Join the Club - Lani Lynn Vale Page 0,21

we’d learned from Asa.

O’Malley, angry now, turned to the old lady. “Dorie, look up where Mr. Asa Pena is right now.”

Dorie did, flipping through her book. When she found what she was looking for, she typed in a number on her phone and placed it to her ear.

“Mrs. Cooper? This is Dorie from the office. Can you tell me where Asa Pena is right now? Okay. Thank you!” Dorie hung up the phone.

“He’s currently taking a test in the STAR lab,” she said.

I looked at O’Malley.

“Perfect. Let’s go see.” O’Malley jerked his chin at me and ordered me to follow him.

I did, falling into step easily.

He led me through a maze of hallways that didn’t look the least bit familiar despite my spending years here when I was younger and came to a stop outside of a room that was right next to the lunchroom.

He gestured for me to look inside, and I did.

What I saw brought my blood to a boil.

O’Malley soundlessly opened up the door, and we watched as the teacher, likely the one that Asa had complained about, stood over Asa with a ruler smacking against her thigh. Not touching him, but definitely intimidating him.

Every single time the ruler smacked against her thigh, Asa’s cheek would twitch as if he was just waiting for her to slap it against him.

I gritted my teeth and looked at O’Malley.

He nodded without once looking away.

“’Scuse me,” a young boy around Asa’s age whispered.

And before either O’Malley or I could move, he squeezed between us and walked to the spot directly across from Asa.

Only, Ms. Greeley didn’t move once from where she was standing over Asa.

“Hello, Tom,” Ms. Greeley greeted the young boy.

Tom, the young boy, grinned at the teacher and went to work.

Another student squeezed past us, his head down and his shoulders hunched.

He walked to the spot directly next to Asa and took a seat.

The boy was older. Way older. He looked to be about eight or nine years old to Asa’s five.

“Mr. Sallow,” Ms. Greeley cooed. “How surprising that you’ve come to STAR lab today. Couldn’t get your math homework done again? Are the numbers still ‘switching’ in front of your eyes?”

She said that last part as if she didn’t believe him at all.

Only, you didn’t make that shit up.

You didn’t want to have to walk out of class, especially at that age, and show any signs of weakness.

It was embarrassing.

“Yes, ma’am,” the student replied under his breath. “I just can’t…”

“Save it,” she said. “How long did your teacher say you had to take the test?”

The boy swallowed hard. “Thirty minutes.”

“Get your work done. You have fifteen minutes, go.” She snapped the ruler harder, nearly hitting Asa on the upswing, and I’d had enough.

I marched into the room, announcing my presence.

The teacher looked up as if she’d been caught, but quickly tried to slide a polite, ‘I didn’t do anything bad’ smile onto her face. It didn’t work. I was pissed before I’d entered the school. Now I was downright irate.

“Ms. Greeley,” O’Malley growled. “May we have a word outside?”

“Uncle Bourne!” Asa cried out, standing up.

I pointed at him. “Finish your test, buddy. We’re going to go to the book fair once you’re done.”

Asa nodded his head in excitement and went back to his test, leaving Ms. Greeley to walk carefully and slowly out into the hall.

This time, there was no nervous tic on Asa’s face. His shoulders weren’t slumped. And he had a smile there that definitely hadn’t been there before.

I turned my back on the room and walked out into the hall.

“…I don’t even know what to say to you right now.” Mr. O’Malley touched his forehead, as if what he saw wasn’t registering. “I… how do you think that’s acceptable?”

Knowing that O’Malley had this, and there was something weird about the situation in there, I walked back inside the room.

“Asa, buddy?”

Asa looked up.

“Can you move to the corner over there? I want to talk to this boy.” I gestured toward the kid who looked like he was about to puke. And not because I was in the room. Because he was looking at his test as if it were a monster.

Asa immediately got up and ran to the corner where there was a beanbag.

I had an idle thought that there were probably thousands of germs on there, and Delanie would probably have a conniption if she knew he was sitting on it.

I smiled and let him stay, turning my head.

The kid that had come in