Harmless by Dana Reinhardt Page A

them.
    “Seriously,” said Darby. “I think we should organize some kind of schoolwide response to this event. I think we owe this to Anna and Emma and Mariah and we owe this to the greater Orsonville community, of which our school is an im-portant part.”
    Darby had never once addressed me by my name. I don't mean to say that she was a snob or anything, but she'd never looked at me or smiled at me or even said hello. She'd proba-bly known I was Silas's little sister, but she probably hadn't known my name and she certainly hadn't known Anna's. It may have been a different story with Mariah. Most of the senior girls lived in mortal fear that Mariah would poach one of the boys from their class, but Darby was probably above this, given that her boyfriend was some two hundred miles away. Anyway, it sounded strange to hear her use our names like we were all old friends.
    “I'd like to invite someone up here to address us about how we might help to capture this man who threatens our safety. Please welcome Detective Scott Stevens.”
    Now everyone applauded. How had I missed him in the crowd? He was sitting right there in the second row and when he stood up he looked almost like an exclamation point, his black uniform punctuating the sea of gray flannel. He smiled and nodded at Anna and Mariah as he made his way to the microphone. He'd had a haircut since we'd seen him last and this made his ears stick out even more.
    “Hi, everyone.”
    There was a mumble of “Hi” and “Hey” and “What's up?” from the crowd.
    “I'm just here to let you know what we know, whichunfortunately is not very much, about who this attacker is and ask that if any of you has any information that you think might help us in our pursuit of this suspect, that you contact me or any of the officers down at the station. Also, I hope that after I let you know what little we know, you'll be extra vigilant both in the way you conduct yourselves and also in gathering information that might lead to his arrest. Most im-portantly: Keep your eyes open. Stay alert. Stick together.”
    Detective Stevens didn't think to readjust the microphone, so he was bent over it in a way that made him look awkward, but I could tell that everyone in the room was taking him seriously. I could only see Anna and Mariah from the back, but I could see that Mariah looked stiff and rigid. Her theory about the police just letting this go was looking kind of flimsy.
    When he was done giving his very vague description of the perpetrator (average this, average that), Principal Glasser thanked everyone for coming and said we should all hurry off to our fourth-period classes.
    I got up to leave. Detective Stevens was waiting for me as I came down from the back of the bleachers. He gave me a little wave and I stuck out my hand for him to shake and he took it in both of his and held it for a minute, and the tenderness of this act made my eyes fill with tears. He leaned over and said quietly, “Don't worry, Emma. I'm on this case and I don't give up easily.”
    Just as I reached the door of the gym I felt a hand on my shoulder, another gentle touch. This time it was Ms. Malachy. She told me she wanted me to come see her in her office. She said she thought I looked like I needed someone to talk to.

Mariah
    Over dinner , a rubbery pot roast prepared by Constance, the woman who cleans our house and as far as I know has no real credentials in the kitchen, Mom asked me to tell her about the assembly.
    “It was fine.”
    “Just fine? Tell me more. What did they talk about?”
    “You know. Community safety.”
    Carl put his fork down, clenched his jaw and looked at me. “Don't be such a brat. Your mother is talking to you. Answer her.”
    “I did.”
    “Seriously, Mariah. I've had it with you and your attitude.”
    I managed to sneak a quick look at Jessica and I crossed myeyes and stuck out my tongue. She'd recently lost her two front teeth and she covered the gap in her grin with her