I stand to leave. Principal Bowles follows me to the door. “Just so we’re clear. No further contact with Zoey Peterson,” he says. “She’s no longer your student.”
The dismissal bell rings when I enter the hallway, and suddenly I’m lost in the flood of students eager to leave. I walk past them, hoping I can make it to my classroom without being spotted by anyone I know. No such luck. When I pass Marge’s classroom, she’s standing at her door. I still can’t believe she would rat me out to Bowles. I want to say something to her, but I don’t. My watery stare says it all, and her brief look of defiance is swathed with sympathy. She is my friend, but she’s always a teacher first. She thinks I’m being unfair to Zoey, and she believes her role is to defend her. Now I seem unhinged. I hope, for her sake, that’s all I am.
Thirty-Three
Spring 2006
Brian returned to SCU in January, but he wasn’t his usual distant self. He called Mom more often and even started texting me. He’d tell me about the quirky events his fraternity sponsored or random happenings on campus. He started visiting every couple of weeks, which made Mom happy.
After school, I rushed home to change for my shift at the theater. I’d just hopped into a pair of black pants when my phone rang. A goofy grin covered my face when I saw the name on the screen. Danny.
“Hey, stranger,” he said when I answered.
We were far from strangers at this point. We’d met over Thanksgiving and Christmas break. We continued text messaging, and now talked on the phone. It felt very grown-up to have a college boy calling me, even if it was because I was the kid sister of his best friend.
“Can you guess what I’m doing?” I asked.
“After three o’clock on a Wednesday? Let’s see.” He made a ticking sound over the phone with his tongue. “I’m guessing you’re running late for work.”
“Ding, ding, ding.” I placed the call on speaker and put the phone on my bed. I stretched a T-shirt over my head and shook my hair. “I don’t get paid enough to rush around like this.”
“Get ready. You only think you’re broke until you get to college.” Danny worked most weekends as a desk clerk at the hospital. It gave him extra money and provided something he could put on a resumé. His every action was in preparation for medical school.
“When are you coming back to town?” I asked.
“Eh, not for a few weeks. My weekends are filling up fast thanks to the hospital.”
“I think I’m actually heading your way next week.” I bit my lip and held my breath. For whatever reason, I’d been hesitant to tell him about my plans to visit Brian over spring break. It was one thing to call me on the phone or walk with me around the old neighborhood; I wasn’t sure how Danny would react to having me on his campus.
“That’s great,” he said. “You’re going to love it here.”
I sighed in relief. So I wasn’t just some kid he liked to visit when he was bored back home. I don’t even think Brian knew we talked as much as we did. I wasn’t happy when I discovered Brian was dating Amber. Dating. Danny and I were just friends. In recent weeks, it felt like he was my best friend. I was happy he didn’t seem ashamed about my upcoming visit.
“I can’t wait,” I said, picking up the phone and placing it back to my ear. “I won’t be able to stay long. Mom and I are coming up next Friday. We’ve booked a nearby hotel, but I hope we’ll spend most of our time on campus.”
“Sweet. I’ll check my shifts for that weekend. Maybe we could meet for lunch,” he said. “I’d offer to show you around, but you have Brian for that.”
“I wish Mom would just let me stay in the dorms. I’ve been asking her.” I rolled my eyes even though he couldn’t see. I opened by handbag to make sure I had the essentials: phone, wallet, tampons. Check.
“Eh, campus isn’t as lively these days. Especially now that curfew has been set.”
“Curfew?” I asked. College was supposed to be about freedom. I’d be damned if I left the underside of Mom’s thumb only to hear words like curfew again.
“Yeah, you know. Because of the missing girls.”
I slid behind the steering wheel of the station wagon and slammed the door, but I didn’t start the engine. “Missing girls?”
“Didn’t I tell you about them?”
“No,” I said, curiosity creeping in.
“We’ve had some girls go missing. Five in total. They’re just now taking it seriously. They’ve announced no one can walk around campus after midnight.” He grunted and sighed. “Lame, really.”
“That’s crazy,” I said, putting my bag on the seat next to me. I didn’t realize I’d been holding it since I entered the car. “And all the girls are from SCU?”
“Yeah,” he said. “I guess.”
“When did they go missing?”
“I think the first one was in, like, the fall? More since then. No one saw a pattern until a month or so ago. Now it’s all anyone on campus talks about,” he said. “I’m surprised I didn’t tell you.”
“That’s wild,” I said. The drama intoxicated me. College was the real world where both good and bad things could happen. The gamble seemed exhilarating. “What do people think is going on?”
“Not sure, really. I don’t follow it. I didn’t know any of the girls. You know, if you want details you should ask Brian.”
“Brian,” I said, sticking the key into the ignition and turning to peer through the back window. “He hasn’t said anything about missing girls either.”
“Maybe he doesn’t want to scare you. He’s been really involved in spreading the word on campus,” he said. “He probably has all the details.”
“Really?” I
