“You kids have gotten in enough trouble already, haven’t you?” she said.
We didn’t answer.
“Quiet couple, are you? Well then, let’s just discuss this in my office, shall we?”
Forty One
“Why were you in the building?” Mrs. Coleman asked. “You know the area is out of bounds to students.”
“I’m aware,” I replied. “How’d you know we were there?”
“This isn’t a game of twenty questions, Mr. Collins,” she replied, placing her elbows on the top of her desk and giving me a foul look. “But for your information, I was on second half lunch-duty. I had confiscated an inappropriate object from a junior student and was lecturing him when I saw you and Miss Montgomery sneak in. A foolish act on your behalf because you’re both seniors but I seriously doubt you’ll be able to graduate once I report this.”
Nora seemed to be fidgeting in her seat, so under the table, I found her hand with mine. It seemed to calm her down, not completely, but it was an effort. Her leg stopped moving up and down but her face was still washed over with concern. I tried to give her a look of reassurance but all that did was make her worriedly chew on her bottom lip.
“I’m pretty sure the information I have is of enough value that I’ll be forgiven,” I answered, trying to muster up enough confidence to make my voice sound authoritative. “I have a theory.”
Mrs. Coleman raised an eyebrow. “A theory?”
Her tone suggested interest.
“Of who started the fire,” I answered.
She seemed intrigued and so did Nora. They both looked at me with wide, waiting eyes. But I had to be careful. What I knew could be said to different people at different times and each would produce a different response and conclusion. It was all about perfect timing to the right person. One wrong slip up and I’d be completely screwed.
“There are still some missing pieces, but I’m sure that the knowledge I have is enough for the police to figure out the rest.”
I felt smug knowing all this information, but I knew I had to be careful. I was treading in deep water. The constant reminder made my head spin. There were so many things that could go wrong. As I tightened my grip on Nora’s hand, I slipped my other hand into the pocket of my trousers.
“As an authoritative figure, I think it would be best if you tell me first.” Mrs. Coleman took out a pad of sticky notes and grabbed a pen, ready to write everything down. “Which student should I put down to expel?”
It was sad to know she actually found pleasure in writing names down for expulsion. There seemed to be that wicked flicker in her eyes, like a wild animal ready to attack its prey.
“Not a student. A teacher.”
Mrs. Coleman frowned. “I don’t believe that’s right, Mr. Collins. All staff members are highly respected people in this school and have been professionally selected to benefit the students’ education. Unless you have some evidence, I’m afraid your theory is invalid.”
“I have evidence,” I answered. “I found it.”
“Where?”
“The burned building,” I replied. “Under the desk, was a key.”
“A key has no relevance in the case of the fire,” she corrected me, seemingly irritated at what she thought was nonsense.
“That’s what I thought too,” I confessed. “Until I discovered the shape and size of the key. It was small and silver. At first, I thought it was a diary key, but it was too thick for that. Then I thought it was a mailbox key, but the shape didn’t seem to fit. Until I realised it was a key, the perfect shape and size for handcuffs.”
Nora’s eyes had grown to the size of golf balls and Mrs. Coleman’s wasn’t any better. She seemed to have dropped the pen back onto her desk, letting it roll across a few scattered papers until it hit a stack of books. She was way too intrigued in my discovery to take notes.
“Someone deliberately took it. Officer Brandy and Officer Garret and not even Drew had misplaced it. It was stolen by a staff member,” I continued, brushing my thumb over Nora’s pulse to find it racing.
“But why?” Mrs. Coleman asked. “What staff member would have any benefits in handcuffing two students together?”
“Mrs. Westfield was recommended she’d go into retirement because of her health. I didn’t know about it until I ran into her at the supermarket yesterday. It was actually suggested for her to go into early withdrawal from her position two months prior to the handcuff demonstration. I remember a conversation between her and my mother at parent/teacher/student night.”
The girls stayed silent.
“Obviously, her condition would have been broadcasted to the staff members but not the student body so employees were aware of possible future circumstances. When the police department visited the school, a teacher deliberately took the key, knowing a demonstration with the handcuffs was going to be done. Once the deed was completed and the students were chained, this started a huge media frenzy. Not only did the story promote the school to the district but it also encouraged a bad reputation to our principal, furthermore influencing her retirement.”
“So, you’re saying a teacher wants the position for principal so sabotaged the school in order to gain power and higher educational status?” Mrs Coleman asked, sounding completely outraged with my theory.
“You know your scheme well,” I answered, being sure to keep a monotone voice. “I must admit, it was a struggle to finally fit all the pieces together, so brownie points for making it mind boggling.”
“Ryder Collins.” Mrs Coleman sounded furious. “Are you accusing me of this notorious crime?”
“It all adds up,” I replied. “The classroom the fire was started in was yours. It was your desk that the key was hidden under. You were the one to recommend both Nora and I to be volunteers for the demonstration and you were the one to discover and announce the fire over the loudspeaker.”
She narrowed her eyes at me. Nora squeezed my hand tighter.
“But that anonymous tip to the police that I was some kind of arsonist was a seriously weak move. What really confused me was that you targeted students to help with your scheme. At first it was bloody nonsense that they’d ever agree to help, until I realised they were all year twelve students: the weak ones. The pressure and stress of the final exams was getting to them, so you bribed them with bumping up their overall scores because you knew you were going to be one of the English markers.”
No one said anything. For one second of dread, I thought I actually had gotten it all wrong, that I had just made a foolish mistake and it was in that moment when I was sure I was about to crap a brick. But it wasn’t until Mrs. Coleman stretched and leaned back in her desk chair, arms crossed across her chest as she gave me an impressed, yet still confident in herself smirk.
“Admittedly, your little discovery was fascinating,” she said. “I never thought anyone would figure it out, let alone a child.”
I tried not to scowl when she referred to me as a child.
“I confess I am the mastermind behind the mystery, but really, your knowledge is essentially useless. Once you’re expelled from this school, your word will be just childish, hormonal nonsense. You’re a child. You both are. Ryder Collins - a boy who feeds off popularity because you feel you don’t get enough parental attention. I know all about your family. Your father’s affairs were quite scandalous. Nora Montgomery - a blonde, nothing-better-than-average student who will end up just like her sister who is currently unemployed and mothering a bastard child-”
She never got to finish her sentence because Nora let go of my hand, stood and slapped her right across the face. It wasn’t one of those little girly smacks to the cheek either. It was a full-fledged, whooper with a loud crack as if her hand has turned into a whip just for the particular purpose. She looked wild and determined, glaring at Mrs. Coleman with a passion that could ignite her and I stared at the magnificent scene of witnessing one of the best bitch slaps in history.
I couldn’t
have been more proud to call Nora my girlfriend.
After that exact moment, Officer Brandy burst through the door and wobbled over with his donut-filled belly. Officer Garret followed after him, cautiously pointing his gun at all directions before it landed on the teacher.
“Ma’am, you have the right to remain silent,” Officer Brandy said as he casually walked over, took Mrs. Coleman’s hands behind her back and chained her wrists together.
“How… Who…” Mrs. Coleman was in complete shock.
So, to relieve her from her confusion, I pulled out the phone in my pocket and showed her the still-ongoing call between the local police department and myself. I had started the call as soon as the conversation became interesting. I silently praised myself for developing the skill to use my phone without teachers noticing and mentally thanked Nora because it was thanks to texting her that I had gotten the dexterity.
Mrs. Coleman was then escorted towards the door and Officer Garret took charge and walked her out the building and towards the police cruiser. Officer Brandy stayed behind, hooking his thumbs in the loops of his uniform pants and looking at us with pride.
“I knew you were good kids,” he said slapping me on the shoulder. “Ryder, you made a risky move throwing yourself into this like that. For future reference, you should be more careful.”
“Future reference?” I asked.
“Yeah,” he said, heading towards the door. “You’d make a terrific police officer.”
With a final tip of his hat, he exited the room. As soon as he was gone, I pulled Nora into my arms and held her tightly to my chest. I inhaled her strawberry shampoo and the perfume that lingered on her jumper. I buried my nose in the crook of her neck and gently kissed her shoulder.
“It’s over,” she whispered.
“Nearly,” I whispered.
Forty Two
“Pretty crafty moves you had in there, Collins,” Officer Brandy said, grinning proudly.
“Thank you.”
“Do you know what you want to study once you’ve graduated from high school?”
“I was going to go for becoming a lawyer, but things change.”
He smiled. “Well, if you ever think you want to change, maybe you should consider being a policeman. We could need a guy like you on the team and I’d happily take you under my wing.”
I had never considered becoming a policeman, but as soon as he suggested it, I found myself warming up to the idea. A pair of handcuffs had led to everything at that point, so perhaps it was a sign. Looking out for society and fighting crime appealed to me. Plus, Nora would love the uniform. I smiled at that.
“That actually sounds like a pretty good idea,” I said.
Officer Brandy’s moustache curled with his smile and he gave me a small salute before heading back toward his car. Mrs. Coleman was tucked away in the backseat and the whole school was surrounding the yard as we watched her get driven away. Whispers and stories floated their way through the student body, but none of them were even close to the truth.
“You did it.”
Nora leapt onto my back and laughed, wrapping her arms around my neck.
“We did it,” I corrected her.
She kissed the side of my face, smiling wider.
“Please keep it PG-13, because we have minors witnessing.”
Nora jumped off my back and we both turned to greet Caine. He was grinning. As soon as he reached us, he gave us both high fives.
“Shit, Collins, I didn’t know you were so smart,” he said.
“I had my partner in crime.” I placed my hand on Nora’s waist and pulled her to my side.
She looked at Caine with a bewildered expression and shook her head. “I honestly did nothing. It was all this guy’s doing.”
Caine looked between Nora and I. “Literally,stop. I can’t stomach this.”
I laughed and kissed the top of Nora’s head.
It felt good to have things back to normal.
Well, almost back to normal.
~♥♥♥~
When I arrived home later that afternoon, Jack was sitting on the passenger’s side of his car. His feet were up on the dashboard and he was doing the crossword puzzle in the newspaper. When he noticed me walking up the driveway, he tossed the paper into the backseat.
“Ryder, please talk to me.”
I hesitated. With the victory of figuring out who the real arsonist was and clearing my name, I was feeling surprisingly generous. I turned and looked at him.
“Okay.”
“It’ll be ten minutes tops-” He hesitated. “Wait, what?”
“I said okay.”
Jack looked torn between confusion and relief, like he wanted to take a second to register my sudden calm attitude, but he didn’t want to waste the very little time I had granted him. My father climbed out of his car and circled the vehicle until he reached the driver’s side. I slid into the passenger seat but kept the door opened, just in case I needed to make an escape.
“I know you hate me, Ryder,” he said, keeping his eyes out the windscreen.
“I don’t really keep it secret.”
He laughed humourlessly. “Yeah. You don’t.”
Silence fell between us, neither of us really wanting to fill in the space. I let a few more seconds pass, let the distance stretch between us. I was ready to exit the car, when he started talking again.
“I realised I should have handled things better.”
“Good on you for realising that now.”
He frowned at my sarcasm. “I acknowledged my mistakes a long time ago.”
“Then why didn’t you act then?”
He took a deep breath and ran his hands across the steering wheel. “I was ashamed. I left things at such a horrible note with both of you.”
“So why did you choose now to come back?” I pressed.
I wasn’t sure what my father’s intentions were. It wasn’t exactly an apology, more of a half-formed explanation. I wondered how much more information he was going to share.
“Because you’re growing up, Ryder. You’ll be graduating, going to university. I realised I walked out on you at a time where you needed me most. I wasn’t a very fatherly figure. You needed guidance-”
“I don’t need a father to know how to become a gentleman.”
“Your mother raised you well,” he whispered, turning to smile at me.
I didn’t return the gesture.
“How…how is she?” he asked tentatively.
“Better,” I answered. “She’s different now. But she’s better without you.”
I didn’t want to describe the effects he still had on my mother, but I wasn’t going to lie and say she was in a pristine condition either. So, I told the truth. She was strong, she was determined, she was a fighter. And she was doing better without him.
He nodded. Swallowed. “I’m sorry. For everything. I messed up.”
“I know.”
“Do you forgive me?”
“Maybe one day.”
Jack nodded and seemed to understand. “Well, no matter what I did, I’m still your father. And I’ll be here for you. My number is in the phonebook.”
I started climbing out of his car. I gently closed the door and leaned in through the open window. “I think we’ll be just fine without it. But thank you.”
The conversation with Jack made me feel surprisingly liberated and I smiled to myself as I made my way back to my house. But before I could reach the door, he called once more.
“Ryder.”
I turned and waited for him to talk.
“That girl…Montgomery?”
I was surprised he remembered her. “What about her?”
“Do you love her?”
I didn’t hesitate. “Yes.”
He smiled knowingly. “Don’t ever do what I did.”
“One step ahead of you. Bye, Jack.”
I turned for good then and walked into my house. Once the door was shut, I leaned against it and w
aited until I heard his car back out of our driveway and onto the street. I slumped onto the floor and smiled. I suddenly felt a million kilograms lighter.
“Ryder, is that you?” my mother called.
“Yeah,” I answered, getting up and finding her in the kitchen.
She was standing up on the table, barefoot, wearing cargo pants and a flannel shirt, changing the light bulb. Seeing her like that reminded me of her old self. I was immensely happy.
“He’s gone,” I announced.
Mum stopped what she was doing, hand freezing in mid-air. She slowly lowered her arm and looked at me as she made her way off the table. Her hands were shaking as she placed the dead light bulb into the box where the new one previously sat.
“What?”
“He’s gone,” I repeated.
The look on her face was a mixture of emotions. Fright and excitement and happiness. But above all, my mother looked relieved. She looked like she was about to crumble to the floor, so I gently bent down and held her upright.
“He’s gone,” she whispered.
I hugged her gently. “I promised I wouldn’t let him hurt you again.”
“You never made that promise.”
“It didn’t have to be spoken.”
She hugged me tighter. “Thank you.”
Epilogue
As soon as Mrs. Coleman was announced her sentence, life seemed to fall back into place. I was finally on good terms with the police again, essentially promoting my reputation at school and because all the pressure was lifted from my shoulders, I completely aced my final exams.
My dad, after months of trying to win my family back, finally left, allowing my mother to finally return to her strict self. As soon as the tires of his car squealed, confirming his final departure, she became the expressionless women I had grown up to know and love. And although she showed minimum emotion to her work mates, her and I shared an emotional bond that was more powerful than physical embracement.
Handcuffs, Kisses and Awkward Situations Page 24