Delinquent

by M. F. Lorson

  “Obviously I missed something huge last night, so are you gonna fill me in or do I just continue assuming Wanda pummeled her own face for practice?” Robyn giggled. “That would be a much better story than the truth.” “Then tell me the truth. Everybody else obviously knows or there wouldn’t have been mandatory silence last night.” Robyn did a quick scan around the lunch room. Wanda wasn’t there and neither were any of her cronies.

  “Alright, I’ll tell you but if you see her come in stop me.”

  “Of course!”

  “As I’m sure you figured out someone took a go at Wanda, only it wasn’t one of us. She wasn’t anywhere near the barracks.” I was beginning to see serious value in Robyn. She knew all the nitty gritty details and she didn’t have to suck up to Wanda to get them. “As far as I understand, and this is strictly third party information, she goes to the art building every night to work on her jewelry and she always leaves at 9. So there’s no risk of missing curfew. Well apparently someone’s been paying attention because whoever jumped her knew exactly when she was going to leave. She wasn’t 30 feet from the walkway when they leapt out and grabbed her. And it’s like they planned it perfectly because one second she was in full glow of the streetlight and the next second she wasn’t. It’s like they waited for precisely that moment to do it.”

  “Did this 3rd party say who jumped her” I asked?

  “No one knows that!” Robyn paused to take a bite of her chicken patty sandwich, “ He was wearing a ski mask so there’s no way she would have been able to tell. The creepy thing is that he wasn’t just some thug out to jack her wallet or teach her a lesson for roughing up his girlfriend. He tried to get physical with her. Can you imagine that? This guy tried to take advantage of Wanda! But whoever it was had no idea who they were dealing with because she got a knee or two in the right location. Aside from smashing her head into the pavement and knocking her out with a pretty serious cocktail he didn’t get anything out of Wanda”. The whole thing was seriously freaking me out. Someone jumped Wanda, on campus, in the middle of the courtyard, smashed her head into the pavement and knocked her out with some kind of homemade chemical. How was anyone supposed to feel safe knowing that happened? “That’s crazy!” I said. Robyn wiped her mouth with her napkin, she had demolished that sandwich somewhere amid our conversation.

  “To be quite frank, I’m not that surprised. Don’t you think it’s odd there hasn’t been any good ole fashion crime on campus yet?”

  “Yes and No. You and I were both sent here and neither of us have had time to get into it with anyone. I’ve been focused on cuts. Maybe whoever did it doesn’t want Wanda to make the first cut?”

  “I doubt it. They tried to rape her not steal her jewelry.” Robyn had a point. The problem was I didn’t want to believe it. If whoever had attacked Wanda had done it just to stop her from making cuts things would be a lot simpler. I wanted Jordan to teach me to run like the devil, worrying about whether or not he was some kind of predator made that a hell of a lot harder to justify.

  I needed to clear Jordan. At least in my head anyway. There were two ways of doing that but one was far more appealing than the other. The obvious and right thing to do was to approach Jordan in a public place, preferably well lit, and ask him what he was doing out. But, the right thing to do isn’t always the easiest. What was I supposed to say ‘Hey, I saw you running the other night, you were going pretty fast, you hadn’t just attempted to rape anyone had you?” That was a little awkward, even for me. No matter how I phrased it in my head there was no way to politely ask him if he had an alibi. So I decided on option two, talk to Sydney. Sydney wasn’t exactly known for having heart to hearts with the girls in her barrack but she did seem to take her job seriously. I doubted that she would blow me off. She may not like what I was asking but it was her responsibility to keep us safe and what I had to say may or may not go along way towards doing so.

  I caught up to Sydney between 4th and 5th period. We all get a ten minute break then. Sydney worked at the student union. A café of sorts on campus. Café was a pretty liberal term considering that all it really sold was drip coffee, water and candy bars. She was cashing someone out but after they left there was no one around to overhear our conversation. “Coffee or water?” She asked

  ‘Neither” I replied “I need to talk” Her whole demeanor changed. She was hardly in customer service mode before but she certainly wasn’t smiling now. Maybe she thought I wanted to ask her about boys or something equally stupid. She was our lead yes, but she was nobody’s big sister. It just wasn’t her style.

  “You only have…5 minutes before 5th period”. She looked down at her watch, as if to point out that she had a legitimate reason to cut the conversation short and was not in fact just making up an excuse.

  “Right, I’ll be quick.” As soon as I started talking I wished I hadn’t. “ Last night when Wanda got jumped, I was taking a run. It was really quiet on campus, quiet like, not another soul out there. Except, I guess Wanda, but I never saw her.” Sydney looked interested now. ‘The thing is I did see someone else and I was wondering if you know, they had a good reason to be out there.”

  “What was this person doing?” She asked, her voice calm.

  “Running” I replied, “They were running, really fast in fact. I was running about a 7 minute mile and they passed me from behind. I saw them and they saw me but they just kept going. Don’t you think that’s weird? Maybe it’s nothing but it seems weird to me considering what happened to Wanda.” Sydney seemed to weigh this in her mind before replying.

  “It could be nothing Kate, but then again..” She said, clearly things now beginning to click for her. “ It could be a legitimate lead.”

  “I was afraid that it might be”

  “We are a closed campus you know, so anyone on the path would have had to have been a student. That includes your running mate and/or whoever jumped Wanda.” The bell rang, warning us both that I had one minute to get to 5th period.

  “I have to go” I said. Sydney nodded, undoubtedly still distracted by what I had just told her.

  “Wait!” She called out. I didn’t want to turn around. I knew what she was going to ask and I didn’t want to answer. “You said you saw them. Who was it?” This is what I had come down here to do yet now that the moment was here I dreaded uttering his name. It felt like a betrayal. But then again what if he was who I was afraid he was? I didn’t have a choice.

  “Jordan.” I left without waiting for a response. She didn’t have to say anything. Her face and body language said enough. She was livid, I could tell. But I didn’t know what that meant. Was she livid because I was accusing her friend or livid because she thought her friend had done it?

  I entered 5th period with roughly five seconds to spare. I hadn’t meant to do any of my training during the day but seeing as how my conversation with Sydney ran longer than expected I had no choice but to sprint to 5th period. We were settling into our seats when the intercom let off a warning signal. Whenever there was an announcement it was preceded by a three tone signal. Usually announcements occurred in the morning and were pre-recorded messages from one of the leads. Today’s was different. It was the dean’s voice. “Attention students, as most of you already know there was an attack on our campus last evening. Huntley and Drake is a closed campus meaning any infraction that occurs on campus is undoubtedly performed by a student. This being the case a new curfew will be mandated for those in Barracks B and C. Beginning this evening the only male residents permitted to exit the barracks after 9pm will be the two male leads. Both of whom will be surveying the campus for those violating curfew. The penalty for curfew violation is expulsion.” The classroom was abuzz with chatter. I couldn’t decipher individual conversation but the jist of the story was that punishing both of the barracks was unfair. It was ridiculous to me how anyone could be stupid enough or selfish enough to think that way. So the boys had to go indoors an hour earlier, big whoop, last night Wanda got her head
smashed into the pavement by one of them the least they could do was go inside a bit earlier. What upset me wasn’t the curfew change. What upset me was the last thing Dean Anderson had said. “The only male residents permitted to exit the barracks after 9pm will be the two male leads.” What if I was right and Jordan was Wanda’s attacker? Then while everyone else was caged inside he was free to “survey” the campus.

  Chapter 8

  That night at the library I had trouble staying focused. Algebra was the least of my concerns, though it really ought to have been a priority. I had gotten a C on my quiz this morning. The quizzes didn’t count toward our actual grades but they were meant to track your progress. Not such an uplifting wake up call. The truth was a C really was progress for me. Back home I nearly always failed the weekly quiz. But it didn’t matter. At Huntley and Drake no one got points for exceeding their own expectations. To them a C was a C, which wasn’t high nearly high enough to make first cuts. I tried paying attention to what Hayden was saying but it was impossible. I couldn’t think algebra thoughts, not tonight. “If we aren’t actually going to work on your math can we quit pretending and just have a real conversation?”

  “Sorry” I replied, I wasn’t meaning to be so obvious. “I’m just distracted today.”

  “Yeah….I get that.” I had a hard time believing that he could genuinely relate. “If I were in your position I would probably be freaked out to.”

  “My position?” I asked. For a brief second I thought he might have heard something through the grapevine. But that was impossible. The only person who knew was Sydney and she wouldn’t have talked to anyone who would pass the info onto a newbie.

  “It’s just that if I were a woman on campus I wouldn’t feel that safe right now.” He had no idea that the real reason I couldn’t think straight was that I had a pretty good idea who we all ought to be afraid of. I wanted his advice, or maybe I just needed someone to talk to that would be more responsive than Sydney, either way I decided to tell him what I saw. Part of it anyway.

  “The thing is Hayden. I was out running last night and I think I saw the guy.” This clearly took him by surprise.

  “You WHAT?!”

  “I mean, I don’t know for sure, but I saw someone and it was about the right time. There weren’t a whole lot of people out so there’s a good chance that….” I stopped mid sentence. Hayden was running his fingers through his hair. He looked as if he wanted to yank it straight out. It wasn’t what I had expected, though to be honest I didn’t know him well enough to know what to expect. “What’s wrong?” I asked.

  “Whats wrong? Are you kidding me Kate? What’s wrong is you were out last night while this lunatic was running around and anything could of happened “It could have been you you know. But what really makes me mad is that there are gonna be girls going to and from all night on this campus. I should be running with you tonight. I should be protecting you but instead I’m gonna be locked up with all the other caged animals!”

  “So you don’t think the curfew change is going to make things safer?” I was careful not to reveal my reason for asking but it was curious to me that he didn’t automatically assume that the perpetrator was a male from our class. Maybe he knew something I didn’t. Maybe I wasn’t the only one who saw Jordan acting suspicious last night. Hayden sighed, loudly and irritably.

  “I don’t buy into this bullshit that no one who isn’t a newbie could have done it. There are plenty of flaws in that logic. For example, what about the upperclassman? Plenty of them have been on campus early and they aren’t bound by the curfew. It’s not that I think every newbie on campus is innocent. There are plenty of shady guys here. It’s just that I’m not about to assume you girls are safe and dandy just because the dean thinks he has things under control.”

  “It’s nice” I said “That you care so much. A lot of the guys complain about the curfew but their just ticked that they have to be indoors early.”

  “A lot of the guys here are idiots” I could tell that he truly meant it. Again I wondered what he was here for. It wasn’t something I was ready to ask him yet. Our eyes locked across the table only unlike in the lunchroom this time I didn’t want to look away. The truth was I was beginning to like myself around Hayden. Conversation wasn’t forced. He was my friend, a real friend not someone I talked to because it was convenient or because I wanted something. I was at ease around him. It was like that with Chelsea too. It was both terrifying and wonderful to be close to someone again. I was thisclose to telling him about Chelsea when he stood up to leave. It was only 8 oclock. He had at least an hour till curfew started.

  “I hate to cut this short but I’ve got to head out. I promised Wanda I would walk her back from the art building tonight. Considering what she went through last night I don’t want to be late”. It was my turn to look shocked. Walk Wanda home? Since when were they spending preplanned time together? I mean sure I had seen them together on campus before but I had always assumed SHE sought him out, not the other way around.

  “No worries, I’ve got some stuff to finish up here anyway.” I tried to sound casual but a part of me was jealous. I didn’t know exactly what all I wanted with Hayden but it turned my stomach to think of him having an intimate conversation with Wanda. It didn’t bug me to see him flirting with other girls. That was a constant. If he wasn’t in the library with me he was arm in arm with someone else. I’m sure he was romantically involved with some of them, maybe all of them. That kind of thing was out of my range of knowledge. I was fifteen with zero dating experience. The flirting didn’t get to me but it bugged me to think that the connection I felt we had was something he shared with other people as well, particularly Wanda. I knew she was the victim and all and that I ought to be more compassionate but when I thought of her bullying Robyn I had a hard time mustering empathy. Hayden’s school bag was packed and he was ready to leave, but he hovered at the table. Clearly he had something to say and I had a feeling I knew what it was.

  “You said you saw someone coming. Could you tell who it was?” I knew he would ask that eventually. I had been dreading that since the moment I opened my mouth about being out last night. I wanted to tell him because if we really were going to be friends, lying was a lousy way to treat your friends. But I couldn’t do that to Jordan. Not yet, if there was one person on campus that had any reason to dislike him it was Hayden. If he had it in his mind that Jordan was guilty there was no telling what he might do to retaliate. To defend Wanda’s honor I guess. The thought made me nauseous. I really needed to make time to enlighten him to her inherent evil but not tonight. I was probably going to regret it later but until I had solid proof I wasn’t throwing Jordan under the bus. Instead I fudged the truth a little.

  “It was dark. I couldn’t really tell.”

  “Right. Run in the light Kate. I’ll sleep a hell of a lot better tonight if I know you’re safe.” Hayden left the library in a rush. I wondered if Wanda would berate him if he was late or if she was one of those girls that transformed into a completely different person when they were interested in a boy. I wasn’t lying when I told Hayden that I had things to do tonight but the library wasn’t where I needed to be to get it done.

  My plan was a mess. Waiting for Jordan would be like laying in wait for the Grim Reaper. It wasn’t a good idea. Yet, staying inside meant skipping training, something I couldn’t afford to do. Running wasn’t optional I had decided. I had to do it but I also didn’t have to be stupid about it. I would stay in the center of campus where it was well lit. If Jordan tried to pull anything he would have to do it in plain sight and that was highly unlikely. Besides Sydney would be on watch as well and whether or not she believed what I told her earlier, she couldn’t ignore it. She was going to have to keep her eye on me and Jordan tonight.

  I began my run at 8:30. If I ran for an hour that still gave me enough time to shower and get my homework done before Sydney shut the lights out for the night. Flashlight homework was not my strong suit. Training w
ise I needed to work on my sprint. It was what I wanted to show the judges. I was nervous about running into Jordan so for once I actually warmed up, taking a long and slow first lap. That way I could pinpoint everyone’s location. Once I found Sydney I would make sure to stay within shouting range. If I saw Jordan first I would make sure I didn’t pass him again. I could care less where Luke was. Running slow changed things. Usually when I ran all I saw were bursts of color along my peripheral and the patch of ground directly in front of my feet. Tonight I took note of everything. August in Oregon was beautiful. The whole campus was lined with trees. Huntley and Drake even had an official Tree Atlas for identifying the over 70 different tree families surrounding the school. But the path trees were the most beautiful. Their green and yellow leaves illuminated by the street lights gave the campus a warm glow. The fog was out already. As I ran between the trees on the lit corroder of campus it felt as if I was running inside an enormous painting. The way the trees stretched above the path to meet one another made the path more of a tunnel than an open space. The pavement, still wet from the last rain was plastered with so many multi-colored leaves that the black only showed through in patches. The leaves looked as if they were glued to the surface, as if they belonged to the path and not the trees. I remembered something I read once in a news article. About a street in the city that had just been re-tarred. It was fall and although the workers kept the leaves out of the tar the best they could one five by five foot patch was missed. All night leaves fell and stuck to that tar. In the morning the leaves had cemented themselves to the road. It was because of this that people came from miles and miles. They wanted to see the place where man and nature unintentionally created art. One girl interviewed for the article said that she loved the place because it reminded her even in the freezing snow or humid summer that somewhere in New York it was always fall. I liked that article then. It had always stuck with me, that image of the leaves permanently attached to the street. I wondered if California had ever been this beautiful in the late summer. When I was home, I never seemed to look past the woods, the clearing or that blue house. It occurred to me that maybe I had missed a lot.