“Well?” the principal addresses me. “What do you have to say for yourself?”
“We’re totally innocent,” I state fervently.
“Is that right? I’ve been receiving complaints about stolen items for the past week. Many of them suggesting you as the culprit.”
“Why would I steal from my own locker?” I protest. “And Destin’s was cleared out just this afternoon!”
“I’m sure it was,” she says dryly. “Tell me why. Are you looking for revenge on those who’ve wronged you? More importantly, how did you do it? Not a single lock showed signs of entry. If you tell me how you accomplished it, I may be more lenient.”
“I didn’t do it,” I state. “We were here tonight trying to catch the thing that did!”
“The thing?” she says, expressionless.
“He was making up something about - what was it Dupree - a ninja monkey?” Hyde chuckles. “Seriously, you can do better than that.”
“And I suppose you saw it too, Mr. Heron?”
Destin colors under his curtain of hair. “It was...a shadow...” he murmurs lamely.
“How helpful,” she says coldly. “I’ll tell the staff to beware a loose shadow.”
“It’s real, I swear!” I exclaim. “It set off all the mousetraps I stuffed in my locker and then it broke the window - ”
“Mr. Dupree,” she interrupts. “You and Mr. Heron are going to pay back the damages you have incurred. You will spend your free period assisting teachers with whatever odd tasks they assign you, until the end of the semester.”
“This is unfair!” I shout. “We didn’t do anything!”
“You broke into school after hours,” she states. “A transgression on its own. If you insist on continuing to protest, I will bring the matter before your parents.”
I swallow. Umino’s wrath was bad enough. My mom thinks I’m in my room doing homework right now. If she even heard I had snuck out of the house at night...
“Fine,” I grumble.
“If your...shadow turns up, your names will be cleared, of course,” she smiles condescendingly. “Until then, someone must pay the debt to society. You understand. Now go home, all of you,” she orders, with a glance at Hyde as well. She turns on her heel and strides back into her office.
“You’re a groveling kiss-up, is what you are,” I hiss at Hyde, the instant her door shuts.
“And you’ll be mopping the science lab for the next two months,” he leers. “You kids have fun with that.” He strides out the front doors, laughing.
“We’re doomed,” Destin sighs.
I’m inclined to agree with him. “Oh, come on, let’s at least take your comics home,” I grumble. This has not turned out well. This is the opposite of well.
I stuff a couple of the candy bars into my pocket. No sense in letting them go to waste. Destin picks up his comics. He frowns over one bent page but remains silent as we exit the school.
I’m lost in thought as we cross the parking lot. Which means I’m saying everything I’m thinking.
“This is hands down the weirdest thing that has ever happened to us,” I groan. “What kind of ninja monkey would break into a school to steal chocolate and books? Who would train it to do that? And what the hell is it?”
“Did you get a good look at it?” Destin asks.
“It was too dark. I mean I saw a tail, and I think there was fur...”
A light tug at my back pocket distracts me. I spin, but a dark creature about the size of a cat is already sprinting for the trees with a candy bar in its mouth. It leaps for a high branch and disappears, gliding into the forest.
I stand with my mouth open. “Those were wings.”
“Underarm webbing, actually,” Destin says, with the kind of calm that only comes from being totally stunned.
“Like a bat. But it ran like a cat...”
“I thought you said it was a monkey!” He’s starting to freak out now.
“Well now I’m saying ninja catbat!” I return.
“Oh, that’ll go over well,” he says with sarcasm. “Hey, Principal Umino, sorry about earlier. It’s actually a ninja catbat that’s been stealing my comics. Why does it want my comics? Who could say! Maybe ninja catbats love a good illustrated plotline. How should I know? I’ve never heard of them before in my life!”
“Ok, ok, I’m sorry, look, calm down,” I say, gesturing at the ground. Downy grey feathers are sifting around his sneakers.
“Crap,” he says, taking a steadying breath.
“Look, let’s just go home,” I say. “Maybe just stop taking comics to school for awhile.”
“Yeah like that’s going to happen,” he grumbles.
“Then just don’t put them in your locker, alright?” I sigh. “We’re going to get to the bottom of this and clear our names. I am not cleaning Tailor’s chalkboard until Christmas.”
“Get to the bottom of it how?” Destin asks.
“It was headed right towards the old lumbermill,” I say. “So that’s where we’re going on Saturday.”
“It’s condemned for a reason,” he says nervously, pulling a feather out of his sleeve and tossing it aside.
“All the more reason it could hide there,” I state, starting the walk home.
Oh, right, Destin molts when he’s freaked out. I probably should have mentioned that sooner.
Chapter 7
Jul
“The pancakes are really good,” I said, smiling weakly.
“Thank you,” Bea said, returning to her own food with no further acknowledgment.
Bea and I were eating our breakfast in relative silence again. I was learning to appreciate her cooking but she didn’t seem to be warming up to me any. Though still nervous about going to school - I was only just finishing my first week - I was gaining a small amount of appetite in the mornings, which was for the best. Her disapproval seemed to lessen when I ate her food. It helped that it was actually really good. I’d never had homemade pancakes before - I’d had some decent ones at restaurants, but nothing like this. I sipped on orange juice while she drank black coffee. A plate of bacon sat between us, but I hadn’t touched it. I still couldn’t tell her I was vegetarian.
“Are you making any friends at school?” she asked suddenly, and I nearly choked on a piece of pancake.
“Um...ah...not yet,” I admitted.
“Why not?” she asked bluntly.
“They’re not um...they don’t...”
“Speak up, Juliet.”
“Everyone seems to have groups of friends already,” I said quickly. “It’s, um, not that big a deal.” I mean, I wasn’t in elementary school. But if I was honest with myself, it was a big deal. I had been almost invisible at my old school, and I was so tired of feeling so alone. But what was my other option? Being rejected?
“You need to be more assertive,” Bea stated. “Just introduce yourself to people and start talking. Eventually you’ll find someone with similar interests.”
Easy for you to say, I thought. “I’m...not sure assertive is in my blood,” I laughed weakly.
Bea gave me a strange look. “It is. Just...try to make some nice, normal friends. I know there are some weird kids at that school...what about Hayley Dupree? She’s a normal girl,” she stated, taking a swig of coffee.
Maybe a little too normal for me.
Ms. Miller was late to class. That hadn’t happened before. I had my mother’s blank journal in my bag, and I occupied myself by searching the pages, fiber by fiber, for the hundredth time. It had to mean something. My fingers traced my mother’s imprinted name as the tardy chemistry teacher burst into the door, all smiles and energy. I closed the journal self-consciously.
“End of term science projects,” Ms. Miller declared, grinning from ear to ear. “These are going to be a lot of fun, I promise. I’ve picked out some really interesting ones. They’re a little too complex for just two people, so what we’re going to do is, I’m going to be putting two tables together for these.”