The Sinners - Ruby Vincent Page 0,50
were waiting for. Pudding cups went flying, pelting Julian, Pomona, Nolan, and Brynn. They took off running, screaming abuse at the Angels.
They skidded to a halt before the stairs. The running, shouting, throwing—everything came to a stop.
Stepping around her son, Headmistress Hart surveyed the mess we made of the loft.
“Seniors.” Her stern but even voice carried better than a shout. “My office. Now.”
Chapter Six
“We’re not going to get in trouble for this, are we?” Brandon fidgeted in the chair. His leg was shaking so much it’s amazing it didn’t rattle out of its socket and run away. “We didn’t do anything.”
The entire senior class crowded the administration office. One by one, we were called in to speak to Hart.
“Like you said, we didn’t do anything,” I replied. “If anyone should get in trouble, it’s Julian for starting shit. He was trying to whip up a full-blown riot.”
Julian had been in to see his mother already. He blew out of her office ten minutes later, red-faced and covered in pudding. He ignored Pomona when she tried to talk to him.
The receptionist cleared her throat. “Miss Bancroft, the headmistress will see you now.”
Hart’s nose was stuck in a file when I came in. My file most likely.
“Ember, please have a seat.”
She set the file on her desk as I sat down. Looking at her up close, I read the strain in the lines around her eyes and displeasure in her pursed lips.
“Tell me what happened at breakfast this morning,” she said.
“It didn’t start this morning, Headmistress. This Ravener/OB thing has gone on for a long time and it finally set off at breakfast. Kids screaming at each other to get off their loft and get out of their school. It’s too much and it’s too stupid. Something’s got to happen or it won’t be pudding cups thrown next time. It’ll be punches.”
“Ember.”
I lifted my chin, readying for the displeasure to unleash.
“You’re right.”
“I am?”
“Yes.” Sighing, Hart pulled off her glasses and rubbed her tired eyes. “I see what you see. I’ve seen it long before you were born. There’s an ugliness in the way the people of Raven River treat each other. Dare I say, a hatred. And it’s one that’s being passed down. I thought by opening up the school to the entire community, we could bridge that gap. Instead I’ve opened those poor children from the OB to harassment, and brought a vindictiveness out of the Estate children that concerns me.
“These are the children I’m sending out into the world. Bitter. Resentful. Cruel. This is my legacy as headmistress.”
A niggle of sympathy worked its way in. I forgot for a moment that she was truly kind at heart. She didn’t want this any more than we did.
“It doesn’t have to be,” I said softly. “People don’t just get along because they’re thrown in a school together. It’s something you have to choose. Work for. The academy can still be a place where the kids of this town aren’t constantly reminded of their differences. And if anyone can make it happen, it’ll be someone that cares... like you.”
I might’ve imagined the brightness in her eyes. She blinked and shoved her glasses back on too quickly for me to be sure.
“Thank you, Ember. You’ve helped me make up my mind.”
“I did?”
She pushed away from her desk. “Follow me. We’re going to the gym.”
I scurried after her.
Hart swept through her office, relaying the same order to the kids waiting. Twenty minutes later, the entire senior class sat on the bleachers while Hart and Sutton spoke with their backs turned.
“What’s up, baby?” Cassius asked. “What did you do?”
The Angels, Camila, Brandon, Gabriel, and I took up our own space toward the bottom-end of the bleachers. Clay sat in front of me, head resting on my knees. I absentmindedly ran my fingers through his hair.
“Why does it have to be my fault?”
“Isn’t it?”
I shoved his shoulder.
“Seniors, quiet, please.”
Hart’s order brought the murmuring to an end.
“The incident in the cafeteria this morning was unacceptable. I called you all in my office with half a mind to hand down suspensions and expulsions.”
Students jerked at the E-word.
“It soon occurred to me that those measures would not solve the underlying problems of how you all relate to each other. I’ve been a strong proponent of open communication and it being the best way to bridge gaps. Well, now it’s time to put those methods to use.”
Whispers broke out. I hoped they weren’t asking what she meant because it seemed pretty