That brought my suspicions about Connor and Nathan back into my mind, along with Cherri’s guess that we were deep in the spider’s web. “So I’m learning.”
The silence that followed was awkward as my mom finished her breakfast and then eventually we realized simultaneously that I was late leaving the house. Even if Connor had somehow managed to cover everything up, not showing up to school would create real bad optics, so I quickly grabbed my backpack, kissed my mom on the cheek, and bolted out the door.
Despite the fact that the news of Miss Abrams hadn’t gotten out of Postings Proper, the state of things on the school grounds was entirely different. Word had clearly spread, and there wasn’t a person who didn’t have their eyes on me as I walked from my car to the school. No one seemed to be whispering about it, at least, just keeping an eye on me, some with fear, others with piqued curiosity.
“Jesus,” Sicily hissed at me when I finally walked through the front doors. “Where the hell have you been?” he asked.
“I got to talking with my mom about…everything. I didn’t tell her about Miss Abrams, but she obviously has a different insight on some of the key players. I lost track of time,” I explained. “Did you figure some stuff out?”
“Yeah, man. We shouldn’t discuss it here, though.” He fanned his hands around. “Class has been canceled for grief counseling and shit, so let’s go find a corner, and we can—”
“Mr. Keane.” My heart sank as I turned around and saw that Principal Hix was approaching me.
“Hello,” I said.
“Hello,” he replied. “Can you come with me for a moment please?” He looked at Sicily. “Your friend can come too. It won’t take long.”
I side-glanced Sicily, and though I wanted him to stay behind just in case someone had seen him bugging the classroom, he was smiling and already stepping forward. I nodded at Principal Hix, and we followed him down the admin hallway, into the front office, and finally back into his office. He didn’t shut the door, which made me feel a little better, and leaned against his desk with his arms crossed.
“I wanted to let you know that you’re off the hook,” Principal Hix said, and my jaw dropped. “I know,” Principal Hix continued. “I’m sure you assumed that, given your background, we would have jumped to the wrong conclusion, but as fate would have it, several students came into my office first thing this morning and confirmed your story. They heard you asking about being tutored and additionally heard Jessica…deteriorate. Some of our staff have confirmed that she seemed out of sorts as of late, so it seems perhaps you unintentionally triggered something in her.”
“Wow,” I said. “I’m sorry.”
“How could you have known?” Principal Hix asked and then reached out and put a hand on my arm. “I’ve heard you really did try to stop her as well.”
“I did,” I said.
“I know,” Principal Hix replied. “I’m glad you’re committed to doing the right thing from here on out. Know that I’m looking out for you. I want you to succeed here. If you need anything, you can come to me.”
Whether his words were sincere or borne of a large sum of money slid under his door, I wasn’t sure, but they were comforting, nonetheless. “Thanks.”
“Of course.” He pulled his hand away. “I’m sure you’ve heard already, but there will be different seminars taking place throughout the day. Consider attending some of them. If not for assistance in dealing with this trauma, then perhaps another. The only requirement is that students remain on campus today.”
“Okay. Thank you.”
He smiled. “Thank you. You may go.”
Both Sicily and I hesitated for a few seconds before turning and heading out of the office. Sicily took a few strides in front of me, nodded in the direction of the stairs, led me down the hallway, up to the second floor, and into one of the abandoned classrooms. He shut the door, and we walked toward the back of the classroom and sat down.
“Shit,” Sicily said. “I was prepared if things went south, but you’re one lucky fucker.”
“Prepared? What do you mean?” I asked.
He waved a hand. “Don’t worry about it. Wanna hear what I figured out?”
“Yeah.”
Sicily pulled out his phone and held it up to me. It was a screengrab of a Snapchat, just a blank, black background, but a few flying money emojis and a message that said, “Let’s not tarnish our school name. Big bucks to keep it quiet, double for anyone who knows anything. DM me for Venmo.”
“I’m not gonna fucking lie to you, Sic. I have no fucking clue what half that shit means. Why does the money have wings?”
Sicily laughed. “All right, old man, let me school you. Well, first of all, the money has wings because money flies, you know? We never hang onto it for too long.”
“Okay,” I replied.
“Second, this Snap went out to our entire school from Nathan’s Snapchat yesterday. I was left out, I assume, because people know we’re close, but Annika got it. Anyone who DMed, uh, direct messaged Nathan on Snapchat was told to agree to keep their mouths shut. Once they responded saying they would, they were Venmoed… Sorry, Venmo is an app that lets you send money to people. Once they responded, Nathan sent them five hundred dollars! Every single student. Made them even promise not to talk about it with their parents. I talked to a few of the students I saw around the classroom yesterday, and they told me that when they told Nathan they saw it, they were directed to Connor and got an additional grand for their stories. I ain’t no Sherlock Holmes, but I assume some of those kids were the
