Font Size:  

I didn’t have much of a choice but to get up and leave without them, assuming they knew better than I did. Sure enough, no sooner had I closed the door behind me, then Dr. Green came around the corner. “Oh hello there,” he said with a light smile. “Fancy meeting you here.”

I nearly floated on my toes toward him and had to stop myself from appearing too eager or getting too close. I hadn’t seen him in a while.

“Hi,” I said. I wanted to say so much more, but I feared I’d give too much away at school. He wore light tan khaki pants and a green sweater on top of a white shirt and yellow tie. The green matched the warmth in his eyes and his hair seemed longer than usual, slightly curly, especially around the ears. I admired his happy, nonchalant smile.

“I’m heading to the front office,” he said, already positioning himself to walk beside me. “Do you happen to be heading that way?”

“Yup,” I said, unable to help the small smile. I joined him, the soles of my Keds squeaking as I walked. “Are you in trouble?”

“Probably,” he said with a grin. “Actually, I’ve been called in by...I think it’s HR. I don’t know what about.”

“Human resources?” I asked. “Is it a bad thing?”

“It could be anything,” he said. “Ms. Johnson, your English teacher, Kota said she was upset, and it looks like they talked to her, too. Maybe a pay cut. Or they might be going over schedules for next year. Like they want me to cover another class, or they’re going to offer me a full time job, or ask me to do a number of other things.” He shrugged, the sweater shifting on his lean shoulders. “Too bad I’ve got this other thing going on. I’m a little too busy to teach more classes. Did I mention I’m a doctor?”

I giggled. “No kidding?” I said. “I heard a rumor, but I wasn’t sure if that was true.”

“Girls are always impressed. They really like the thought of marrying a doctor. I thought you might like to know.”

I rolled my eyes but kept my grin. “Funny how I’ve yet to see you doctor anyone. I seem to recall a time when a doctor was needed, and I was the one doing the doctoring.” He’d done more, of course, I just wanted to pick on him a little. Teasing him was relieving a lot of the tension I was feeling about having to see Mr. Hendricks again.

Him walking me to the office also reaffirmed they would always be just outside listening, and would pop in if I needed them.

He scoffed, grinning the entire time. “That was one time, pookie, and I’ll have you know, I’ve done plenty of doctoring since that time. Usually on you.”

I tried to hide my smile. He drifted toward me as he walked and his arm brushed mine. I wished I could reach for his hand, but I restrained myself.

We turned the corner into the main hallway. Dr. Green put his hands in his pockets. I walked with my arms folded across my stomach. The closer we got to the front office, the more my nerves started to rattle. I told myself it wasn’t anything to be nervous about. I knew what to say, and for any surprising questions, I could get away with saying I didn’t know, or—as Kota said—telling him I could find out.

I had answers for where I was all week: I was out sick and even had a doctor’s note. If he asked about the look-alike that they’d been following, I was to simply look surprised and say, “What do you mean? I was home all week.”

Dr. Green and I fell into silence. I rehearsed the lines and took deep breaths, preparing myself so I could handle any yelling and threats. I shared quick looks with Dr. Green, but I didn’t feel much like giggling with him now. Time to be serious.

He opened the door for me and held it as I walked in. He waved to me quickly as he headed down the right hallway. The principal’s office was down the left, so I wouldn’t get a chance to swing by. Would he be going to his office before he went on to his meeting? Or was who he needed to talk to behind one of the other doors down that same hallway?

I sighed and went to the counter, holding onto my things this time, as I wasn’t sure if I should leave my book bag or take it with me. It depended on how paranoid Mr. Hendricks was, and if he didn’t want my bag, I hoped Dr. Green would come back for it. “Hi,” I said, checking in with the woman behind the front desk who was familiar. I’d been in here too often.

She looked up at me. “Sang Sorenson?” she asked, although she said Sang more like Song, like she wasn’t sure how to pronounce it.

I nodded.

“Third door on the right,” she said, picking up a pile of papers and straightening them with a smack on her desk.

Out of habit, I turned left but she stopped me.

“Ah, ah,” she said. “To your right, third door on the right.”

I wanted to check in with her again. Had I been mixed up with another student? I was sure this was wrong. I gulped, and turned right, tempted to go past the third door on the right, and on to the unmarked door down the hallway. Instead, I tightened my arms around my stomach and paused right outside the third door. Was Mr. Hendricks throwing me off by meeting me in another room? That could be it. Maybe it was a just a meeting room of some sort. I had no reason to be anxious, I told myself.

I hoped Mr. Blackbourne was paying attention. I checked down the hallway, and the unmarked door was closed. Dr. Green had probably gone into that office. I wished he had stayed a bit longer. I could use some reassurance.

I touched the phone in my bra with my fingertips, feeling the rough scratches on the cover from when I’d dropped it. I considered a quick message, but was sure they were listening and watching by now. Whatever was going to happen, I couldn’t use my phone.

I sucked down some air and held my breath, wishing for courage.

UPHEAVAL

There was a sign on the door: School Counselor. The sign was faded and it made me wonder if it really was the school counselor or if it was now used for another purpose. Like many areas of this school, signs didn’t mean much: an old janitorial closet could be a new teachers’ break room.

The door opened. A pudgy woman who was about my height, with fluffy curls around her head peered out at me through the thick lenses of her purple-framed glasses. “Sang Sorenson?” she asked, her lips tight and cracked around the corners. Her voice was steady, clear.

I nodded. My heart thumped hard in my chest. This was wrong; I was supposed to be meeting Mr. Hendricks. He was going to ask me where I’d been. He was going to ask me about the Academy.

I wasn’t prepared for whatever this was. I wanted to feign sick. I wanted to request to see Mr. Blackbourne.

The door opened further, revealing the rest of her. She wore dark slacks and a dark burgundy sweater, the collar making it appear that she had no neck at all, just shoulders and her head sitting on top. She was shaped like an apple, round in the chest and torso.

She motioned for me to enter the small, windowless office. The room was furnished with file cabinets in each corner, a desk in the middle and three ugly orange chairs sitting facing the desk. “Have a seat,” she said.

I went in, placing my book bag on one of the extra chairs before I sat on the middle one, folding my hands into my lap, lips pressed tightly together. Would Mr. Hendricks come in soon? I hoped Mr. Blackbourne was paying attention, as I had no idea what to expect. I planned to mostly not talk at all unless forced.

The woman sat back in her chair, an old wood and black leather one with some duct tape patched in the corner. Her age was hard to tell; she seemed old with cracked lips and squinty eyes behind her glasses and her outdated hairstyle, but her eyes burned with a sharpness of someone younger. She lifted a folder on her desk to read whatever was inside. “You’re new to this school?” she asked before scowling at me over the folder.

“I started the beginning of the school term,” I said, my voice monotone. I didn’t want her to think I was nervous, although I wasn’t sure how well I was hiding it.

A small brass nameplate sat on her desk: Ms. Wright, School Counselor.

I wondered why I was here. Was she with Mr. Hendricks? How come I hadn’t noti

ced her before?

Source: www.allfreenovel.com
Articles you may like