The Risk Of Falling (Edited)

SIXTEEN

I wanted to figure out who DP was. My mind was made up. When I would get back to my dorm after classes, I would look for him in my yearbook from last year. All I had to get through my last period, which was Classic American Literature. The good thing about today was that we were reading a book on the teacher's list.

I hardly got anywhere in my book for two reasons. One, it was quite boring. Two, all I could think about was finding out who DP was. Trying to immerse myself in my book, I focused on the words on the pages. My mind raced with thoughts instead of focusing on the book.

Thankfully, the bell rang, ending the day. I hurriedly packed up my backpack and nearly sprinted out of the classroom. The hallways were already full, so I had to push my way through the flood. Unfortunately for me, the girls' dorms were the farthest away from all of the classrooms. If I was quick enough, I could bypass all of the traffic in Gideon Hallway.

I was successful! I sped through Gideon Hallway before the mess of my classmates came. Charlotte always told me I was slow, but I proved her wrong that day. Speaking of Charlotte . . . "Luna!" she called out from behind me. I slowed down and turned around. "Where are you going? We have Spanish Club tonight."

My heart sank. "Really?"

"Yeah," she said, reaching me. She frowned and said, "Why were you rushing off to our room? You always know when we have Spanish Club."

"I want to find out who DP is."

"DP?"

"The kid I'm texting," I explained, nodding slowly. Behind Charlotte, a wave of kids came strolling toward us, so I pulled her to the side of the hallway. "We figured out that we go to the same school."

"What?" Charlotte asked, her mouth dropping open. "He goes here?"

"Apparently."

"Nice," Charlotte said, nodding. "But finding out who he is has to wait. Spanish Club is waiting for us."

"Yeah, yeah, I know," I said, my shoulders dropping. I really wanted to go through all my yearbooks, but I couldn't. "But, when we get back to our room, I'm going to look through our yearbook to see if anyone in there has the initials of DP."

"Yes, ma'am," Charlotte said, laughing. I followed her to the Spanish classroom, still thinking about DP. A part of me wanted to know who he was, but then the other part told me to keep him as a mystery.

Our Spanish teacher sat at her desk, an annoyed look on her face. I noticed a kid sitting right in front of her desk, and he seemed to be getting a stern talking to from Mrs. Garcia. I guessed he cheated on a test because Mrs. Garcia said, "You have detention for the next week, Mr. Philips. I do not tolerate this sort of behavior."

The kid grumbled an apology and stood up, brushing past Charlotte and me. "Hey, Mrs. Garcia," I said, albeit rather awkwardly.

"Miss Paige, Miss Oakley," Mrs. Garcia said, nodding in our direction. Her hawk eyes narrowed when she looked at her computer screen. "Please sit."

We did as she asked. The room felt a little cold, so I pulled my blazer tighter around my shoulders. She continued tapping away at her computer, and my eyes glanced at the door. No one else was here. That was weird. The Spanish Club had at least ten kids that came every month, so where are they? Charlotte nudged my hand and whispered, "Why are we the only ones here?"

"You read my mind." I grinned but shrugged. "I have no clue. Maybe she just wants to talk to us about something."

"We didn't do anything wrong."

"It's probably for the scholarship for seniors," I pointed out, nodding. "We are seniors, after all."

"Ooh, good idea."