Front Page Face-Off by Jo Whittemore

forty-two, forty-two.”
    Paige’s words shattered my concentration. “Your dad wears T-shirts and he’s a geek?” I’d assumed he spent his time on a yacht sipping champagne, not playing video games. “How did you turn out so different?”
    She glared at me. “What’s that supposed to mean? I’m smart. I got a perfect score on the Seventeen personality test.”
    I rolled my eyes. “I mean geekdom is almost as genetic as freckles. I’m just surprised your dad doesn’t rub off on you.”
    Paige shrugged. “He probably doesn’t have enough time to rub off. I only get to see him once a month.”
    â€œOh.” That hadn’t been the answer I expected. “Sorry.”
    â€œIt’s no big deal.” She smirked, as if an apology were so out of fashion. “Can you imagine all the lame things he’d make me do if he were around? He’d probably take me to dorky movies and have me help him shop for better clothes.” She laughed, but it sounded halfhearted and fake.
    â€œYeah.” I forced a laugh too and got back to work, searching for the next number in the combination and the end to the awkwardness.
    Paige leaned against the locker next to Katie’s. “He’s not in prison.” The snotty tone had returned to her voice. “I know that’s what you’re thinking.”
    I shook my head. “Prisoners can have visitors every week,so I never thought that. Remember the number fifteen.” It wasn’t the next number in the combination, but I could tell she needed a distraction.
    Paige started chanting. “Forty-two, fifteen. Forty-two, fifteen. Forty-two … fine!” She stopped and turned to me, sighing deeply. “If you’re going to make such a big deal of it, I’ll tell you.”
    For once, I actually wasn’t curious for dirt on someone’s private life. “Um … okay.”
    â€œMy dad left us, and my mom had a better lawyer, so she got full custody. She promised nothing would change, but she’s so controlling.” Her nostrils flared with emotion. “The only time I get to see him is when I sneak out during her monthly garden club meeting.”
    I’d found the last number to Katie’s combination, but I didn’t open the locker. I wasn’t sure if it was worse to lose someone entirely, like I had, or to lose someone just enough to make it painful to see them again.
    â€œWhy don’t you ask your mom to let you visit him?”
    She rolled her eyes and snapped her gum. “Didn’t you hear? I have absolutely no power over her.”
    This from the girl who controlled one of the most influential groups of students at Brighton. Or maybe that was why she controlled them … because the rest of her life wasn’t up to her.
    Paige frowned and pointed at the locker. “Have you figured this out or do we need to call a locksmith?”
    â€œOh. Right.” I jerked on the lever and pulled the door open.
    Katie’s locker was surprisingly neat. The space had been sectioned off with colorful plastic shelves so that her textbooks rested on the bottom and her binders and personal effects lay across the middle. The top shelf, however, was a mystery.
    â€œ What is that?” Paige prodded at a red metallic ball, the only thing occupying the space. It was the size and shape of a grapefruit and had a nozzle mounted on top.
    â€œHair spray?” I suggested.
    Paige shook her head. “Katie’s hair doesn’t look crunchy enough.”
    â€œPerfume?”
    â€œIn a container like that?” She sniffed at me. “It’s not like you’d know, anyway.”
    I ignored her and chewed on my lip. “This might sound weird, but it kind of looks like a fire extinguisher. I’ll search for it on the Internet when I get a chance.”
    I took my cell phone out and snapped a picture of the container, then moved on