The Fugitive Grandma

Chapter 48 - School Shock

At Santa Ramona Middle School, Sabrina noticed that the other students were suddenly treating her differently. The girls and boys in class who had always looked up to her and come to say hello in the lunchroom now stayed away.

Sitting at an empty table, eating the lunch her mother had packed, Sabrina became alarmed when the grinning Maguire boys came over.

“I’m really sorry for you. It’s only a matter of time before they find your friend Johnny and lock him up, along with the rest of his crazy family.” Tim chuckled.

“Maybe you should forget about him. Maybe you should make some new friends,” Stan added. His suggestion was part invitation, part threat.

“Maybe you should leave me alone.”

“You’re making a mistake, Sabrina,” Tim said with a sigh. “But I guess there’s no accounting for bad taste. I can guarantee you one thing. The only way you’re ever going to see Johnny again is in jail. He’s going to get caught. We’ll make sure of that. And when that happens, his life will be over.”

“How are you going to make sure of anything?”

The brothers exchanged glances, laughing like they shared some inside joke, and then walked off.

Sabrina took her asthma pills with water and returned to class. It was another dose of the new medication that her father had brought home in a big case after his meeting with Elmer Dillinger. She discovered the case on the top shelf of the cupboard under the bathroom sink. Sabrina knew her father had never used this cupboard for medicine before, which made her wonder why he’d put it there. It was like he didn’t want her to know about it.

The next class was American history; her teacher, Mr. Horn, was also the soccer coach. Although this used to be one of her favorite subjects, today she was restless and had trouble following the lesson.

Mr. Horn was talking about the conditions that led up to the Civil War. He described the Underground Railroad and how the abolitionists and runaway slaves worked together, breaking the law and hiding from the government, creating a secret system to provide a passage to freedom.

“What they did was right, but society and the law told them it was wrong. They didn’t have the government or the law on their side. But they did what they believed was right. They took risks and they were willing to pay the price. That should be a lesson for all of you. Ordinary people can change things.”

Toward the end of class, Sabrina was surprised to see the pretty detective, Rebecca Little, enter and engage her teacher. After the recess bell rang, Mr. Horn asked Sabrina to stay for a moment and speak with the detective.

“Sabrina, I am sure you know about Johnny and the robbery from the TV news. Ms. Little here is still trying to get any information she can to locate Johnny and find out what really happened. I think we all owe it to Johnny to help bring him in and sort out the truth.” The teacher left the room, so it was just Sabrina and Rebecca.

The detective’s blue eyes had a piercing quality, like those of a hawk that can spot small creatures on the ground from high in the air. Sabrina felt tightness in her chest as the detective inspected her. It was the sensation she had felt leading up to one of her attacks in the past.

“I know this must be hard for you,” Rebecca said once they were alone. “I know that you two grew up together, that your father worked with his grandma. I know you care about him and want to see him safe. That’s why anything you can tell me will help.”

“He’s in a lot of trouble, isn’t he?”

“First of all, we both know that he’s a good kid. He’s not a bad kid. And whatever happened, he’s young and can set his life straight. Kids always get a second chance. That’s how the system works. But if he keeps running away, things could get worse. Maybe he just keeps hiding. Once a boy his age lives in the shadows long enough, he’ll get mixed up with the wrong people. He won’t have a chance to come back. He won’t have a future. I don’t want to see this happen. I know you don’t, either. That’s why you’ve got to tell me any information you have about him. Has he contacted you at all since he disappeared last week?”

Sabrina took a deep breath and the tightness in her chest disappeared. The air flowed freely in and out of her lungs. “I wish I could help you, Detective, but I don’t know anything. I haven’t heard anything from Johnny at all. The last time I talked to him was here in school, two weeks ago, before he disappeared.”

“Did he ever talk about doing something like this, Sabrina? Did he ever tell you about his dreams?”

“No. I don’t think he had a dream.”

The detective said nothing. Finally, she flashed her soft smile again and thanked Sabrina for her time. Before she left the room, Rebecca turned to Sabrina once more.

“You’re a very smart girl, but I guess you don’t know much about boys yet. Every boy has a dream.”