Between These Lines (A Young Adult Novel) (12 page)

“You’d
better come with me, Mr. Mitman. Bring your belongings.”

A
look of bewilderment plastered across Chase’s features. “What’s this about?”

“Just
bring your things,” was the only answer Professor Coleman gave.

“Chase,”
I whispered, watching him closely, but I was cut off by a stern look from our
otherwise usually calm English teacher.

Chase
turned his head and followed Professor Coleman down the corridor. He looked
back over his shoulder, his lips mouth out the words
“Four o’clock”—
and
then he disappeared toward Headmaster Whitley’s office.

Chapter Seventeen

Chase

“Have a
seat, Mr. Mitman,” was the first thing I heard after the door closed behind me.
I was ushered to a wooden chair opposite a large walnut desk with a stark white
desk calendar bearing the Whitley Preparatory crest in the center of it.

Headmaster
Whitley stood behind the desk. He was a tall, slender man with a determined jaw
line and the same ice blue eyes as his nephew. In my opinion, he looked too
young to be a Headmaster, and I briefly wondered if sneaky corruption ran in
the family.

Professor
Coleman stood behind me at the door, guarding my only chance of escape. He
looked at his watch every couple of minutes and appeared uncomfortable when our
eyes met, then he cleared his throat and nodded, motioning for me to turn in my
chair and face forward.

“Do
you use illegal substances, Mr. Mitman?” Headmaster Whitley asked as he drummed
his fingers on the desk.
 

“I’m
sorry, sir?”

“Illegal
substances. Drugs. Have you ever used them?”

“No.”
That was a ridiculous question. I had never, ever tried a drug in my life.

Headmaster
Whitley turned to face the wall behind his desk, lacing his fingers behind his
back. For a few moments there was utter, excruciating silence, which I tried to
use wisely and wrack my brain for anything that would explain why I was sitting
here.
   

He
turned back around and tossed a small plastic bag onto the desk and waited for
my reaction. At first, I didn’t know what it was, and then I put two and two
together. Something had been confiscated, and Headmaster Whitley was accusing
me of being its owner.

“Well?”
he asked.

I
motioned with a nod of my head to the little plastic lump taking center stage.
“What is it?”

A
little harrumph escaped his lips. “You don’t know?” I watched as he exchanged
looks with Professor Coleman, who hadn’t moved from his place behind me.

“No,
sir. I don’t.”

“This
was found lying beneath your desk in Professor Coleman’s class. It was found
after a sweep was completed before lunch.” His expression was one of smug
anticipation as he waited for me to break my composure and give in.

“Well,
it’s not mine,” I insisted. “Besides, I wasn’t at my desk during English. I was
at one of the lab tables in the back of the room working on a project.”

Once
again his eyes swept to the door before returning his accusing gaze to me.

“I’ll
be honest with you, Chase. You’ve been through a rough couple of years, rough
enough to change a person, but your record has stayed remarkably clean. We’ve
already had the bag dusted for prints and yours are not on it.”

Dumbstruck,
I lost all sense of reserve and stood up. “Then why did you accuse me?”

“I
didn’t accuse you,” Headmaster explained. “I simply asked if you had ever used
before, not if this happened to belong to you. There’s a difference. You see
the bag was situated just beneath the leg of your desk to imply that you had
dropped it, when really, it was placed there on purpose.”

“Who
put it there?”

“Why
don’t you sit back down and we’ll talk?” He took his seat on the other side of
the massive desk. Clearly I couldn’t do anything else but follow his
suggestion.

Never
had anyone ever tried to pin something so unbelievably criminal against me. I
may not have any close friends, but I was certain I didn’t have such hateful
enemies either –at least not until recently. I shook my head disbelieving
that my simple association with Evie would result in such an extreme act. As of
yesterday, I knew of one person who would have a substance like that on him. Ty
Dunhammer. But Ty would never have a solid enough reason to involve me or blame
me, let alone waste his valuable stock by planting it beneath my desk in order
to get me in trouble.

I
shuddered with anger knowing exactly who would have such a motive.
Shane.
But how was I supposed to convince the man in front of me that his own nephew,
his own flesh and blood, could conspire to set me up?

What
came out of Headmaster Whitley’s mouth next was enough to make anyone’s jaw
drop to the floor.

“Chase,
do you understand what tough love is?”

“I’ve
heard of it, sir.”

He
was up and standing again, this time pacing behind his desk.

“My
nephew, Shane, has a little problem. It seems the fact that I run this
institution has given him a very cocky approach to life.”

No,
really?

“My
brother’s son has always had an ego, always managed to stay ahead and be
well-liked.

I’m
afraid his confidence has gotten him into a mess he may not be able to talk
himself out of.”

“Sir,
I really don’t understand what this has to do with me,” I gently interrupted,
eager for him to get on with it and tell me I could go back to class.
 

He
held up his hand, reminding me of the way Shane cut me off in the bathroom
earlier. “It’s at Professor Coleman’s urging that I’m speaking to you in
strictest confidence, Mr. Mitman. Things are very tricky where this is
concerned, and this will very soon be taken out of my hands. I’ve made a deal
with the authorities that I would handle this my way first, before they do
their job. You see, if my nephew is arrested for carrying cocaine, it would
cause quite a scandal for Whitley Preparatory. I’ve convinced the D.A. that if
I can inform them of an accomplice, or perhaps a supplier among the student
body, it will save a great deal of grief from the Board, and give my nephew the
help he needs by means of rehabilitation.”

He
needs a lot more help than that,
I thought to myself. “So what exactly do you
want from me?”

He
leaned over the desk. “I’ve heard you’re getting awfully chummy with a few of
Shane’s closest friends.”

“I
don’t see it that way.”

“Evie
Cunningham is working on a paper with you, is she not? And you were seen eating
lunch with Shane’s friends yesterday. I’d say you’re in. Now, is there anything
you might be willing to tell me?”

My
hands were coated in sweat. Oh, sure, I knew a lot, but was it safe to say so?
Regardless of being head of the school, this man was Shane’s uncle. Did my own
past experiences with Shane, combined with what Evie had just divulged in the
library, count as safe? What if Evie found out that I spilled everything she’d
just entrusted me with? She’d never forgive me, and it would absolutely ruin
all that’s just developed these last couple of days between us. But Shane hurt
Evie, and if he was out of the way, getting help somewhere, then it would be
worth it. I was teetering on the edge of what was right and what was wrong,
moral and immoral, tattling or speaking out. So many people had been hurt by
Shane, used by him, just so he could get what he wanted. Even if what he wanted
was nothing more than a good laugh.

It
was wrong. They knew it. Evie knew it—and so did I.

I
closed my eyes, swallowed hard, and told Headmaster Whitley and Professor
Coleman everything I knew. I told them about the paper I saw at the library,
about Ty, and about the deal

I
was cornered into this morning in the bathroom. The only detail I left out was
that I was sure Shane had caused the terrible bruise Evie tried so hard to hide
today. It was the one thing I would have chosen to spill first, but I knew Evie
never would have wanted that. And I wanted to keep her out of this as much as I
could.

A
brief flash of disgust and hurt flashed across the Headmaster’s eyes, while the
rest of his face remained composed. I sank into the hard chair beneath me,
suddenly wishing I could take back every single word. But it was too late. I
had agreed to cooperate.

I
was in.

Headmaster
Whitley resumed his pacing, the lines in his forehead deepened as he proceeded
to wear his carpet thin. “I happen to know there’s another party scheduled for
this weekend. There seems to be a lot of these lately.”

My
surprise must have stopped him mid-thought.

“Oh,
yes, Mr. Mitman, I’m quite aware of what goes on in and out of school.”

“Do
you think this is wise?” chimed the reluctant voice of Professor Coleman,
speaking up for the first time since setting foot inside the office.

“It’s
not only wise, but absolutely necessary. Chase?”

He
stared down at me again. I had unexpectedly switched from the accused to the
accessory in a matter of minutes. I leaned my head down and thought long and
hard. When I finally looked up, Headmaster Whitley’s blue eyes no longer
appeared so cold and intimidating. They looked hopeful. I suppose this was why
I ended up agreeing to go through with the plan.

Now
I needed to tell Evie I had changed my mind, and was going to Jake’s after all.
Even though she didn’t want me there.

For
all intents and purposes, we had to make it look like I had been interrogated,
and then reprimanded. Shane and his friends had eyes and ears all over the
school. We had to be careful not to let any of them know this was an agreement
to work together – to set the wrongs to right; that Shane was about to
lose his throne. It would be the biggest plot Whitley Prep had ever seen. Blood
against blood. But it was more than that. Once and for all the lines of hatred
and game playing that pitted one student against the other could be erased.

Apart
from Professor Coleman, the other faculty members were to be informed at a
meeting that would take place later. I was to be dismissed immediately and
taken downtown for supposed questioning, as well as a drug test, just to be
sure I had nothing to hide. Aunt Claudie was briefed over the phone while I
stayed seated in the office. I was still a minor, but I also knew it was so I
wouldn’t be given the third degree when I was finally released to go home.

I
left Headmaster Whitley’s office knowing two things: one, I was going to Jake’s
party to set up Shane Whitley. And two: there was no way I would make it to
Evie’s by four o’clock.

***

Aunt
Claudie shook her head at me. “When on earth did all this happen?”

I
pulled my eyes from the window and looked over at her. I had been mesmerized by
the horizon painfully whizzing past at twenty-five miles per hour; how the
landscape slowly changed from grass to black top. Aunt Claudie at the wheel was
an unusual sight, and since precipitation wasn’t an issue, it was safe to
assume it was my fault. I’d offered to drive, especially after taking a look at
the time displayed on the dashboard, but she wouldn’t have it.

I
was never going to make it to Evie’s.

I
was able to zone out for a few minutes as we drove home from the police
station. Now and then her tongue would click against her teeth, a habit of hers
when she worried and needed to sort things out in her head. I remembered my dad
used to do the same thing, and I used to laugh at him because it sounded funny.
Now, it brought back a hollow memory of him and the pit of my stomach ached as
I realized Aunt Claudie was truly distressed over today.

“Just
this week,” I muttered softly. When
did
all this start? When did my life
suddenly get so complicated?

I
watched her knuckles grip the steering wheel as she continued to shake her head
and stare out the windshield. I knew she wanted to turn away from the road and
look at me, but she was smart and didn’t. She shook her head again, the gray
curls framing her face bobbed to and fro.

Aunt
Claudie must have been doing her hair when the call from school interrupted
her, and I smiled to myself as I pictured her answering the phone, her head
piled high with rollers and bobby pins.

“All
my life, Chase, I never thought you’d get mixed up in something like this.
Aren’t schools like yours supposed to prevent this? Gangs? Drugs?”

“Whitley
doesn’t have a gang, Aunt Claudie.” Well, technically, it did. But not the type
she was picturing.

“Has
this boy threatened you in any way? I just don’t understand.”

“He’s
just used to getting his way.” My head turned back to the blurry horizon. I
wasn’t about to tell her Shane had cornered me in the bathroom. If she knew he
had threatened me about the accident, about my scars, she’d pull me out of that
school faster than anything. Aunt Claudie was determined to protect me from my
past, but I couldn’t let that happen. Not when Evie was vulnerable too.