Making the Grade (The Model Spy #2)

Chapter 20 - Failing

There was an excited chatter circulating around the dining hall, bouncing from table to table. I had never before realized how many students actually went to St. Margaret's, but they were all packed into the hall. Groups of girls sitting close together at tables, gangs of boys sitting on top of the tables, students arriving last-minute standing along the walls. The staff was huddled around Professor Scott. All of the professors wore solemn, pinched expressions that went unnoticed by the hundreds of students nearby.

One professor appeared more anxious than the rest. Professor Lewis stood apart from the teachers. I watched his fidgeting hands. In his suit pockets, out of the pockets, crossed in front of his chest, clasped behind his back. He couldn't remain still. Even more frantic were his eyes. They flitted back and forth, looking for someone. Looking for Jayden.

"Millie," I said quietly, "why don't you stick with Max. Stay by his side." I stood on the tips of my toes as I spoke, scanning the crowd for Jayden and Haylee.

Millie anxiously agreed.

"I won't let anything happen to you," Max said.

            At the sound of his unusually low voice, I shot Max a look, my eyebrows raised. Was he flirting with her? He didn't notice me staring at him, his eyes glancing down at Millie through his curtain of messy hair.

            I nearly bit my lip and smiled. They were adorably awkward and together made one of the cutest couples I had ever seen. Millie looked like a little fairy, with her wild hair and flower barrette and Max's face was so red, I thought he was about to burst. He deserved someone like Millie. I remembered his story about Missy, the girl who had cheated on him. And then there was me, the girl who hadn't given him the attention he deserved, my heart and mind too preoccupied with someone else.

            "Settle down, settle down!" Professor Scott ordered. Gradually, the talking in the dining hall subsided.

            I was beginning to grow worried. I saw Lucas, sitting at the end of a table with a bunch of girls. I saw Jayden's friends sitting on top of a table. McKay, the boy from the underground, who had gotten into an argument with Jayden, was standing at the back of the hall with his gang of friends. Then I found them, Haylee and Jayden together, standing in front of the door, having just come into the dining hall. I appeared to be the only one who noticed them. All other eyes were on Professor Scott.

            "As many of you are aware, terrible tragedies have befallen this school. You all have a right to know what has been happening," Professor Scott's eyes darted towards Fred, standing off to her left.

            The excited chatter grew loud again.

            "There is a murderer loose," a girl next to me informed a nearby friend. "That's what Morgan said."

            A boy behind me spoke in a booming voice so that all around could hear him. "That fire the other night? It was started on purpose, but it was meant for Cheshire Hall. They haven't caught the guy yet. He is still out there, lurking in the village." Girls gasped in response.

            "Please, quiet," Professor Scott pleaded several times.

            The talk subsided again.

            "You will all learn everything in due time." There was a groan. "Until then, there will be an investigation into the sequence of horrific events occurring throughout the school." The students began to talk once more, upset that they couldn't add more fuel to their burning piles of rumors. Members of the staff lowered their heads, knowing fully well what Professor Scott was about to say next, something I didn't think the students had picked up on yet.