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“Look, Nicolette, I need your help. I had that phone when I came in here last night, but I lost it between here and my dorm.” She paused and I could see it was taking everything in her to be nice to me. “It’s just that, if my dad finds out I’ve lost yet another phone, he’ll go ballistic. I really need to find it and could use your help.”
She stopped to take a deep breath before she gave me the biggest pair of puppy dog eyes I’ve ever seen. They didn’t sway me a bit. I didn’t care if her father was rich or not, I wasn’t about to reveal that I had her phone to her. She could deal with all the fallout she had coming to her.
The stupid girl really should have been a little more careful if it was that important.
“I’ll ask Mrs. Lawson if anyone has turned a phone in, Amanda. Just a moment.” I went back to Mrs. Lawson’s office, asked about the phone, even though I knew she hadn’t seen one, and went back to Amanda with the bad news.
I didn’t even pretend to be sad when I broke the news to her. In fact, I grinned at her. “No, I’m afraid she hasn’t seen a lost phone either. Maybe you lost it between here and your dorm? It might have dropped on the ground and you wouldn’t have heard it.”
“Oh, that’s helpful, Nicolette. So helpful,” she responded bitterly and twisted away with a flounce as her blond hair flew out behind her. She was the picture of righteous rage, her face an unflattering red.
My smile didn’t dim at all after she was gone, either. I picked up my phone and sent the boys a new text. “Michael, have you managed to take care of your problem?”
A few moments later my phone pinged.
“I did, but I seem to have developed a new case of the problem.” This time, I had a picture with the text. Michael was in bed, his hand around the problem in question and a grin on his face.
I snorted with delight and looked around the building. There were more students than ever, but it would empty out soon. Mrs. Lawson would kick out anyone that hadn’t left at five minutes to closing time.
I tapped my foot as the minutes ticked by slowly. Brooklyn sent me a text, an apology to say she wouldn’t be home that evening.
It wasn’t a problem for me. I wanted to know what was going on with her, but it was also a relief because that meant I could be on my own. Another night of naughty texts and giggles that I couldn’t smother. If she was there, I’d die of embarrassment, so the fact that she’d be out made life a lot easier.
“Did that girl find her phone?” Mrs. Lawson startled me when she came up behind me to ask.
“No, I don’t think she did.” I tidied up the desk, which was already tidy, and tried not to look guilty.
“And you know nothing about that, do you, Miss Howell?” Mrs. Lawson looked at me with a look that I thought bordered rather close to smug.
“No, I don’t, Mrs. Lawson.” I looked up at her and looked down at the desk. “I don’t know anything about that phone, at all. She’s not very careful with her property, so it’s not a big surprise that’s she lost her phone.”
“I would agree, Miss Howell. She’s not very careful at all, with anything that belongs to her.” Mrs. Lawson tilted her head at me and went back to her office with a pleased smile.
I got the impression she didn’t like Amanda any more than I did. After all, the girl had been using the library as her own private brothel over the last four years and though Mrs. Lawson was often in her office, she didn’t miss a whole lot. I even doubted she’d missed my picking that phone up.
A sly wink just before she disappeared told me she knew I had that phone but wouldn’t tell a soul. I stood there, shocked, but happy to have a co-conspirator. I knew we’d never talk about it together, but she knew I had something planned.
Mrs. Lawson had always been kind to me, especially when word got around about that blog. She never said a word about that blog, but she’d been even more gentle than usual with me. I’d appreciated that.
I didn’t want her to get in trouble over that phone, and if we both agreed that we hadn’t seen that phone, then she wouldn’t. I finished up my tasks and walked home in the dimming light. The evening was warmer than it had been in a very long time and I took my hoodie back off as I walked to the dorm.
