AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I swallow hard and force the drilling thoughts from my mind.
I am not worrying long because the headmaster’s door opens and the large man waves me in. His head shines against the fluorescent lights like balding is a requirement for school principals. His nose is long and crooked, pointing down over paper thin lips. Without a word he sits down on the edge of his desk. Close enough like we are friends, but far enough to still show he is in charge.
I don’t like it. I don’t like when men linger too close.
And Headmaster Robins is too close to the seat that’s directly in front of him.
I shift where I stand just in front of the door.
He looks friendly enough but I’ve had my share of judgmental counselors and other authority type figures who have shown me there is more cruelty to be found in the world. With his large hand he points down to the seat in front of his shining oak desk.
The one just near his big thigh.
The office around me is decorated in lovely shades of brown and mauvy reds. Knick knacks and framed certificates of achievement clutter the shelves. My seat deflates when I sink into it, leaning to one side to create the illusion of space for my mind that’s slamming full speed with too many disgusting scenarios.
I can’t help but glance back at the frosted glass door. I can’t see out, no one can see in.
That nasty feeling in my stomach rears up all over again.
“Ms. Demure?” Headmaster Robins begins.
“That’s my name.” I’m trying to joke with him but it comes out like I’ve got a smart mouth. Which I do, I’m just not trying to put it into practice at this exact moment in time.
It’s all from a build up of nerves and it’s coming out anxiously now.
Lowering his heavy chin, he looks down at me, no sign of laughter or amusement in his expression. “Someone reported you, Ms. Demure.”
“They did what?”
Suddenly I don’t feel threatened by the big man.
I feel threatened by every fucking person at this academy.
“Reported you.” He stands up, walking around his desk. In one swift movement he opens up the top drawer, pulls something out and looks at it before showing me.
A needle. An empty needle.
“They reported you and when your locker was searched, this is what we found.”
What the fuck.
“You’re joking.” I want him to be joking. I want this to be some sort of ridiculous practical joke where the camera crew emerges from the woodworks and swarms me in laughter. “That’s not mine. That’s a mistake–”
“We’ve heard your mother had,” he pauses trying to choose his words carefully, “a hard time in the past with this sort of,” another pause, “situation.”
Anger and hurt, the purest form of offense, splices through me. “My mother is in prison if that’s what you’re hinting at, and I am not my mother. I am not an idiot.”
I don’t want to appear as if he has cut me in a wound that never truly heals but I find myself sitting on the edge of the seat now, my fingers digging into the leather arms of the chair. The paled stretched skin over my knuckles might suggest otherwise.
“Well it’s unused and we would like to keep it that way. We’ve spoken with your current guardian, Mr. Reyes and he does vouch for you. He says you’re a sweet girl but he agrees that perhaps with some counseling we could get ahead of this thing.”
“Get ahead of this thing,” I scoff under my breath as dark rage burns through my chest.
Get. Ahead. Of. This. Thing.
I’ve never been so completely pissed off over the most vague fucking sentence in my entire life.
“Ms. Demure, I know you have not lived an easy life but I want this school to be a safe place for all students that go here. That includes you. This could be a good stepping stone to your future.” He smiles.
