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I dropped the note to the floor and slid it under my foot to pass it on to Kota, intending to lift my foot to reveal the message.
Kota’s foot slid over mine, the rubber sole of his shoe covering the material in the Keds I wore. The touch shocked me. I wondered if he’d heard me shuffling and writing quickly.
He didn’t let go at first, simply holding on to my foot with his, the pressure of his foot encouraging.
I almost felt he knew what I was going to say. He was telling me not to panic.
I appreciated it, but then checked over my shoulder to make sure the monitor wasn’t paying attention.
Kota bent over in his cubicle, and lifted my foot to remove the note. He tapped my ankle and I slid it back into my own area.
I heard Kota open the message. I put my head on my desk, staring at nothing, and simply listened to the boys shuffling notes back and forth and pencils scratching on paper. My heart was in my throat. I almost wanted Kota to tell me I was wrong, that it was all going to be okay. More than anything, if they had to leave, I wanted to leave with them. I wanted to dismiss Mr. Blackbourne’s warning that we should go. My school year was ruined already, so what did it matter?
Kota’s pencil began scratching and I began to tremble with anxiety. I wrapped my arms around my stomach, trying to hold myself together while I waited. The suspense was agony. At least in classes I could carefully text them, or could see them and get a reassuring glance. There was so much going on, and I was electrified with energy, but yet I had to sit still and try to stay calm.
Kota finished and slid his note over. I picked it up, unfolding it and swallowing, trying to gain some courage to read.
You’re right. We won’t leave unless it’s a dire emergency. I’m sorry. I’m as frustrated as everyone else and wasn’t thinking. We’d still be able to fix things, but let’s not cause more problems for us. Unless there’s an emergency, we can sit here today and maybe through until the holiday weekend. It will give us time to come up with a plan. Maybe we can fix your schedule, or give you a different one that will still work.
We’re not finished here at the school, but we may have to change a few things. I don’t know what this all means yet, and we’re just waiting to see how far all this pointing fingers at everyone goes. It’s a matter of not drawing attention of the police at the wrong things, like us, or at Mr. Hendricks before we find the missing money and replace it.
Try not to worry. No matter what happens, I’ll fix it.
I swallowed the emotion swelling through me again. I held the note and breathed out a sigh. Part of me had hoped he was going to tell all of us to leave right now, but suspension would have to do. A plan was what we really needed.
Waiting was going to be painful.
I only hoped this was the right path.
For the rest of the day, the boys napped or read or played phone games as we all waited for news. By lunch, they were all antsy and I was second-guessing my decision to stay put. I was sure Kota or one of the boys would be notified if we really did need to leave.
For a while, I sat up, ready. If they said again we should leave, I wouldn’t hesitate. I just hoped the police wouldn’t come after me, or my father would return.
I was very aware of the possible consequences: My father could pull me out of school. The school could put my parents into serious trouble.
The truth about my existence might be found out, about my mother and what my father had possibly done.
Or the authorities could find out that I was living with boys, that my sister was living alone in a house. Would we be put into foster homes?
The more I thought about things, the more anxious I got and when nothing happened, the seconds on the clock seemed to tick away too slowly.
Finally, at lunch the monitor asked one of the regular students who was in suspension to take orders and figure out what everyone wanted. We were given the option of the regular school lunch, which the student would get for us with our money, or we could eat what we had brought from home. We were permitted to shuffle and talk a little so we could sort ourselves out.
The boys opted for whatever we had in our bags, and we were permitted to quietly share. Among us we had Kota’s sandwiches and Silas’s chips and Luke had a couple of extra candy bars. Victor asked for permission to get bottled water, and came back with several for us.
I slowly ate a half of a sandwich and a candy bar, sipping some of my water and saving the rest.
After that, suspension turned into nap time. Heads were on desks and everyone was quiet. I think even the monitor was nodding off.
Hours passed, and everything was quiet. After something of a nap, the monitor started working on knitting, her needles clicking in the otherwise silent hallway.
There was no word from Dr. Green or Mr. Blackbourne. Chairs creaked. Shoes shuffled across the tile. I pulled my jacket around my body tighter. The air was cold.
When it was finally time to pack up to get ready to go, there still hadn’t been any word.
“Are we ready to go home?” The monitor asked five minutes before the bell rang.
“C’mon,” one of the kids down the row said. I couldn’t see his face. “Let us go early?”
The monitor smiled at him. “Hold your horses,” she said. “Give it two minutes more. If I let you all go too early, the front office will notice.”
I leaned back, checking out the other guys. All of them were dressed, book bags on, ready to go. North was even standing, stretching and waiting.
I shoved the book in my bag and readied myself.
After a couple more minutes, the monitor leaned forward, checked the time and then waved her hand at us. “Head on out,” she said.
It was such a relief to be freed. I couldn’t imagine anyone wanting in school suspension. It was a long day of not doing anything—going to class would be better.
We would have to do this tomorrow?
Before the rest of the guys even stood up fully, kids around us bolted. Some down the hallway, two through the emergency door.
We stared at that emergency door, and then looked back at the monitor.
She smiled and waved her hand dismissively at it. “That alarm’s been down for years. Even some of the administrators cut through here during the day to get to the parking lot without having to walk all the way around.”
“We can go through?” Kota asked.
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“Sure,” she said. She stood up and started packing up a tote bag with her book and her knitting.
She never even asked us for our SAT sheets. Silas was at the door first, and pushed it open. He held it open, allowing us all outside.
The fresh air was warm compared to the chill of the hallway. I hurried along with the other guys, free and longing to get away from the school.
“I don’t think I’ve ever been so bored…” Gabriel said as everyone gathered on the sidewalk just outside the door. We were on the parking lot side, closer to the teacher spots.
“What’s the update?” North said, getting closer. “What’s up with Dr. Green?”
Kota was checking his phone. “No word yet. I don’t think they are arresting him or he would have been gone by now.”
“Arresting him?” I said, my voice almost a higher pitch.
“I mean, if they haven’t done it, it couldn’t be that bad,” Kota said.
“Where is he?” North asked. “Should we go in after him?”
I leaned a little toward Victor, who was standing beside me. He reached for my hand, fingers sliding between mine and then he gripped it firmly, bringing it to his face. “Sang, you’re freezing,” he said. He blew a warm breath over my skin.
“It was cold in there,” I said quietly. My cheeks felt heated now thanks to the others talking about Dr. Green. Would they know it was me? What exactly had happened?
“I still don’t understand what’s going on,” Silas said. “Are we done at this school?”
Kota looked up and addressed us, his face serious. “We need to wait for details, but right now, Mr. Blackbourne and Dr. Green had to go downtown to the school administrator’s office and have a chat with their contact.”
