phone my dad gave me to use from here on out. It’s an old deputy phone that has a tracking chip in it and can only perform the basic functions. He’s the only one who has the number. My other phone is stuffed in a plastic bag somewhere at the station. They’re holding onto it to see if they can find any trace of the evidence Parker backed up with his statement.
I don’t even want to get dressed for school today. The fact that I haven’t picked out my clothes to wear echoes that sentiment. I find it funny that Dad thinks I’ll be safe at school.
A knock at the door ushers in my father. “Dani, you better hurry up or you’ll be late.”
“I’m not going,” I reply, still gazing out my window at the puddles of rain forming in the yard. I’m still pissed at him for cheap-shotting Parker. I know he feels it was justified, but I don’t think it was. He did apologize to me, but I wasn’t the one who deserved that apology.
“Why do you have to make everything so difficult? Being at school will be good for you. It will keep your mind occupied until all of this blows over.”
I laugh hollowly. “You have no idea what’s good for me. Do you realize this will be the first day I won’t see Mr. Whitman at school? And that’s just the first thing on a list of shitty things that I’ll experience if I go.”
“I’m sorry about that, but you can’t hide from your problems, Dani. They have ways of coming back to bite you in the ass,” he replies, which only makes me turn and glare at him.
“I guess I learned from the best, huh?”
He doesn’t appear to have some snappy comeback. He just stands there looking at me. Eventually, he says, “Come on…get dressed. You need to get going.” Then he shuts the door before I can argue.
This is the moment I’ve been dreading all day. I stand in front of Mr. Whitman’s office and stare at the nameplate resting in a little metal frame on the door. Running my fingers across the embossed letters, my chin begins to tremble and an ache pulses within my chest. I didn’t go to my independent study this morning for obvious reasons, so this is the first time I’ve been in front of this door all day.
I had a meeting with the principal earlier about the state of the newspaper. He’s decided to put the whole project on hiatus for the time being until he can find a replacement for Mr. Whitman. When I asked what would happen to Parker, he mentioned that he had already dropped out of the program. I wasn’t really surprised by his answer. It was really a relief. Now I wouldn’t have to worry about bumping into him today.
I reach out to grab the door handle and shiver when the cool metal touches my skin. Turning it, I pull the door open and stand there at the threshold, scanning the familiar space. The first step inside is the hardest. I slowly make my way over to his desk and run my fingers across the smooth, cherry oak wood finish, remembering all the laughs and discussions Mr. Whitman and I shared during my independent study. I was lucky to have a teacher like him in my life. He had believed in me and in my writing so much.
The moment I get misty-eyed, I sit down in one of the two chairs in front of the desk. For a moment, I pretend he’s sitting in his chair, leaning back with his hands resting on his chest, letting out a jolly chuckle. Somehow, I manage to smile through the tears.
“Dani?” a familiar male’s voice asks behind me.
Sitting up and turning around, I see Parker standing there in the doorway. “Hi.”
“Sorry, I saw the door was open and—”
“What are you doing here, Parker?” I interrupt.
He sighs. “I had a few things I needed to return to the newspaper office.”
“Oh.”
“Hey, about what happened the other night, I—”
I cut him off again. “Just stop. I don’t want anything to ruin this moment, okay? I’m finally dealing with some things, and I need some space.”
Before he has a chance to reply, a melodic chime fills the room. It definitely isn’t my phone. Parker groans while removing his cell from his pants pocket. The expression he sends my way after looking at the screen fills me with concern.
“What is it?”
“A