together in the last twenty-four hours . . . I wanted to be trusted. I
was
trustworthy. But you had to know people to trust them, and I hardly ever got to know anyone because of how often we moved. It wasn’t like I thought Anavi and I were close already, but I’d believed her when no one else would. I not only wanted to help her, but I liked and even admired her, not just for the mystifying gift she had at spelling, but the way she’d felled that troll. The way she was fighting to hold on to herself.
But she didn’t trust me.
SmallvilleGuy trusts you.
Yeah, and he probably also thinks I’m ticked off at him because of the way I signed off last night.
I sighed. “Look, I made you a promise. I’m helping you. Worry about staying away from the Warheads, but don’t worry about my end of the deal. This will all be over soon enough.”
The PA crackled and I was summoned again. Time to face the principal’s obnoxiousness.
“Lois, that’s not what I intended,” Anavi stopped me. “I . . . I
want
you to use my name. It will lend more credence to the story. And I thank you.”
I nodded, not quite able to speak. I’d misunderstood. She
was
trusting me.
As I left, I let the cafeteria door bang shut behind me, once again on a mission. There was no one in the empty hallway to notice the noise. I could not under any circumstances—whether it was attack by brain-stealing jerks or troll-pocalypse—fail Anavi.
I didn’t meet a soul until I arrived outside the office. When I was a few steps away from the door, it opened and who should come out but the one and only James the Third.
James the Third just happened to be in the principal’s office when I was called to it? Uh-huh
.
What if he’d ratted out the way we hacked into the school system to take a look at the Warheads’ schedules? I didn’t like silver spoon guy, but would he
do
something that vile? Betray his fellow staffers, even Devin who’d told me to cut him some slack? And, if he had told, could he prove it?
His expression was
almost
unreadable, but not quite. What I saw there was a hint of apology.
“What did you do, the Third?” I asked as I passed him.
He held the door, always with the polite manners. He said, “Nothing, but be careful with—”
But his suggestion was cut short by the appearance of Principal Butler. An oily smile oozed across his face. “Ms. Lane, it’s about time you showed up. Ronda, when did you call for her, again?”
“Ten minutes ago, sir,” she answered. Her voice squeaked on the final word.
Sometimes a first impression was wrong. Most of the time, it wasn’t. I remembered just how much I had disliked Butler the other morning. By now, if anything, that amount had doubled. He might pretend to be nice, but you could always tell what kind of boss someone was by how their assistant acted around them. He had poor Ronda walking on eggshells, which must have been uncomfortable in high heels.
“See you at the office, old chum,” I said to James, “and we’ll catch up on tricks.”
I said it so I wasn’t hopping to Butler’s command,
and
so he’d know that James and I worked together. If he didn’t already.
James would also get the message that I wouldn’t let it go if he’d played the part of rat. Bonus.
Gratifyingly, the principal’s disapproval—as evidenced by the disappearance of his fake smile—meant I scored a direct hit by not hurrying. I sauntered toward him, taking my sweet, sweet time.
“Funny, it doesn’t take ten minutes to get here from anywhere in the building,” he said as I neared. “Of course, since you decided to cut class this morning, maybe you weren’t
in
the building.”
So much for this place being different
. I’d forgotten about the plan again, in the moment.
But I hadn’t even done anything wrong. My story hadn’t run yet.
The story. That’s why you’re here. Anavi needs your help.
I followed him up the hallway and into his over-decorated office. Taking a seat
was
trustworthy. But you had to know people to trust them, and I hardly ever got to know anyone because of how often we moved. It wasn’t like I thought Anavi and I were close already, but I’d believed her when no one else would. I not only wanted to help her, but I liked and even admired her, not just for the mystifying gift she had at spelling, but the way she’d felled that troll. The way she was fighting to hold on to herself.
But she didn’t trust me.
SmallvilleGuy trusts you.
Yeah, and he probably also thinks I’m ticked off at him because of the way I signed off last night.
I sighed. “Look, I made you a promise. I’m helping you. Worry about staying away from the Warheads, but don’t worry about my end of the deal. This will all be over soon enough.”
The PA crackled and I was summoned again. Time to face the principal’s obnoxiousness.
“Lois, that’s not what I intended,” Anavi stopped me. “I . . . I
want
you to use my name. It will lend more credence to the story. And I thank you.”
I nodded, not quite able to speak. I’d misunderstood. She
was
trusting me.
As I left, I let the cafeteria door bang shut behind me, once again on a mission. There was no one in the empty hallway to notice the noise. I could not under any circumstances—whether it was attack by brain-stealing jerks or troll-pocalypse—fail Anavi.
I didn’t meet a soul until I arrived outside the office. When I was a few steps away from the door, it opened and who should come out but the one and only James the Third.
James the Third just happened to be in the principal’s office when I was called to it? Uh-huh
.
What if he’d ratted out the way we hacked into the school system to take a look at the Warheads’ schedules? I didn’t like silver spoon guy, but would he
do
something that vile? Betray his fellow staffers, even Devin who’d told me to cut him some slack? And, if he had told, could he prove it?
His expression was
almost
unreadable, but not quite. What I saw there was a hint of apology.
“What did you do, the Third?” I asked as I passed him.
He held the door, always with the polite manners. He said, “Nothing, but be careful with—”
But his suggestion was cut short by the appearance of Principal Butler. An oily smile oozed across his face. “Ms. Lane, it’s about time you showed up. Ronda, when did you call for her, again?”
“Ten minutes ago, sir,” she answered. Her voice squeaked on the final word.
Sometimes a first impression was wrong. Most of the time, it wasn’t. I remembered just how much I had disliked Butler the other morning. By now, if anything, that amount had doubled. He might pretend to be nice, but you could always tell what kind of boss someone was by how their assistant acted around them. He had poor Ronda walking on eggshells, which must have been uncomfortable in high heels.
“See you at the office, old chum,” I said to James, “and we’ll catch up on tricks.”
I said it so I wasn’t hopping to Butler’s command,
and
so he’d know that James and I worked together. If he didn’t already.
James would also get the message that I wouldn’t let it go if he’d played the part of rat. Bonus.
Gratifyingly, the principal’s disapproval—as evidenced by the disappearance of his fake smile—meant I scored a direct hit by not hurrying. I sauntered toward him, taking my sweet, sweet time.
“Funny, it doesn’t take ten minutes to get here from anywhere in the building,” he said as I neared. “Of course, since you decided to cut class this morning, maybe you weren’t
in
the building.”
So much for this place being different
. I’d forgotten about the plan again, in the moment.
But I hadn’t even done anything wrong. My story hadn’t run yet.
The story. That’s why you’re here. Anavi needs your help.
I followed him up the hallway and into his over-decorated office. Taking a seat
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