Curvy Girls Can't Date Bad Boys - Kelsie Stelting Page 0,64
said in big, bold letters, The Heartthrob Meets His Heartbreaker.
“They couldn't do any better than that?” Rory muttered, clearly seeing the same headline I was.
Mr. Sullivan loudly dropped the remaining stack of newspapers on his desk and then placed his fingertips on top of them, scaring everyone in the room. A hush fell over the students, almost audible in its silence.
“Listen up,” he said harshly. “I don’t know what your other teachers have said, but I'm putting it out on the table. Zara was involved in a news incident. I am not interested in hearing about it in this class. If I hear even a whisper related to Ryde Alexander, you will be sent to Headmaster Bradford's office for a week of in-school suspension. Is that understood?”
My cheeks burned, and I gazed at my desk while the rest of the students stayed silent.
Mr. Sullivan’s voice boomed throughout the room. “Am I understood?”
The class muttered their assent.
How humiliating. It was one thing to hear the whispers, and it was another altogether to practically feel the thoughts echoing in their minds. I could only imagine what they would hold in and then spew after class was over.
But at least, for now, I was safe.
“Now,” he said, “partner up on a news topic, and let's share the daily news.”
Rory scooted her desk closer to mine, and I did the same, our chairs scraping over the tile floor along with everyone else’s. We put our heads down, immediately flipping past the first page of the newspaper...and the second, where the lead story was continued. In the entertainment section, we read the headline, Alexander Movies at an All-time High. In the business section, Bhatta Productions Falls in the Stock Market. And in athletics, Roy Taylor to Speak on Stepson, Bhatta’s Love Interest, Tuesday.
Just the sight of Roy Taylor’s name frustrated me and made me think of Ronan. What was he doing right now? Was he missing me as much as I missed him? I wanted to text him, to ask if we could go on a walk or ride on his motorcycle up the coast or just sit in Seaton Bakery together and enjoy coffee. He was always my favorite escape.
But I couldn't, and that realization made missing him even worse, because I couldn’t even cling to the hope of forgiveness. Ronan wasn't the kind of guy who played around with text messages and dates. He knew where his true north was, and it wasn't pointing to me.
“What about this one?” Rory asked. “We covered DP last time.”
My blood pressure surged at the mention of Ronan's group. Now that I knew the leader and the people in it, it was all so much more desperate that they didn't get caught. I followed her finger to the newspaper story. Officer Expects to Bust Elusive Group Within the Month.
“Let's cover it,” I said immediately, flipping to the story in my own paper and poring over it as fast as I could.
Emerson PD has been hard at work, cracking down on loitering, vandalism, and other crime that harms our community and its value. A long-standing rivalry has existed between Emerson PD and Dulce Periculum, an elusive group with its legends dating back to the early 1900s.
“It’s time for the feud to come to an end and for our city to be safe,” said Sheriff Allen in a briefing with the media.
According to his statement, his team has staffed multiple detectives, installed additional surveillance throughout the city, and begun patrolling spots suspected for DP stunts.
While the group has kept a low profile, they are suspected to be made up of five to ten individuals in their teens or early twenties.
“Throughout the years, they've been pinned with vandalizing public property, tearing up buildings, and diluting the integrity of our great city,” Sherriff Allen said. “It is time to stop letting hooligans run the city and start letting the city run them.”
While Sherriff Allen kept the source of his confidence hidden, he says he anticipates capturing the group within the month, upon which point they will be tried for previous misdemeanors and expected to halt all future stunting.
If you have information on DP, contact the Emerson Police Department.
A sense of dread settled in my stomach. Ronan had said DP never vandalized anything, but there were years and years of charges stacking up against them, and I would hate to see him suffer the consequences for the police department's lack of suspects. I hoped he was being careful.