“Mom, I know I’m punished, but I need to stay after school today.”
“Why?” Rachel’s mom asked as she turned around to look at Rachel.
Rachel knew her mom would ask why, so she had something up her sleeve. She felt a little bad about what she was about to say, but knew it was the only way to get out of her unjust punishment.
“Because, there’s extra help in math and I could use it.” Rachel said.
“Math?” Rachel’s mom paused. “But you’re great in math, why would you need extra help?”
“Actually they’ve begun algebra and it’s pretty hard, Mom.”
Rachel’s mom paused and looked at her. Rachel couldn’t tell what her mom was thinking or what she would say to this request.
“Well, OK, you can stay.”
“OK, I’ll be home later then, thanks, Ma.”
Rachel got out of the car and shut the door.
She was psyched. She couldn’t believe her mom had bought her math extra help lie.
As Rachel got to the front of the school, she couldn’t believe her eyes. There was a long line of kids entering the building, and it seemed to be taking forever to get inside. As Rachel approached the front doors, she saw security guards, policemen and German Shepherd dogs lining the entrance. Students had to walk through a metal detector on their way inside. Rachel couldn’t help but feel like she was at JFK Airport about to board an international flight.
“Take out all metal items, watches, wallets, coin purses, jewelry, keys. Let’s go people. Keep the line moving,” A rather large security guard was screaming. Rachel’s heart began to thump as she approached the metal detector. She couldn’t understand what all this was about. She hoped it was not because of her or because of Benji.
Rachel took out her cell phone, keys and wallet, put them in a little dish, and placed them on the conveyor belt. She was nervous. She instantly felt like she had something to hide, but luckily they weren’t scanning the secret she held in her brain. As she made her way through the metal detector, she made eye contact with the police chief that had questioned her yesterday. He motioned for her to come over.
“Rachel, do you have a minute?” the police chief asked.
“Well, I do have to get to class,” Rachel said, looking down at her watch.
“This will only take a minute,” the police chief said, as he pulled out his notebook and motioned for Rachel to step inside the main office.
“I know we were going to meet today, but we think we are on to him, and have a clue. We have checked everyone’s cell phone records, and we have noted that you have not been in contact with Benji since the fight. You are off the hook for now.”
Rachel looked at him in astonishment. She hoped Benji would be all right.
“What do you mean, a clue?” Rachel asked.
“That’s not for you to worry about. We will get to the bottom of this. If you don’t have anything else to say, you are free to go about your day, Rachel,” the police chief said.
““
“Do you know where he is?” Rachel asked.
“We might, but again, that’s not for you to worry about. Have a nice day,” the police chief said as he walked by Rachel and back out to the security station.
Rachel stood in the main office for a minute, dazed by the discussion she had just had. She began to worry about Benji and she felt like she should warn him. Rachel took out her phone and scrolled down to his name and then she stopped. She flipped the phone closed, and left the main office. She knew texting or calling him would make the situation worse for both of them. She couldn’t believe the police had tracked down her and Benji’s cell phone records. She wondered if she borrowed someone else’s phone and called him, if that would work. She decided not to because it wouldn’t be fair to the person she borrowed the phone from. In a way she felt like that would be framing them. She wanted this whole thing to disappear -- not become the biggest case AHS has ever seen.
As she walked down the halls, she noticed everyone was quieter than usual. She could smell the fear in the air. As she walked past a group of seniors, they all stared at her. One said, “That’s her, that’s the girl.”
Rachel was mortified. Why did she have to be the talk of the school? She was only a week old and now she was notorious at AHS. She wondered if she would ever live this down.
She moved quickly through the quiet hallways, which were full of whispering kids, and into Mr. Allen’s classroom. Inside she saw Emily, which actually gave her a sense of calm. She was thankful to have Emily and the girls as friends, especially now. She needed friends now, more than ever, to have her back.
“Hey, Rach!” Emily said. “It’s crazy out there today. What’s this all about?”
Rachel looked at her, and shrugged her shoulders, “Dunno, it’s strange.”
“Yeah, last time this happened, my older brother was a Freshman and someone came into the school with a knife and started threatening his teacher who gave him a bad grade.”
“What? That’s insane!” Rachel said.
“Yeah, that’s what he said, too. It only lasted a few days though, and the kid was expelled.”
Rachel wondered if the only way for this to stop would be if she got expelled. She hoped not— and then realized she didn’t do anything wrong. She kept having to tell herself that it wasn’t her fault, that she hadn’t committed a crime. All this interrogation and security kept making her feel like a criminal, and a liar.
“So, anyway, you’re coming later right?” Emily said with a smile.
“Oh yeah, can’t wait!” Rachel replied. “How far is the mall anyway?”
“Not too far, about a ten minute drive.”
“Who’s driving?” Rachel asked nervously. Hoping she would have a better experience than the one she had on her way into NYC last week.
“Taryn!” answered Emily.
Rachel swallowed and then gave Emily a smile.
“Now Class,” began Mr. Allen. “Today is quite a strange and different day for AHS. There have been a lot of issues going on lately, and the police and Dr. McNery are trying to get to the bottom of them. It has been a great nuisance and interruption to our class.” He pointed around the classroom to all the empty seats. “Half of the class is still not here, and many of you have been pulled for questioning. I will not continue my lesson on Dr. King until Monday. Please take out your textbooks, and begin reading chapter 11. We will resume class as usual on Monday, and don’t forget to study for the quiz next Wednesday.” Mr. Allen stopped speaking and sat down at his desk. The kids that were in class shuffled through their bags and pulled out their heavy U.S. History textbooks, and the sound of books hitting the desk echoed throughout the room.