Cage of Glass (Cage of Glass Trilogy Book 1)

by Genevieve Crownson

  “How did you know—” I cut off realizing I’d just implicated myself. Damn it all to hell.

  “Yes, I do know Miss Redwood. I understand more than you think. I might consider helping you if you’re honest with me. But if not…well….” He was silent then waiting for me to speak. Finally, after a beat, I couldn’t take it anymore. He already knew it was me, anyway. I could see no clear way out of this office or my predicament. But I could still play the game.

  I leaned in, my palms spread-eagled on the desk. “Fine. I did it. I stole those phones. But it was only because I lost my friends.” I turned the tears on in earnest, this had to work.

  I continued, between big gulping sobs. “Please, I’ll do whatever you want if you give me a second chance. I promise I won’t do anything like that again. I swear,” I pleaded, my voice now barely above a whisper.

  Mr. Rhodes stared at me intently, as if gauging my integrity. I sensed a weakening and hastily carried on with my story. “They’ve completely changed Mr. Rhodes; they turned on me. They didn’t want to follow the rules. I just tried to teach them a lesson about not hurting people, because that goes against everything P8 believes in—and what I believe in.” I placed a hand over my heart for emphasis.

  He stood and grabbed the handkerchief he’d left on the desk and dabbed at his sweaty face. A flash of what appeared to be pain crossed his features at my words, before he eased his portly frame into the chair and leaned back; it moaned under the weight.

  “Luna, Burt, I mean Mr. Cole, saw you out there with the phones. And you directly violated P8’s code of ethics. I am supposed to report it.”

  “But I just confessed! I can make it right. I’ll apologize to my friends. Anything.”

  Mr. Rhodes lips pursed as if making up his mind about something, then spoke. His voice hushed in warning. “No, you won’t. You are going to do exactly as I direct. You will make no attempt to return the phones. Is that understood?”

  He waited until I nodded before continuing. “You will drop them off at the lost and found. ASAP. As you are aware, it’s a federal offense to be in possession of another’s phone, and you will get rid of them, if you know what’s good for you.”

  I stared at him, mouth agape.

  “You can close your mouth at any point, Luna. You don’t want flies to get in do you?”

  His small attempt at humor did nothing to quell the tight grip of unease that threatened to take my breath away.

  “The bell is about to ring. Have I made myself perfectly clear?”

  I managed to squeak out. “Why would you—”

  Mr. Rhodes put up his hand to silence me.

  “I want no questions. Just do as I say. And tell no one we had this conversation.”

  The principal’s strange behavior had made me forget to keep up my act. I quickly put my chosen persona back into place.

  Why on God’s green earth was he doing this for me?

  “Miss Redwood? Did you hear what I said? It’s very important this remains confidential.”

  I opened my mouth to say something but his eyes flashed a warning. So, I simply nodded.

  “Good.”

  I stood up hands clasped. I would say whatever was necessary to leave. “You won’t regret this, Mr. Rhodes. I promise.”

  Mr. Rhodes stood taking a step toward me. “Now, wait a minute. You’re not getting off the hook yet. Just because I’m not reporting you to the government doesn’t mean you get off scot free. You’ll have detention for a month. And if anyone asks about it, just say you were tardy for class too many times.”

  “But what about the hall monitor? He saw me—” I pointed toward the door indicating where I’d been caught. Mr. Rhodes didn’t let me finish.

  “Let me worry about Mr. Cole. He’s my responsibility and reports to me. You need to take care of yourself and focus on staying out of trouble. But, before you go, there is one other thing I need to warm you about…” He paused, scratching at his chin, avoiding my gaze, before continuing. “I will need to contact your parents about your detention. I’m sorry, but it’s necessary. And a rule that I won’t break.”

  My head shot up, “What? Do we have to do that? What happened to keeping things confidential? Can’t we just keep it between us?”

  In one quick stride, he bridged the gap between us. His cheeks exploding into a new rash of red splotches. “Certainly not, young lady. I have already bent the rules enough for you today. Understand, Luna. This is the end of the line. Your parents will be informed of your tardiness. Now go to class.”

  He stared at me intently as he opened the door. Like he had no choice and I needed to play along. Still I chose to pitch my plea one last time. I didn’t want my parents thinking I dug myself further into trouble. Even though technically I had.

  “But sir, if you would only—”

  He cut me off. “Our business is concluded, Miss Redwood. There will be no more discussion.”

  Reluctantly, I turned to leave, but his voice stopped me. “And Luna?”

  I glanced back over my shoulder and stared at him full on.

  “I’m all for second chances, but if you burn me on this, you’ll live to regret it.”

  I shuddered inwardly and nodded. The air had gone suddenly cold, and I hastily made my exit. The stolen phones weighed heavy in my bag. One thing Mr. Rhodes was right about—I had to get rid of them. And fast. I remembered seeing the lost and found box next to the secretary’s desk so I made a beeline for her. Mrs. Dalton was stationed right by the office doors to greet visitors and any students that came in to meet with the principal or vice principal. As I turned the corner, I could see she was alone, and no students sat in the chairs that lined the wall. I tried to be discreet and sidled up close, hovering next to the lost and found box. I could see miscellaneous clothes; a red sweater, a cast off sneaker and a couple of headbands, but not much else.

  “Can I help you, Luna?”

  I jumped at the sound of my name and spun to see Mrs. Dalton a hairsbreadth from me. She was wearing a khaki colored suit, white blouse and pearl earrings at her ears. She donned the same colors as the students and I was beginning to realize that this must be a mandatory requirement for all personnel. She smiled at me kindly. Everyone at school loved Mrs. D. She didn’t have any children of her own and she often said the students were her kids.

  When I didn’t respond she put a small hand on my arm. “I’m sorry to startle you. Did you lose something? Perhaps I can help you find it.”

  “Uh. No. Actually I came to drop something off. I found them outside,” I said lamely. “Someone must have left them on accident.”

  Mrs. D’s brow furrowed in confusion. “Found what, dear?”

  My hands fumbled, but finally I was able to open my bag and pulled out the three phones. They burned like fire in my palm.

  Mrs. Dalton put a hand to her heart. “Oh my. What a very expensive item to lose. I bet whoever owns them are sick with worry. We should try to find their owners. I’m not sure if they would be safe in the box. I can keep them at my desk and see if anyone comes in looking. It’s a shame we don’t have the names of the rightful owners,” she mused.

  Guilt edged at my consciousness. I had to make sure these phones went back to the right people. There had to be a way.

  “Look, Mrs. Dalton. I know who they belong to. Let’s just say I figured it out. But if you promise not to tell them where they came from. Or rather whom. I’ll give you the names.”

  Mrs. Dalton looked at me blankly for a minute then smiled, as if finally, all the pieces came together for her. Oh God, don’t let her have figured this out.

  “How sweet of you, Luna. Not wanting any of the credit for such a wonderful gesture. But are you sure you don’t want them to know who you are? I’m sure they’d love to thank you.”

  “No!” I said with too much vehemence. Putting out both my hands as if that would stop her.

  Mrs. Dalton’s eyes widened in surprise. “Well, all right, if you feel that strongl
y about it. I won’t say anything to them.”

  I breathed a sigh of relief. “Okay. Great. It’s just I hate being the center of attention for any reason.”

  Mrs. Dalton gave my shoulder a squeeze. “I can understand that. I don’t really like it myself.” She offered me a kind smile and patiently waited for me to give her the information.

  “Right. Okay. The names. Here goes. The black phone belongs to Orion Duncan, the pink one to Mara Masters, and the last phone is Jonah Edward’s.”

  Mrs. Dalton’s eyebrows furrowed in concentration for a minute before speaking. I swore she could hear my heart pounding right out of my chest. “Luna, I pretty much know everyone at this school and I don’t recognize those names. They aren’t new students, are they?”

  I pressed my lips shut not daring to answer. Was this a trick question? I mean, Mrs. D. seemed harmless enough. But what if she wasn’t? My palms began to sweat and I felt the itch to get out of here. But forced myself to stay. What would running accomplish? It would only make me look as guilty as hell.

  “I know!” Mrs. Dalton exclaimed, jolting me out of my panic. “Let’s check the database. I’m sure they will be on the student list.”

  I watched as she moved to her desk and slipped into the chair. She stared expectantly at the screen as she tapped some keys on her tablet, but after a few more swipes of the keyboard she looked up, frowning.

  “They’re not on the list of attendees. I have no record of those students ever attending this school. Are you sure you got the names right?”

  I pulled my backpack higher up on my shoulder trying to look innocent. “I don’t know. Maybe I got it wrong. I guess that’s what happens when you try to do your own sleuthing.” I laughed a little as if it was a bit of a joke.

  Mrs. Dalton smiled but there was an air of suspicion clouding her features. “I know you were doing what you thought was right, dear. But you really should leave the finding of the owners to the school. You know how much privacy is valued, not only in this institution, but in P8, too.”

  I almost laughed out loud at that. Privacy? She had to be joking. But instead I managed to get it together and said, “Of course. You’re right. I wasn’t thinking.”

  “That’s okay. Just don’t let it happen again. Now, I’m going to pop these into my desk and we’ll see if we can’t find the real owners. All right?”

  I could see a crack in her veneer of happiness as she took the phones from my waiting palm. She was suspicious of me. And I needed to get out of here. Fast. Before she asked me any more questions.

  “Thanks Mrs. Dalton,” I said. Not waiting for a reply I hurried out of the office area.

  My mind scrambled, where had my so-called friends gone? I had just seen them in the cafeteria. Why had they been erased from the school system?

  What was going on?

  When I got home later that day Mom and Dad were both in the living room waiting for me, their faces somber. Dad sat in his favorite chair, while Mom paced up and down behind him, wringing her hands.

  “Luna!” Mom stopped pacing when she saw me. “Sit down. Your father and I wish to speak to you.”

  I sank down onto the sofa, Mom followed suit. Dad leaned forward in his chair. “We heard what happened in school, Luna Bell. And I have to say we are very disappointed in your actions.”

  Despite knowing that these two strangers weren’t my parents, I nevertheless felt a sinking dread fill the pit of my stomach. Somehow, even in this crazy situation, I still didn’t want to disappoint them. I inhaled deeply; now wasn’t the time to get philosophical. I had a job to do.

  “It’s not what you think, Dad.”

  “Oh good, so you have a reasonable explanation for being late to class multiple times resulting in your detention, have you?”

  “Well…” I scrambled to think of a plausible confession and blurted the first thing that came to me. “It was Orion, Jonah’s, and Mara’s fault Dad. They kept me from class because Orion decided he couldn’t live without me. How lame is that? And he used the other two to try to pressure me—” I stopped myself. Oh God. What had I done? The principal had distinctly said to only state I was late. And not to mention the phones. I suppose technically I hadn’t disclosed anything about the phones—just the owners’ names. Maybe I could salvage this. But Dad interrupted me before I could.

  “Who is Orion? Or Jonah and Mara for that matter? Are these new friends of yours? And do I need to meet this Orion fellow? Why can’t he live without you?” Dad’s voice rose with every word. I turned to Mom for help. Obviously, Dad was so steamed he couldn’t remember straight. But Mom looked blank as well.

  I hesitated. Then my curiosity won out. Risky as it was, I had to know. “Orion was my boyfriend, Dad. We broke up. Don’t you remember? And Jonah and Mara have been my friends forever.”

  Mom and Dad crossed their arms as if in a united front, both scowling. “We’re concerned that you feel the need to lie to us like this,” Dad said, his voice dripping with disappointment.

  “I’m not lying,” I exclaimed, exasperated.

  “We know all your friends. And certainly boyfriends. We are your parents, after all,” Mom interjected. “What are you hiding from us?”

  “Nothing. I swear.”

  “Lying and not making good use of your time goes against the very principles we stand for in P8, Luna Bell. You are worrying your mother and I.” Dad’s voice cracked. Mom turned away, covering her mouth. But not before I saw tears in her eyes.

  That’s when it hit me. They seriously had forgotten about my friends. My boyfriend even. I could see it now. The completely blank stares were proof.

  I swallowed hard against the bile rising up in my throat. Why didn’t they remember them? What the hell was happening?

  There was a reason that the principal didn’t want me to return those phones. What if there was something bigger than I could ever imagine behind all this?

  But what?

  None of it made sense. Was it possible that Orion, Jonah and Mara were sent to another universe like me? But wouldn’t someone know that?

  “Don’t you have anything to say?” Mom whispered. She’d turned back and was staring at me with such pain in her expression, it deepened the lines in her face, as if she had aged overnight. I had to do something about this. If nothing else I had to calm my parents down before they did something rash.

  Like call the authorities.

  I looked down at my shoes, trying to think up the most plausible lie. Then went for it. Not daring to meet their gaze. This had to work. “Okay. You’re right I made those people up because I didn’t have a good excuse about being late. It just sort of happened. I didn’t want you to be disappointed in me, I guess,” I said.

  Mom clasped my hand, warm and comforting. “You should have come to us with this, we would’ve helped you manage your time before it got to this point.”

  “I know,” I mumbled.

  Dad’s voice sounded gruff. “You know better, Luna.”

  “I’m so sorry. Really. I promise it won’t happen again.”

  Mom squeezed my hand, then released it. “I believe you, because I know you’re a good girl. But still there are always consequences for your actions. Even as adults we have to stick to the rules.”

  “What your mom is trying to say is, you’re grounded for a month. And along with your detention, you will come straight home from school every day, and do your homework. No socializing.”

  “Dad,” I whined jumping to my feet. “Can’t I at least go to the library? I really have to do some research for school.”

  He gazed up at me, puzzled. “There is nothing you would need the library for. School provides all the necessary materials, they make sure of that. Besides, we told you before, we don’t want you there so often. So no, you can’t go to the library. I’m sorry. And never lie to us again. Or your punishment will last even longer. Now, I suggest you go to your room.”

  Dad’s voice sounded tired, and I daren’t push him any
further. What a fool I’d been to mention Orion and the others to them. But how could I have known they wouldn’t know who they were? Without a word, I turned on my heels and started for my room. As soon as I reached my bedroom, I dropped my backpack on my bed, making sure my phone was still secure in the front pocket. I breathed a sigh of relief. Good, it was there. I didn’t want to bring it with me; leaving it would be proof that I never left this house tonight. I crossed to the window and jiggled the latch.

  I was going to the library to see Zander. If I got caught, so be it. I’d had enough of this fake life. I needed to find out why all of a sudden my parents didn’t remember my ex-boyfriend or my friends. According to my memories Orion had even eaten dinner over here before—and why weren’t they registered with the school anymore?

  Whatever was happening. It couldn’t be good.

  I pushed up the window and let the cool wind brush against my flushed cheeks, then stuck out my hand and grabbed at the trellis attached to the house. It was quite a stretch, but I managed to get a good grip by standing on my tiptoes.

  I had climbed my way out of plenty of tricky situations before; this should be a piece of cake.

  I threw one leg out and then the other, stretching myself to the max until I felt the latticework under my feet. However, when I started to move downward, the pressure of my weight made the thin bamboo buckle. Damn it. If I didn’t leap now, I would crash to the ground and then I would be caught for sure.

  Taking a deep breath, I jumped.

  Chapter 19

  A blur of motion exploded around me as the ground rushed up, but I was quick and agile. I landed on my feet with the grace of a ballerina and grinned. At least some things never changed. My gloating was short lived however, as I caught a glimpse of movement out of the corner of my eye. It looked as if a shape had detached itself from the shadows. I whirled around, ready to leap, my heart in my throat.