The Education of Hailey Kendrick - Eileen Cook [25]
“You’re not going to get kicked out, because I’m not going to say anything.”
“I can’t let you take the heat for this on your own.”
“It’ll blow over. He can’t keep the entire school on lockdown forever. Someone will whine to their parents, who will threaten to pull their donation for a new wing on the science building, and that will be the end of it. We’ve just got to wait it out.” I stopped at the stoop to my dorm and fumbled for my key card.
“Are you sure?”
I wanted to yell in his face that of course I wasn’t sure. I’d never been in trouble like this before. How was I supposed to make him feel better when I felt like shit? I spun around to say something, but stopped short. Joel was still pale, and his hands were jammed deep into his pockets. He was scared.
I put my hand on his shoulder and managed what I hoped was a reassuring smile. “It’ll be okay.”
“I’m sorry I’m the one monitoring your punishment.” Joel kicked the stair halfheartedly, unable to meet my eyes.
“I’m not sorry. I’d rather have you do it than someone else. Can you imagine if he’d put Mandy in charge? She’d love to see me tarred and feathered.”
Joel laughed. It sounded a bit forced. “When she realizes that you’re standing between her and her regular trips to Starbucks, I think she’ll demand we bring back burning at the stake.”
“I forgot about her caramel macchiato addiction. I bet she ends up with the shakes before the day is over.” I gave his shoulder a pat. “That almost makes it worth it.”
“You should go. It’s one thing to miss the rest of calculus, but you need to be on time for history.”
My stomach sank to a new low. Any chance of Ms. Brown giving me a pass on turning in our project on time had disappeared. “So, what happens if I’m late, you’ll give me a demerit?”
Joel looked up, his eyebrows squishing together with concern. “I’d have to give you a demerit. He’s going to be watching me, making sure I enforce everything. It’s not that I’d want to, but I can’t afford to cut you any slack. He’ll say I’m not living up to my role as president.”
My hand dropped from his shoulder, and a lump formed in my throat. I hadn’t felt this alone since my dad had dropped me off at Evesham for the first time. “I know. I should go. I don’t want to be late.” I ran up the stairs without looking back.
11
I lay on my bed, staring up at the ceiling. I had less than fifteen minutes to get to history. I wondered if this was how people felt after some kind of disaster, like an earthquake or a plane crash. The last time I’d felt like this was after my mom died. My grandma had taken me to the mall to get black dress shoes for the funeral. The mall was full of people bustling around, swinging shopping bags to the bouncy beat of the pop music that pumped through the speakers. The smells of pizza and fresh baked cookies competed as they poured out of the food court. It seemed like everyone was wearing artificially bright colors, like a clown academy had run amok in the hallway.
I’d stopped in the doorway of the mall, and a salesclerk from the nearby department store had seen me hesitate, and had moved in to spray me with a puff of perfume. She’d blathered about how there was a sale and if I bought the perfume I could get a free lipstick. I’d taken the flyer she pressed into my hand and looked down at it, trying to make sense of what was written on it, but it looked like Arabic. My grandmother took me by the elbow and guided me through the crowd to the shoe store. I felt like I was watching myself, or someone playing me, on TV. It didn’t seem it was possible that this was reality. How could everything be going on just the same when my world had stopped? My mom was dead, but to everyone else it was just another day at the mall. They were complaining about jeans that didn’t fit, and whispering about boys who were