Black Smoke

At A Crossroads

-8:04 A.M.- Monday.
Ashton Creek High

Last night was just about the only night where even the sound of music coming from my
beat-up stereo couldn't help me sleep. The things Dante had shared at the Burger Joint and the details that Ricky provided were key points that could prove my dad had something to do with a drug dealing business. As much as I wanted to be shocked by it, I could kind of understand. But the man was an alcoholic. Major emphasis on was. If he was doing crack or meth, I would've seen the signs. Marijuana was just about legal in every state at this point, so that couldn't have been part of the raid. I wanted to sit down and ask him straight to his face. Was that the rough and tense part he had mentioned to me? With questions blanketing my mind, I hadn't realized that I put myself in a daze right in front of my locker. The warning bell triggered my senses, and I made my way to first period.

Vanessa called me stating she had a family emergency and wasn't coming to school today. Dante had texted me that he was going to be absent and that he had come down with an irritating stomachache, but I knew he was just skipping out on the Physics and Anatomy exam we were having this afternoon in fifth period. I was alone, and on the most challenging day I had ever had within these walls. Principal Burnett made sure I attended school this morning, passing by the front door of most of my classes. I even caught him at lunch checking in on the lunch ladies right when I got my tray. Half of me wanted to believe something had just recently happened on campus, and seeing I was MIA most of the time, I bet he was looking for something small to pin on me and use it to tie it to whatever thing I did wrong that I didn't do.

It sounds bad, but that's how it was here. 

Before sixth period, I caught him glancing over his shoulder at me in the hallway as I made it back to my locker. He knew as well as I that I wasn't afraid to speak my mind to him. As a matter of fact, why I hadn't done so sooner was a major curiosity. Once the warning bell rang, I stood waiting until the flooded halls emptied, and the ghost-white painted walls reflected off the buffed tile flooring. Purposely, I made myself late to Physics and Anatomy, and right before I caught sight of him, I grabbed a little present from my locker, pressed a button, and stuffed it into my pockets.

"Just as I thought," I said, low enough to sound dramatic, but deep enough for my voice to echo through the hall. "You've been keeping a sharp eye on me. There must be something on your mind."

He scoffed. "Trying to get out of trouble with the tough guy act all of a sudden?"

"Out of trouble?" I questioned. "What'd I do this time?"

"Well, for starters, you're currently late to class." He tapped twice on his fancy Rolex that definitely looked fake. He must've stolen it when the janitor placed it in the lost and found.

"And second, this is about your buddy, Dante."

My outer shell softened at the sound of his name. Especially if it came out of the mouth of the main authority of this hell hole.

"What about him?" I asked a little more coldly.

Burnett gave a sinful grin, crossing his arms over his chest. "A little bird told me about the mental episode he displayed on a student's vehicle. Vandalism is a big deal here. I'm sure you know that with your history of graffiti and destruction of property in the restrooms and athletic locker rooms."

I chuckled. "You have me mixed up with someone else. Even the police, which you've called on me countless times, provided insight that I was nowhere near those incidents when they happened."

Thankfully, both times, cameras caught me inside Mr. Mendoza's shop, which solidified my alibi.

"Well, you weren't, but maybe he was," Burnett muttered. "Lately, he's been a thorn in my side. With the damages in the lot and his absence today, which by the way, puts him in borderline suspension with me, he's in the hot seat. There's no doubt about that, and I can't wait to think of the repercussions that will follow."