monday morning, I was dragging through a quiz in geometry when the overhead intercom buzzed. “Could you please send Sang Sorenson to the main office?”
I stiffened at my desk. Since it wasn’t specific, I wasn’t sure if it was Hendricks or McCoy calling for me.
I glanced at North, who sat up and turned, his intense dark eyes gazing back at me, telling me he’d go with me. I dropped a casual hand on his shoulder as I passed his desk and shot him a look I hoped he would understand. I’d make sure Mr. Blackbourne was watching. I’d be okay.
I wished I believed it.
Nathan had been sitting behind me. He was up now, alert and eager to ignore my quiet pleas to go alone, but one look from North settled it. If he didn’t get to go, Nathan wasn’t going either.
I walked through the empty corridors. Echoes floated to me from teachers talking in their classrooms. As I gazed into the different classes in session, I wondered what it was like for any of the other girls who didn’t get called down to the office nearly every day, who didn’t have to worry about playing a puppet for the principal. I had almost forgotten what it was like to be invisible, where no one cared and no one talked to me. I was happy to have the guys, and I’d do anything to keep them with me, but it didn’t make being a watchdog for Hendricks any less nerve-wrenching.
Facing the front office, I slipped the phone into my hands.
Sang: Have to go to the main office. I don’t know who is calling for me.
Blackbourne: I’m watching.
I h
oped that would be good enough.
The front office had only a couple other students sitting inside. Before I had a chance to close the door behind me, the secretary’s head snapped up. “Miss Sorenson, you can go on into Mr. Hendricks’s office. He’ll be with you in a minute.”
It rattled me that she knew my name. I guess I’d been in the office enough that I was becoming familiar. I sucked down some air for courage and carried my things with me down the dim hallway toward the Principal’s office.
The door was open, but no one was inside. I dropped my bag on the floor, sitting down in the orange chair.
I stared off idly, wondering where Mr. Hendricks was and why he called me down when he wasn’t here. I straightened, aware I was alone in the office. It wasn’t the time to simply stare off and wait.
I glanced at the desk casually, listening for any sign of someone approaching. There was a small notepad on the desk.
I leaned forward. From the light above, I could see the shadows of indentions, where Mr. Hendricks had written something on the paper. I wasn’t sure what it was, but the way it was tilted to particular paperwork underneath made it look like he was keeping notes as he was reading.
I listened carefully again. No noise except for deep down the hallway in the main office. No one coming.
I popped up, finding the edge of the top piece of notepad paper, ripping it from the binding. I pulled out a tiny bit of paper that tried to remain attached, so Mr. Hendricks wouldn’t notice I had taken the paper.
I caught a glance of the paperwork underneath. There were figures in columns, and something about insurance for football team members at the top, along with the football team roster, including Silas and North.
There was a list of people on a simple sticky note on his desk. Some names were crossed out, mine was near the top, not crossed out yet.
Marie’s name was listed, as well as Jade, Rocky, Jay, and Ms. Johnson, the English teacher, Mr. Morris, the history teacher, and a couple other faculty members as well. There was also the football coach and names of people I didn’t recognize.
A list of names, including mine. Allies? Not entirely. I was on the list. Definitely persons of interest.
I didn’t know for sure, but I had a hunch a couple of them might have been partners. Maybe one of them had been following Kota. Or at least knew who was.
It was also possible one of them knew why Mr. Hendricks felt the need to kick out the Academy boys. What could Mr. Hendricks be up to?
I tried to simply memorize the list of names in my head over and over, but there were too many.
I checked the hallway quickly, pulled my phone out. I used the camera option and snapped a picture. I snapped a second, just in case. I also took a picture of the football insurance paperwork underneath. While I didn’t have the handwritten notes, just the indentions on the notepaper, I thought someone could trace over it with a pencil and read whatever it was.
If it was interesting enough to Mr. Hendricks to write down, Mr. Blackbourne probably wanted to know about it.
Footsteps in the hallway made me jump and nearly fumble my phone. I planted it back into the confines of my bra and retreated to my orange chair. I slipped the notepad paper into my book bag pocket.
Mr. Hendricks appeared in the doorway. He moved out of the way, holding the door handle, and held it open. He partially turned to me. “One second, Miss Sorenson.” He looked down the hallway, waiting.
I watched him, confused.
Mr. McCoy sauntered in. Mr. Hendricks closed the door after him. The Principal and the Vice Principal.
What was I supposed to do now? I tried not to look as terrified as I felt. I knew Mr. Blackbourne was watching and listening. I tried to trust in that. If Mr. Blackbourne wanted me to leave now, he’d make sure I knew. I wasn’t alone with Mr. McCoy, so I wasn’t sure if leaving was appropriate now.
Mr. McCoy remained by the door. He crossed his arms in front of his suit jacket, standing like a guard.
Mr. Hendricks crossed the room, heading to his desk. “Sorry about that,” he said in an almost friendly way. “We’ve got a little thief breaking into the upstairs lockers. We’ve had students coming in all day complaining about missing money and cell phones. The little minions haven't figured out the purpose of bank accounts and a wallet.”
Mr. McCoy gave a laugh at this.
“I understand,” I said. I didn’t, really. Why bother with someone like me when they had someone stealing from students? Sacrificing student safety and well-being for petty revenge seemed so irresponsible.
“Well,” Mr. Hendricks said. “Let me hear about what lies Mr. Blackbourne fed you this week, if you’d like to get it out of the way.”
I had nothing prepared. “I’m sorry; he hasn’t told me anything specific.”
“So he knows you’re feeding me information?”
He already assumed, but he had the wrong idea. “He knows we talk.”
Mr. Hendricks seemed to perk up at this. “And you’ve been getting closer to him? Have you found out where he lives?”
“I only meet him for class. I’ve not been invited to his house yet.”
“Miss Sorenson,” he said. He blew out a sigh. “If I give you a job, I expect you to do it.”
I wasn’t sure what to offer him. I knew nothing to tell him. I knew certain things, but nothing that would bring him any closer to getting the guys kicked out like he wanted.
They were thieves once.
My lips clamped shut. I wouldn’t relay this information. But I had to give him something, didn’t I?
And maybe it could be something where I’d get more information, too.
“They do realize they’re being followed,” I said. “I thought it might have been…” I scanned my brain for the list he’d had on his desk. “Well, maybe Ms. Johnson ...”
Mr. McCoy chuffed. I slid a glance at Mr. McCoy, catching him rolling his eyes. Not Ms. Johnson.
“And then I heard a rumor about a student named Rocky…”
Mr. Hendricks coughed. He shifted and leaned forward against his desk. “I’m not interested in your guessing game as to who you think is following the people you are supposed to be watching.”
“But if I’m able to guess the right one, they’re smart enough to figure it out. I know I’m not an expert, but if I can pick up a tail, they’ll know soon enough. Your guy is inexperienced, he’s following too close.”
“Whoever is watching the boys isn’t important to you,” Mr. Hendricks said. “So they are laying low right now because they think we’re watching?”
I contemplated this carefully before responding. “Personally? I think they know Kota’s being watched. I mean, I’ve been hanging out with him, and he’s pretty boring. Nathan, too.”
“No kidding,” Mr. McCoy said.
I smothered a shiver through my spine. McCoy admitted it. He’d been involved in watching Kota.
Which meant he was on my street.
Which meant he might have been paying attention to my house.
Mr. Hendricks cleared his throat. “So, you’re saying Kota’s probably not the one to watch?”
“I think it’s a wasted effort. If you expect they’ll do something, and they know you’re watching, they’ll stop.”
The principal’s expression changed. It was slight, but the top right corner of his mouth lifted.
This was expected. Planned.
They wanted Kota to stop. Perhaps Nathan, too. They were happy about people being obvious watching us. But why?
“Is there anything else you’d like to tell me?” Mr. Hendricks asked.
Surprised by the discovery of his plan, I didn’t want to divulge anything else. “Not that I can think of.”
Mr. Hendricks was about to open his mouth again when the phone on his desk started ringing. He sighed, picked it up. “Yes? What? Yeah, yeah, I’ll be there in a second.” He sighed, hanging up. “We’ve got another break-in upstairs.”
Mr. McCoy rolled his eye
s again. “Give me a break. The little niglets are just stealing from each other.”
I tried to hide my surprise at the use of the racial slur.
“The price of being a warden in high school hell.” Mr. Hendricks dropped his palms on the desk, using it to push himself up. He nodded to me. “You can see yourself out, can’t you?”
I nodded, staring off at the wall, trying not to reveal my own thoughts.
Mr. Hendricks wedged himself around his desk, strolling to the door. Mr. McCoy followed.
I breathed out a sigh. Mission over.
I was collecting my bag when I heard more footsteps in the hallway. I waited just inside the door and out of sight, not wanting to run into another administrator.
Mr. McCoy materialized in the doorway.
I backed up a step, surprised that he’d returned. My tongue caught in my throat.
“Mr. McCoy,” a familiar voice sounded from the hallway. “Could I bother you for a second?”
Mr. McCoy glared at me, looking like he wanted to tell me something, but now with someone else around, wouldn’t say it out loud.
He turned away from me, addressing the speaker. “Yes, Dr. Green?”
“I’ve got something interesting. I think you should see it.”
“Not now; I’m in the middle of something.”
Dr. Green appeared in the hallway, just in front of the door. “Oh,” he said, glancing in and spotting me, but the surprised look appeared fake. He’d known I was there. “Sorry, hate to interrupt.”
“You do have that habit,” Mr. McCoy said.
“Shouldn’t you be in class?” Dr. Green asked me.
As he said it, the bell rang.
“I believe you’re due for a music lesson, aren’t you?” Dr. Green continued, his eyes telling me what I needed to know. Head there now. I suspected Mr. Blackbourne was already waiting for me.
I took only one more glance at Mr. McCoy before walking around them, marching quickly down the hallway.
