TEACHER'S PET

TWO

Most of the class was starting to get out of their seats. My eyes shifted over the worried faces and riot of curious teenagers. There were a few who had stayed in their chairs, and they leaned into each other whispering and wondering what was going on. Everyone had their cell phones out, texting each other as another scream tore through the hall.

Among the students still seated was her. Montana Heights, the late comer. She hadn't taken out her cell phone, or even bothered to whisper with her classmates. Instead, she was looking at me, brown eyes locking with my green ones. I swallowed as she poked her tongue out licking her lips. My phone felt like it was burning a hole in my pocket daring me to look at the picture again.

Why her? Out of everyone who could have been placed in my Homeroom class, why did it have to be Montana? My fingers flexed and I felt my throat going dry. All the control I had over my class was falling away. I tried to think back to last year when I was a student teacher. All of the advice and pointers I was given for when your class was becoming unruly.

"Everyone sit down," I said, authoritatively. That trick had worked last year. Of course, last year it was a different group of children I had worked with here at North West. The ones who had stood up sank back into their chairs again. That was a start at least.

A beep sounded and I looked down at the tablet in my hands. A new message appeared on the screen: All Teachers Report To Main Office. Undoubtedly it was about the scream. I swallowed as I looked towards the door.

There was the sound of footsteps racing down the hall. I was getting the feeling this wasn't just some girl being overdramatic. What could have possibly happened? For now, the screams had stopped but I was still wondering if someone was hurt. It wasn't my business either way. Before I could close my door all the way a head of graying brown hair peeked into my room.

"Mr. Velez." Mr. Grace spoke my name like a curse, sharp and unmoved. Benjamin Grace had been the principal at North West Boarding School long before my time. "Let's go," he commanded as if I was a dog.

"Finish your pictures. I expect you all to introduce yourselves with them when I get back," I told my class before leaving out the room. The door closed behind me and I could hear the automatic lock click.

I looked to Mr. Grace as he started to jog down the hall. The slightly overweight middle aged man had been a hardass since I was still in high school. I hated the man back when I was younger, and actually, I didn't care for him much now. The difference was that now he was my boss.

Stopping in front of the main office most of the teachers had already gathered we waited about ten more minutes for the rest. I already knew here on the faulty women outnumbered the male teachers two to one. There was about twenty-five teachers in the whole school. Only a little over three hundred students were accepted here at one time. Though as I looked around I could see a few of them were still missing.

Mr. Grace paced the line of us his hands folded behind his back. "There has been an incidence." Mr. Grace went on to say. My eyes shifted around the area. "Hartman, Jasselson, Witse, Stone . . ." Grace went on calling out the last names of all of the female teachers. "Check the halls, the bathrooms. Make sure all students remind inside of their classes. Do walk through of the classrooms as well. This doesn't get out to anyone."

What was this? What was happening? My heart squeezed, my hands were clammy. What was this incidence? Something serious, something that would make Mr. Grace all all of the teachers out of their classes.

"Katsos and Arrand go to the security room, the guards have already contacted the police. Looking over the tapes, make sure there is nothing unseemly on them." My eyes shifted to Mr. Katsos and Arrand they both nodded walking down the hall and towards the basement stairs. This was starting to sound like some kind of coverup. What the hell were we covering up?