Amanda told me I should meet her in room 105, but when I got there it was empty. I waited for a few minutes and then I went to the office. “She’s supposed to be having a free period right now,” Mrs. Grayson, the secretary, said after consulting the schedules on her computer. Another person in the office, a young man, said, “Amanda Bouevier? I think I heard Dr. Coxslanger say something about giving her special tutoring for senior studies.”

“Where would that be?” I asked.

The fellow chuckled, smirked, and said, “All the senior studies projects will be in the new annex. But it hasn’t been officially opened yet.”

I got further directions from Mrs. Grayson and set off for the new annex.

The floors gleamed. Clearly this section of the school hadn’t seen much foot traffic. I went past four classrooms. The doors were shut, but by glancing through the door windows I could see these rooms were unoccupied. Then I came to the fifth door. It didn’t have a window. Probably locked, I thought, but I tried the handle, twisting it as gently as possible. The door opened. I stepped in. A dividing wall separated the entryway from the classroom proper. I could hear something. I stopped and listened. A voice. “Good girl, Amanda. Yes, just like we went over yesterday. No hands. Yes, just like we practiced yesterday. Keep your eyes on me. Excellent. Oh, Amanda, I think ... Oh, you’re going to make me ... you’re going to make me...” Then an exhalation. A quivering moan. I retraced my steps, closing the door softly behind me, and I went back to room 105.