Good Intentions

Ch24: Laying Traps

Sang Pov

Mr. Blackbourne: I will have eyes and ears on you Miss Sorenson. 

I read the message three times before I decided how to feel about it. It was a good thing obviously, I needed the support when it came to Mr. Hendricks. He was a tricky, evil little man, and I didn't want to be alone with him any more than I had wanted to be alone with McCoy. The thought of him sent a shiver down my spine, and I involuntarily looked around, half expecting him to pop out. 

Where was he now? Was he really gone? As I was about to open the door to the main office, I noticed a familiar face running towards me. 

"Hi Wil, are you okay?" He was panting a little bit and he seemed a little flushed. His head jerked up at my voice, as he stopped with me right in front of the door.

Breathless, he responded. "Yeah, I'm just running late for an appointment with my adviser." He opened the door for us and motioned me to go in first. As he shut the door, he was about to ask more when a male voice shouted out for me.

"Get in here Miss Sorenson. Now." Mr. Hendricks did not look happy! Wil shot me a surprised look. I waved goodbye and made my way into Hendricks' office. Taking a deep steadying breath, I sat down and tried to find my courage. I wasn't really sure where it had gone, but I was already starting to shake. He closed the door and made his way over to his desk. He was watching me like a hawk. He sat in front of me, propped both elbows on his desk, and then rested his chin on his hands, still staring at me, waiting. After several long tense moments, he began. 

"Well, Miss Sorenson. Care to explain yourself?" I watched him warily for a moment. His voice was much too calm. There was a triumphant look to his eyes that set me further on edge, and I was really starting to wonder if the man was all there in the head. He seemed almost manic at times. 

"Explain myself about what?" I squeaked. I knew he probably wanted to know why I wasn't in class yesterday, as well as if I had learned anything new to tell him. But I was starting to learn, that when people wanted information out of you, it was important to get them to show as many of their cards as possible first. Learning how they planned to use the information you gave them was essential. 

He made an inelegant grunt and wiped at his mouth with his right hand. "You missed half the day Monday, almost got into a fight with Jade Williams during lunch," I startled at that, not realizing that was something he would know. "Then I catch you coming out of a closet with the Taylor boy, the very boy that started the almost fight." My eyes widened. How did he know what the fight was about? That seemed a little too specific for him to know. "And then yesterday, you spent the entire day in the library, not attending a single one of your classes. Now, I think I have been more than kind to you, considering our situation. But if you do not start giving me some honest answers, I will have no choice but to call your parents and lighten your class load to something you can handle better with all of these absences."

And there it was. The one threat he could make that might actually matter. Not for the first time, I wondered if he knew more than we thought he did. He really liked to threaten me with calling my parents, and honestly, I was a little shocked that he hadn't yet. I was absent a lot. I did get into a fair amount of trouble in this school. Shouldn't my parents be notified? Wouldn't most students expect that they would be? I lifted my hand up to my face and pressed on my lips to buy myself some time. I was really trying to break that habit, but in this moment, I could use it, and I was so nervous. 

I knew I had to figure out what he was after, I just wasn't sure how to. I also needed to figure out how much he really knew about me and my situation. Feeling my phone vibrate, a plan started to formulate in my mind.