Dark Alley

Chapter 20

     I am alone in the English room with Mrs. Dekker. There was nothing to stare so I decided to study her - I can see how old she is from afar, her brown dyed hair, her wrinkled forehead and the dress she wears. It was like the black laced dress she wore yesterday, but this time longer.

     Detention is much like being back in the alley, but this one’s better because I get to see other things. I distract myself with the books stacked on the shelf. I want to check out what’s inside the shelf. Mrs. Dekker's keen eyes tell me to not move, or to not stare anywhere but her.

     "What do you want from me?" I break the silence for her. "I should be home for now, Calvin's going to be mad at me if I can't go on time."

     "Is that what you call your guardian? Calvin?"

     "Yes," I say. "Now what do you want from me?" I asked her again and she wasn't really interested in answering that, for now.

     "I just read your records this afternoon; I learned Calvin Harrison acts as your guardian, as in the father of Tracy Harrison?"

     "Yes maam." Why does she know all of these? Is it necessary for my record to place my identity, even if it's all a lie?

     "I understand," she says.

     "Understand what?"

     "About your nature, you've never been to a real school right?"

     I nodded.

     "I know this is hard for you, to quickly switch in a new atmosphere because you were once home schooled. But it doesn't mean you are one, you have to be mean to the other students."

     "What?" I asked. Mean. Me?

     "I talked to the class yesterday, after you ditched thirty minutes before I dismissed them, you were asleep on the whole period, which happened again today," she says. "I was surprized they didn't like your behaviour Foster. Same with the teachers, I talked with them yesterday and most of them told me about your absence in their class in your first day."

     "Mrs. Dekker what they told you was a form of fabrication."

     "Which one?"

     "The students from your class," I say. "It was Dean."

     "Dean?" She pauses. "Continue please, o god why haven't I thought of it?" She started panicking and acting like Tracy from our conversation yesterday.

      I didn't ask of what she did not think of happening, instead I told her what she asked to hear. I told her everything about what happened in my first day, about Dean and his friends who threw me in the large trash can, then in the afternoon when they told me about the class being dismissed already.

     I was glad Mrs. Dekker understood. She said I was bullied and that I have to help her so that she can take the action to give Dean and the others their consequence. Mrs. Dekker asked me specifically who these other people are; she wants me to exploit them all. I mentioned a guy named Seth, also Johnny, and lastly Antoinette with Kim and Veronica.

     "These names are already known for doing things like that," she says, "it's been a long time since they did that to someone, I can't believe they could do that again."

     "They've been doing that and there's nothing you're going to do with it?"

      "Of course I'll do something, but first you have to give a proof, that you are not making false witnesses," she says while she scratches her left elbow with her other hand. I thought she understands. She looks back at me like she forgot to mention something to me. "You are close to Tracy Harrison?"

     "Yes," I say, I didn't tell her that we really aren't that close, especially now that she has not talked to me. "Why'd you ask?"

     "Is she one of them? You know who bullied you?"

     "No," I say, it was more of an explanation point. "She can never do that to me."

     "Well it's not that I do not believe you but Tracy Harrison, she has been friends with these exact people who bullied you since they were in middle school. Are you sure she has nothing to do with it?"

     "No, I swear. She has nothing to do with it," I said. She even called him a jerk, I wanted to add that one but I kept it in mind instead.

     "So you're telling me Dean choosing you to do his classic play was just a coincidence?"

     "Yes."

     "You're not covering her up?"

     "Why would I do that?"

     "Because they've done this before, a lot of times until the scandal happened."

     "What scandal?" I paused to look at her.

     "It's none of your concern Foster."

     "Does it have something to do with Tracy?"

     "The school was trying to get over it Foster, and we have no intentions to bring it back again."

     "Why because you'll be threatened I might bring it back? Why are you protecting them Mrs. Dekker? You hate them inside yet you greet them every day like nothing was wrong with them."

     "I'm helping them to move on, and by moving on it means that you have nothing to know about the scandal I just mentioned," she says. "I want to protect my students. That's all."

     "Then why do you hate Tracy?"

     "I didn't say that."

     "But you sounded like you are, you're accusing me of covering up for her."

     "I am not," she says and then continues with a hard breath. "Just be careful when you're near them okay?"

     "Okay," I tell her. She asked me to leave without even saying it. So I did.

     One thing that's running in my mind is Tracy, I think Tracy would be the second least (because Maricriss is first) who could actually think of harming me. I have to see her; I have to know her intentions for me.