I pop off the bench when the door to Principal Harris’ office opens and Serena walks out. Her eyes are red rimmed, her nose is the color of a tomato and her makeup is smudged.
Breathless, I draw near to her. “What happened? What did they say?”
Serena looks at me like the world is on her back. “I…” Her voice trembles and she can’t seem to finish.
My heart breaks just hearing the note of anguish when she says, “I got expelled.”
The floor drops from under me.
“Expelled?”
She grabs my hand and holds on so tight her fingernails dig into my skin. “I swear to you, Cadence. I didn’t do it. I swear.”
“Serena…” My voice is hoarse.
A tear spills down her cheek. “Does it even make sense that I’d try to burn down the building? I fought to survive in this hellhole for over two years.” She squeezes her eyes shut and croaks, “You know what hurts? I thought I could make it. This close to the end, I got a little hopeful. The finish line was right in front of me. To come this far and just… fail…”
I look into her eyes and struggle to find words of comfort.
She swipes her tear away with a nail tinged in black. “Why would someone want to do this? Why would they blame it on me?”
“Miller’s ultimatum,” I whisper with dread.
Her eyes meet mine. They’re watery and scared.
The door opens again and a police officer walks out. It’s the same guy who dealt with Christa during the morning assembly.
“Let’s go,” he says, giving Serena a hard stare.
I step in front of him. “Where are you taking her?”
“To her locker,” Principal Harris says. He appears in the doorway and looks down his nose at me. “Miss Cooper, why are you loitering outside my office? Shouldn’t you be in class? Especially now that Miss Parker has solved the problem of who will remain in the music program for us.”
Serena’s bottom lip trembles. She wraps an arm around my neck and whispers urgently, “They won’t listen to me. They don’t believe me when I said I didn’t do it.”
“I believe you,” I say strongly.
A tear spills down her cheek.
The officer steps forward, silently nudging Serena to finish the conversation and get on with it.
Serena can’t speak without her voice cracking. “I guess I’ll… I mean, I don’t know when I’ll see you again.”
I can only stand back helplessly and watch Serena be escorted out like a criminal. She looks so small and helpless next to the police.
A wave of guilt crashes through me. This churning in my gut is familiar.
This is exactly what happened to Mr. Mulliez.
He was my light in a cold shark tank like Redwood Prep. The only teacher I could trust with all my secrets. He had my back in all the ways that mattered. More than my own mother ever did.
And just because he went out of his way for me, he lost his job. He lost his reputation. He lost the trust of all his colleagues and the students he’d taught and inspired through the years.
It was unfair.
It was untrue.
It was done because Dutch said it would be so.
And yet, all I could do was watch while Mulliez suffered because of me. I couldn’t do anything about it.
Something deep and dark pulses in my heart.
No.
I can’t let it happen again.
But what power do I have?
At Redwood Prep, I’m a nobody.
I wrap my arms around my waist. Bouncing on the tips of my toes, I yell, “Serena!”
She glances over her shoulder at me.
“It’s going to be alright. I promise.”
Her smile trembles and then falls flat. She doesn’t believe me.
I don’t blame her.
When I turn around again, my expression falls into one of dark fury. Dutch, if you really did this…
My heart launches to my throat. I remember the moment when Dutch came crashing through the smoke, yelling my name like his life depended on it. A part of me refuses to believe that he would be involved in this. The saner part of me warns that I shouldn’t be so naive.
I need more information before I make any moves.
Miss Jamieson and I have made a sort of alliance. I know I can at least trust her desire to do right by all the scholarship kids.
I head straight to the teachers’ lounge and stop in front of Miss Jamieson’s desk. She glances up alertly. With her curly hair in a ponytail and a crisp white shirt contrasting her dark skin, she looks beautiful as usual.
But there’s something else. Her eyes look tired.
“Can I talk to you?” I demand.
She takes one look at my dirty face and my singed uniform under Dutch’s jacket and her eyebrows cinch together.
I must look nuts. I haven’t cleaned up since I spent the morning staking out Harris’ office.
Miss Jamieson clears her throat and takes note of all the teachers who are eyeing us. Lips tight, she nods. “Let’s talk somewhere else.”
Rather than take me to a stairwell or an empty classroom, she takes me to the roof instead.
We step through a tall metal door and sunlight slams into my face. It’s hard to believe the sun still exists and the world is still turning. In my head, I’m still trapped in a burning building, fighting through a thick fog of smoke and searching for Serena.
Miss Jamieson walks to the edge of the roof where a small wall keeps students from falling over and splattering to the ground.
The sprawling lawn stretches out as far as the eye can see. Acres and acres of private land belonging to this one monstrous institution.
Redwood Prep.
The school that chews on the hearts of the innocent and spits out the bones of those who get in their way.
“I heard about what happened to Serena,” Miss Jamieson says quietly. “And I want you to know that this is not your fight, Cadence.”
“Why isn’t it my fight? Serena is my friend.”
“She’s also being accused of trying to burn Redwood to the ground.” Miss Jamieson’s brown eyes flash on me. She chews on her maroon-toned bottom lip. “There was talk of her having an accomplice and since you two work together…”
The breath leaves my lungs so quickly, it’s like someone hit me in the chest. “They think I was involved too?”
“No. We checked the video. You didn’t arrive in time to set the fire.” She places a hand on my shoulder. “But Cadence, this is why you shouldn’t get too close. Sometimes, getting crucified in the public court of opinion is the worst option.”
“So you expect me to just what? Not do anything?”
“Of course not.” She exhales deeply. “Mulliez asked me to protect you. It was the reason he left Redwood Prep in the first place. I can’t let anything happen to you.”
“And I can’t let anything happen to Serena,” I snap back.
She tilts her head to the sky as if I’m the most frustrating thing she’s ever come across.
“Is there any way we can reverse the decision?” I plead. “I know Serena. She wouldn’t do this.”
Miss Jamieson shakes her head. “Unfortunately, they found a lighter with her fingerprints at the scene. There’s also footage of her going towards the music room minutes before the fire was started. Eyewitness accounts have her fleeing the scene too.” With a worried frown, Miss Jamieson admits, “It doesn’t look good.”
My heart burns with indignation. I meet Miss Jamieson’s eyes and state clearly, “Serena wouldn’t do this.”
Miss Jamison turns to me. “I don’t want to believe it either. But there is no denying the evidence.”
“Evidence can be manipulated!” I shriek. “Remember what they did to Mr. Mulliez?”
She rubs her temples. “Yes, you’re right. The evidence can be twisted. But the facts are clear. The lighter found at the scene was Serena’s. She did go to the area before the fire started.”
“She cleans that area every day for work study!”
“There’s no denying that she ran away like she was guilty.”
“Probably because there was a freaking fire in the building!”
Miss Jamieson sighs. “For what it’s worth, Serena was let off easy. They could have charged her with arson and destruction of property. I had to get on my knees and beg for them to lessen the punishment.” Miss Jamieson looks shaken. “Given her situation, they just let her leave the school quietly.”
“What do you mean given her situation?”
Miss Jamison shakes her head.
I lean forward. “Please. Tell me. She’s my friend and I want to help her.”
Miss Jamison licks her lips and closes her eyes. It seems like she’s wrestling with herself. At last, she blurts reluctantly, “The General City Hospital.”
“Is Serena sick?”
“Her mother has cancer. It’s not looking good.”
It’s like a mountain just landed on my chest. No wonder Serena’s been so distracted lately. No wonder she’s always pinching pennies and never spends a dime, even on food.
Miss Jamieson studies me. “Cadence, there’s… there’s something else.” She folds her arms over her chest. “I don’t know if I should even tell you this but…”
I dig my fingers into my skirt to keep from hurrying her along. The suspense is killing me.
“One of the teachers was here early this morning. They saw someone leaving The Kings’ practice room around the start of the fire.”
“You mean… they were at school before Serena got here?”
She nods. “There’s no footage of that person heading toward the music room, so it was not evidence that was admissible in the case. But I know those brothers have been giving you a hard time and I agree that Serena wouldn’t do this.”
My nostrils flare.
It’s the confirmation I was hoping I didn’t get.
A dark hand falls on my shoulder. “Cadence, I didn’t tell you that so you could do something stupid. I feel that you really want to help Serena. And so do I. If there’s ever an opportunity to bring her back, I will jump on it. I promise you that. I will fight for her, just like I fought for you. But right now, there’s not much we can do except look for more clues. When we have more evidence, we’ll hit them with everything we’ve got.”
I feel speechless and numb. The bad guys get to win again because there’s nothing we—the poor, scholarship kids can do to stop them.
In my heart, a frantic rage is bubbling to the surface. The picture’s all starting to come together.
Dutch promised that he would break me.
I guess this is how.
