Vengeance by Megan Miranda Page A

principal called me out of last period. For a second I thought maybe the whole thing would be ignored. Maybe stand as a tribute to Carson. And maybe it would have, if my name wasn’t carved in right below.
    I walked into the front office, sat in a chair in front of the glass window that separated the office lobby from the front hall. The secretary was busy talking to the same guy I ran into at the barbecue—Maya’s brother. I knew he was older—in college—but I mistook him for a student when I first walked into the office. There were several papers flattened against the counter between them. “These are the documents you requested,” he said.
    The secretary ran her fingers along each one while Maya’s brother scanned the class photos on the far wall. “Birth certificate, transcript … Seems like we’re still missing her immunization record.”
    “I know,” he said, running his hand through his hair. “I called the doctor’s office. It should be coming.”
    The secretary raised her eyes to him over her glasses. “How old are you, hon?” she asked. He was probably my height, my build. And, like I said, he looked like a student.
    He stacked the papers together and handed them to her and said, “Old enough to be taking care of this.” I guess since his mom needed full-time care, he had to take care of this kind of stuff on her behalf.
    She handed him one last paper and said, “We’ll need your mother’s signature on this one.”
    “I’ll get it,” he said. He drummed his fingers on the counter. “Since I’m here, figured I’d take her home with me.”
    “Sure,” she said. The secretary picked up a phone and said, “Maya Johnson to the main office for early dismissal.”
    The secretary waved her fingers at me. “She’ll be right with you, Decker.”
    He turned around, and I realized it was the features he shared with Maya that made him seem younger. But he had dark circles under his brown eyes, and his skin was paler, which made him seem older. He blinked heavily in my direction. “Hey,” he said. “Last night. I didn’t know …” He shook his head. “Decker. Of Decker and Delaney.” He quirked his mouth. “Sorry, I didn’t realize you were a friend of Maya’s.”
    “Friend” was kind of an overstatement. “Right,” I said, and I stuck out my hand to shake his. He was stronger than I expected. He gripped my hand like my dad’s lawyer friendswould. Trying to show authority in the work place. An adult handshake. Guess he had to, since he was pretty much filling that role.
    “Holden,” he said. “Brother of Maya’s.” Then he dropped his voice lower and said, “Sorry to hear about your dad, by the way.”
    “Thanks,” I said. Should’ve been your mom, but thanks .
    “Decker?” Mrs. Woolworth was standing halfway out of her office, motioning for me to enter.
    I saw Maya sprinting down the hall, her backpack bobbing on her back with each step, like a little kid, as I turned to go. She threw open the door and whispered, “Score one for the brother!” Then, lower, “I thought you had to leave this morning.”
    He laughed. “I’m drowning in paperwork. Your paperwork,” he said.
    She bit the inside of her mouth. “I thought you had a test you couldn’t miss.”
    He hooked an arm around her neck, pulling her out the door. “Turns out, I didn’t want to miss dinner with my pain-in-the-ass sister.”
    “Come on, Decker,” Mrs. Woolworth said. I waved to Maya, but she was already leaving. If she’d seen me, she’d forgotten about me a fraction of a second later. So I turned for the office, my punishment waiting on the other side.
    Her desk was pristine. The entire office was pristine. Not a paper in sight, not a speck of dust. She was in charge of discipline at the school. Carson used to say her stare alone could break you.
    But right now, sitting across from me, she was trying to look kind. Caring. It didn’t quite translate.
    “I know it’s been a rough month for