Chapter 4

By morning the next day, rumors spread like wildfire around the school that someone had been beaten so badly, they’d been hospitalized. It was curious since the only people who knew directly what had happened were those at the hospital, the principal, and the perpetrators themselves. When Brittany arrived at school, only a few people seemed to know who that person was. She got weird looks from a few classmates, including her former friends Patricia and Kendra. She’d stopped talking to them when she decided to date Warren and really didn’t miss them much.

She never found them very supportive of her interests, especially in science; usually making fun of her for studying and being a good student. She figured they only hung out because of who they dated. Like many at Madison High, they couldn’t see beyond the county lines, choosing to moor themselves in the familiar and comfortable. They’d likely marry someone local, never go beyond the borders of Wisconsin, get fat, and pop out a couple of children to men who talked of the glory days of high school. That was never the future Brittany wanted for herself. It was something she shared in common with Warren.

“Hey Britt, where’s your booooyfriend?” laughed Kendra.

“Yeah, did he hurt himself reading last night? Maybe you can science-him-up some painkillers,” heckled Patricia.

Brittany didn’t react. She didn’t give them the satisfaction they craved. Instead, she gripped her books tighter to her chest, imagining herself slugging both of them with the heaviest book she owned. She carried on down the hall towards her first class, which happened to be chemistry.

She arrived early at Linda’s classroom and found her teacher was already there talking to Principal Polaski. They seemed to be having a rather heated discussion, but talking softly enough that she couldn’t overhear what it was about. Both women stopped when they noticed she had entered the classroom and talked quieter as Brittany took her normal seat. She casually took out her notebook, readying herself for class, while attempting to covertly watch the goings on in front of her. When the warning bell sounded, Principal Polaski turned and left, giving a half smile in Brittany’s direction. After she left the room, Brittany turned to look at her teacher, who signaled everything was alright.

Brittany knew they had been talking about Warren and the attack last night. She didn’t have to be a genius to figure that out. Linda didn’t tell her what the nature of the conversation was since other students started filtering into the classroom. Brittany wasn’t worried, though. She knew Linda would tell her at lunch today. The group had planned to meet up at lunch before they had left the hospital the night before. From the way the conversation had gone, it didn’t look promising they’d have justice through legitimate channels. Thanks to Andrea, they already knew the cameras hadn’t caught a thing, and unless someone witnessed something, there was little hope.

When the final bell sounded and everyone had taken their seats, Brittany looked over to the empty stool where Warren usually sat. It was strange to see him missing, as he usually had flawless attendance, much to her annoyance in her previous life. Brittany was so preoccupied staring off toward the empty station that Linda had to ask her twice for the answer to a question. Linda wasn’t doing it to be malicious. She knew what the girl was going through. But it was to subtly get her mind back into the classroom and out of that hospital room. She needed to be here. Warren would have wanted it that way.

“Manganese dioxide.” Brittany’s quick mind suddenly snapped back to the present after reading the contextual clues on the whiteboard. “It can be used as an oxidizing agent for organic synthesis.”

“That’s right. Very good, Brittany. So the Molar mass of...” Linda carried on with her lesson, noting that Brittany was absorbed back into the classroom. She felt for her, knowing it couldn’t be easy sitting there the next day like it was a normal Tuesday. However, to the rest of the world, it was.

Linda was struggling a bit herself, having to stand there and teach her lesson plan. While it gave her some semblance of normalcy, a structure to focus on, she was screaming internally. The discussion with Donna Polaski had gone about as well as they’d expected. There was no evidence, no witnesses, and likely no punishment for Chuck and his thugs. The school’s official stance was that they didn’t want to punish another student without evidence, especially one with such a bright future. Chuck had been given a full scholarship at Arizona State a few weeks ago, which would be in jeopardy if he were suspended for a violent assault.

The sheriff’s office was likely to come to the same conclusion, even with Warren’s identification. The worst part was that she was going to have to tell the seven students this news at lunch today. Chuck Rodgers would face no official punishment from either the justice system or the school, and it ate her up inside. She wanted justice; she wanted punishment; she wanted blood for blood; something - anything to wipe that smug look off of his arrogant face.

“Miss?” A voice brought the teacher back. She, too, had wandered off in mid-sentence.

“Sorry, Jolene. Lost my train of thought there. Catalysts create...” Linda jumped right back into her lesson. Her eyes caught Brittany’s, and they both understood one another. This was going to be a rough day.

By the time the bell rang for the end of first period, word had spread around the school about specifically who had been attacked the day before. Brittany walked down the hallways between classes to longer looks and whispered voices. While it wasn’t surprising that gossip traveled so quickly around the small rural school, it angered her that people seemed to know who’d done it, but no one was saying anything. It was the worst kept secret, and no one cared because it had happened to Warren.