Blue Money | Nick Robinson

Chapter Fourteen: Broken

I always thought once your whole world fell apart that it couldn't get any worse, that watching everything you love crumble was the worst of it.

I was wrong.

Eileen and I woke up to the sounds of shouting girls. My first thought was that maybe some people were just getting into a fight and I would have turned around and gone back to sleep but one of those voices was Savannah and the other was Layla.

I scramble out of bed and open the door, Eileen standing behind me.

The first thing I notice is Savannah. She's standing in the hallway, jeans and a t-shirt, no shoes on and tears rolling down her cheeks. There are suitcases and bags next to her, looking like they were clumsily thrown from the room. The second thing I notice is Layla, arms crossed, eyebrow arched and that silky smirk planted on her face. And the third thing I notice is headmaster Calaway standing next to the pile of suitcases with two school security guards (They suck at their jobs) standing on either side of him.

There are girls peeking their heads out from their doors to see the commotion as Savannah defends herself to Calaway. She's rambling on and on about how she didn't do it and that they can't just kick her out like this. That's when I step in.

I rush to Savannah's side and place an arm around her but I look at Calaway "You're kicking her out?"

"Miss Paul broke one of our rules and she's lucky I don't have her arrested," His beady eyes are boring into mine and I try not to shiver.

"Why would you arrest her?" I ask.

"Last time I checked," Layla chimes in. "Drugs are illegal."

I glare at her and she doesn't even blink. Bitch.

"Anna, it wasn't mine," Savannah whispers in my ear.

I know Sav keeps everything in the vent above her bed. I knew she wouldn't have just left something out in the open.

"Where's the proof? You can't just throw her out," I stand up straighter, still holding tightly to Savannah who's holding back tears.

Headmaster Calaway gives me a look and I knew I had said the wrong thing. His voice is raised as he speaks as if he wants everyone in the hall to know what Savannah had done.

"There was an illegal substance on her bed and I will not stand for that kind of foolishness in MY school!" He spits out the words. "A car is coming to drop Miss Paul off at the airport but after that she is no longer in our hands. She has been expelled and if she doesn't vacate this premises immediately, I will be forced to take drastic action and call the authorities!" His voice booms around the hall and everyone seems to shrink back. Nobody wants to get on his bad side.

I look helplessly to Eileen but she shakes her head as if to say 'there's nothing we can do' and I feel my heart get sucker punched so hard it could have fallen out of my body.

The next few minutes feel like they're happening in slow motion. Savannah is wrenched from my grip by the guards in clean and crisp white and blue uniforms, Calaway gives a subtle nod to Layla as if saying thank you and I knew that this was her doing, her hands unraveling everything.

One of the guards starts practically dragging Savannah by her arm out of the hall that's filling up with curious girls who start getting their phones out to film the fall of an already broken princess who used to live inside a bubble that burst.

The other guard grabs her suitcases, escorting her out. Savannah twists to look at me, a look of panic on her face and I just shake my head. She looks away.