Chapter 44

7:30 a.m. Wednesday

Andy pulled into the student parking lot 15 minutes earlier than usual. The drive from the hotel had been far less congested than his normal route. If he had known, he would have slept later. Evan had been waiting up for him when he got to the hotel – ostensibly to make sure he was settled but also because he wanted to talk to Andy for a few minutes. Those few minutes had turned into almost two hours and it was almost 1 a.m. when Andy had gotten to bed. As it was, his back ached from lifting hundreds of boxes the night before and his fingers were still stiff from sorting through thousands of pamphlets extolling the virtues of the latest anti-aging wonder drug.

Even though it was mid-May, the weather was dreary and wet when Andy exited the car. He didn't own an umbrella so he pulled his hood over his head and started toward the school. Despite the fact that the student lot was almost empty, his assigned spot was numbered so he couldn't park any closer to the school than normal.

The teachers' lot was full. They had a variety of duties before and after school – although Andy didn't know what they were. He saw two teachers sitting in their cars several rows apart. All tobacco products were banned on campus and even the teachers were supposed to leave the grounds to smoke. The first teacher saw Andy pass by her car and at least tried to hide her cigarette. The second teacher didn't seem to care if he saw her or not. He ignored the first teacher but made it a point to wave cheerfully at the second. She made it a point to scowl at him as he walked by her car.

The hallway was empty when Andy passed through the security doors. He knew several busses had already arrived but those students were not permitted to roam the hallways. They were sequestered in the cafeteria until 7:45 a.m. when they would be released to go to their lockers before heading to their first class. On sunny days, most students that arrived early would simply stay outside the building. On rainy days, they would be packed like cattle in the eating area.

Andy decided he really didn't care if most of them suffocated in there. He had a pass from the librarian that permitted him to go there before school and that's where he headed. He knew there would be a "surprise" quiz in Spanish – because there had been a surprise quiz every other Wednesday since the first week of school. He groaned as he sat down on the stained, thin cushions of one of the mismatched chairs that surrounded the tables in the library. He wished he had a laptop or a tablet. The school's WiFi signal was constant but the ancient computers in the room would take forever to boot up. They wouldn't be turned on until 7:45 – and some of the screens would still be blank when the first class started at 8:03.

Instead, he pulled out his Spanish notes and started to go over the material. He knew the information but he really had nothing else to do. That changed when a shadow fell across him.

"I saw your car and figured you'd hide in here," Chris said, sitting down opposite Andy. "What happened to you guys at lunch yesterday? I felt like I had leprosy, eating by my lonesome."

"It's a long story," Andy replied, shaking his head. "I'll fill you in this afternoon. I thought you hung out in the band room of the mornings."

"Abby was being a drama queen yesterday," Chris replied, rolling his eyes. "She was telling some of her friends that I was lying to everyone about where I went this weekend and who I was taking to prom. I showed them a picture of Ruth and Joy and she went bat-shit. Rather than deal with her this morning, the band director gave me a pass to here."

"She had to know she couldn't get away with acting that way," Andy said. "The band always seemed like a real insular group."

"If you mean we gossip like old ladies in a nursing home, then you're right," Chris answered, laughing. "Abby is getting a little lesson in humility."

"Well deserved," Andy told him.

"Sure but that doesn't mean she's enjoying it," Chris said. "Did you see the shoes they're wearing Saturday? Joy said her platforms are like six-inches high."

"Did you see the dresses they're wearing?" Andy shot back. "I'm guessing there isn't six inches of material on both of them."

"They sent me a picture of what Regan is wearing," Chris said, shaking his head.

"I'll show you the picture they sent me if you show me the one they sent you," Andy whispered.

"I stopped playing 'I'll show you mine if you show me yours' when I was about 10!" Chris told him. "That game can get you into trouble."

Andy chuckled and shook his head.

"Seriously, I promised I wouldn't," Chris stated. "After last weekend, well, I'm not about to argue with them."

"No," Andy said. "Is Regan's dress ... uh... ?"

"It's sexy," Chris answered the unasked question. "I don't think it's in bad taste. I would have said something to her if I thought she might come off as anything but the classy young lady I'm getting to know. How about Ruth and Joy?"

"The same," Andy answered. "They are dressing to accentuate their best physical features. Ruth's is ... well, her rack is going to draw a lot of attention. The picture I saw of Joy's drew the eye to her butt. But I wouldn't be embarrassed to be seen with either of them."

"How about both of them?" Elizabeth asked as she put her hands on Andy's shoulders from behind. It hurt and he immediately stiffened. She pulled away as though she touched a hot stove. "Sorry."

"No, it's fine," Andy replied. "Work was a bitch last night. I'm sore from lifting boxes for six hours."

"Here," Elizabeth said. She started to knead the muscles in Andy's shoulders and neck. Andy thought Elizabeth had a future as a masseuse if college didn't work out.

"I'm sorry, Miss Pena," the librarian said, walking over. "You know that physical interaction between students is forbidden in the library."

Elizabeth shook her head but stopped the massage and sat down between Chris and Andy.

"You have people fucking in the stairwell and she's worried about a shoulder rub," Chris said, also shaking his head.

"Language, please," the librarian said. She was in her mid-30s, Andy guessed, and she was attractive in a shy, wholesome way. "If I were to see what you've referenced, I would stop it. As it is, I can only enforce what I see – and I spend my day in here."

"We're sorry," Andy said. He didn't want to lose his library pass for the rest of the semester. "You do what you can. We understand that. It's just, to be honest, we found out many troubling things about the school system in the past two days and I'm afraid we've come to look at all of its employees in a bad light."

The library looked at the clock on the wall. She had five minutes before the warning bell rang so she pulled out the final seat at the table.

"What have you learned?" she asked, clearly interested.

"Well, this," Elizabeth said. She looked directly at the security camera not 10 feet away and raised both of her hands with the middle fingers extended.

"Miss Pena!" the librarian hissed. "You do realize that I am compelled to give you in-school suspension for that? I'm sitting right here with you so I can't even claim it was done without my knowledge!"

"Miss Parnell, that would be an issue if the camera actually worked," Andy said with disgust clear in his voice. "We learned yesterday that there are three cameras active in this entire school. The next time you're out in the hallway, look at the one there. It's active. It has a red light on the bottom. Then look at the one in this room. It has the light but it isn't on. This camera doesn't work."

The librarian looked up at the camera and then back to the students. She had known Andy Drayton and Elizabeth Pena since they were sophomores.

"The cameras don't work," she said to herself in disbelief. "I'm here – alone – most of the day. If people knew the cameras in here are inactive, I could be in terrible danger. Those are there to protect not only the students from each other but the faculty and staff from the students!"

"And let's not forget protecting students from predatory teachers," Chris said. "You can't open up a news site without seeing where some lonely female teacher has been caught diddling one of her students."

Melissa Parnell shot Chris a harsh look. She didn't know him so he didn't get the same sort of leeway that Andy and Elizabeth might.

"It's true," Andy said. "It's all true. It's worse at the middle school. The only camera there that works is the one at the security station that records who goes in and who goes out. The rest of the building is completely dark. A girl in my building has been getting harassed for months and there is no visual record."

"I'm going to contact my union rep," the librarian stated. She stood and left without another word.

"Typical," Chris said as he watched her leave. "They look after their own asses first. What's up with the girl now?"

"I need to tell you something, Andy," Elizabeth said, tugging at his arm to get his attention. "I left you two messages and sent you two texts last night but you didn't call me back."

"I can't have my cell phone at work," Andy replied even though it wasn't really an answer.

"I talked it over with my parents last night," Elizabeth said. "We're prepared to have her come live with us – starting today if necessary."

"Seriously?" Andy asked.

"I think it's a good solution," Elizabeth replied, ignoring Chris' perplexed expression. "We're far enough away that no one is going to look for her there."

"What about your asshole brother?" Andy inquired.

"He will not be a problem," Elizabeth declared. "You and Paul can talk to him and if he so much as looks at her cross-eyed, I will sic Tomas and Rico on him. He wasn't home last night but you have my word, Chuck will not be a problem. I just don't see any other options."

"Regan's parents offered to take her in," Andy said. "And Evan told me last night that she could stay with us at the hotel."

"Seriously?" Elizabeth asked. It was her turn to be confused.

"Wait!" Chris said, holding his hand up like a traffic cop. "Why does she have to go anywhere?"

The warning bell rang and Andy frowned. He didn't have time to get into the conversation but he knew Chris wanted to know. The man, despite weighing 150 pounds, had volunteered to skip orchestra practice on Monday to help Andy escort Lupe home.

"She snitched out the kids who've been bothering her," Andy said, condensing the situation down into one sentence.

"I would have, too," Chris stated.

"Not if you grew up the way she did," Elizabeth cut in. "It's my fault. I got the school board involved and I talked her into laying it out there. You're not seriously thinking about having her stay with you, are you, Andy? That would be a really bad idea."

"It would be a horrible idea," Andy agreed. "But I was bit worried that Lupe would show up at the Rileys wearing a tube top and short shorts and it would ruin her shot at C-B."

"That wouldn't be a problem at my house," Elizabeth stated.

"Until your asshole brother got a glimpse and tried to corner her in the bathroom," Andy replied. "I know he's your brother but..."

"He's a total asshole," Elizabeth finished. "Yeah, I know it better than you do. We turned one of the rooms downstairs into a bedroom for my grandmother a couple of years ago before she died. He's been bitching about moving there since they carried her body out. He thinks it will make it easier for him to sneak around – like anyone gives a shit what he does. Dad's going to move him down there – and give him firm instructions he is not to go upstairs for any reason. Lupe can have his old room and we'll share a bathroom. His room has its own shower so he won't need to use ours. Dad even said he would put a door at the bottom of the stairs if it made Lupe more comfortable. I told Dad, upfront, what would happen to Chuck if he bothers that girl. If you and Paul don't leave him in a Dumpster, Rico and Tomas will."

"That's not hyperbole," Andy said as the group arose and headed toward their lockers. "I didn't give a shit if he fucked Erin but Lupe is off limits."

"And I don't give a shit that he fucked Abby," Chris cut in. All eyes turned to him. "That's who she hooked up with Friday night – or so I've heard. But if you two are willing to stand up for this girl, I'll stand beside you. And I'm a sneaky little fucker. I won't fight fair; I'll smash his fucking knee with a tire iron from behind if he bothers her. Let him try to play basketball on one leg."

"Damn," Andy said as Chris turned off for the band hallway without another word.

"I don't think he was kidding," Elizabeth mentioned.