Blackstone Academy: The Rogue

19. Troy Roman

Troy (Male P.O.V) 

Date: October 2, 2238

I knocked on the doorframe of the Dean's office, my mind reeling with the possibilities of what was to come. Spoiler, none of them ended well.

Dean Winston set down the file he was perusing on his desk and looked up at me. "Come in, Come in." He said, motioning with two raised ringers for me to enter.

I stepped inside, taking in my surroundings while crossing the room. The office's spacious with brown leather furnishings, two metal filing cabinets with potted plants on top soaking up the rays pouring in from the window above them, and his large oakwood desk smack dab in the middle.

"Is there a reason you wanted to see me?" I sat stiffly on the edge of the chair across from his desk.

"Yes, as you know, there was an incident this past weekend."

He waited for me to nod before continuing, "And Dr. Rivers told me he saw you when the attack occurred."

My mouth fell slightly open as I stared at him in disbelief. "Dr. Rivers only saw me?"

"Yes, you and a few other students. But mainly you when everything was happening."

This was bullshit! Was everyone else invisible or something? I know I am a big guy but really, only me.

"There was also an incident..." he flipped through the file he'd been previously reading upon my arrival. And only now did I realize it was mine.

"What incident?" I growled.

"In History class a few weeks back. Someone reported that you were extremely vocal about the mutants and trying to rile up your classmates."

"What?! Who told you that?" I leaned forward to peek at the papers, but he snatched them back.

"Uhm... they prefer to remain anonymous." He quickly closed the file and dropped them inside the top drawer of his desk.

"They prefer to remain anonymous," I scoffed, falling back against the seat as my knee bounced.

It could have been the cameras in the room, Mr. Lennox, or any one of my classmates that were present at the time. Or, hell, all of them based on how agitated he became. And why was this mentioned now? Instead of when it actually fucking occurred?

Mr. Lennox had already punished me, but instead of wiping the slate clean, it seemed they were trying to use it to implicate me.

"Troy," Dean Winston softly called, breaking me from my thoughts. His chair creaked as he leaned forward and folded his hands on his desk. "Is there any correlation between the incident at Family Day and what you said in class?"

"No." I firmly replied, holding his gaze.

"Well, we have a problem then, Troy." He sighed, smoothing his palm over his shiny bald head. "I have a teacher's eyewitness and then this."

"What?"

He stood up, grabbed the silver tablet off his desk, and rounded the desk until he stood in front of me. After tapping on the screen twice, he flipped it around, showing me security footage of the hallway leading to the lab.

"You, on camera, heading down to the lab before it conveniently cuts out." He said as I watched myself on the screen do exactly as described.

Fuckk. My stomach dropped to my feet. And if I weren't already sitting, I'd be on the floor.

"Now," he set down the tablet and bent over the chair with his hands on the armrests, bringing his face level with mine. "I'm going to ask you one final time. Is there something you need to tell me?"

"I uh," I licked my suddenly dry lips and swallowed. "I know this looks bad. But I just went down there to get my friend."

"What friend? What's their name?" He pressed, leaning a bit closer, the woodsy scent of his aftershave tickling my nose.

I mashed my lips together, my eyes drifting off to the right side, where a covered painting leaned against the wall. There was no way in hell I would give up Kayden's name. They were already trying to blame shit on me, and they'd only do the same to him if I did.

After my silence dragged on long enough, he straightened and looked down at me from his nose.

"You don't want to tell me? That's fine," he said, tugging at the sleeves of his navy suit. "I can always check the logs. But I was hoping you would save me the trouble."

Still, I said nothing.

He sighed again, and from the corner of my eye, I saw him lightly shake his head. "You know, I wonder if this "friend" would be as loyal to you if they were here."

I turned back to face him, a seed of doubt planted in my head.

Would he?

Before I could contemplate it too long, the door bursts open, banging against the wall. I jumped and whipped around to face the door as Mr. Lennox entered the room.

"Mr. Lennox, is there a reason you're barging into my office?!" Dean Winston barked.

"I-I just want to say we shouldn't be interrogating the students. But holding a ceremony to pray for a speedy recovery for Ms. Jacobs. And even offering counseling sessions for anyone that needs to vent."

Dean Winston holds up his hand. "Yes, I agree with you. I was just about to dismiss Troy now."

"Oh." Mr. Lennox squeaked.

My head swiveled back to Dean Winston. "You were?"

"Yes." He smiled for the first time since entering the room, the corners of his eyes crinkling as he waved me away. "Go, go."