Untouchable (Private 3)

"I just don't see what you're accomplishing by making a girl cry. Sir," Josh said.

"Josh. It's okay," I croaked.

He was going to get us expelled if he kept it up. Or arrested. Or both.

Chief Sheridan held Josh's gaze for a long moment, then turned his back to us and whispered to the dean. I strained to hear, but all I could pick up were a few stray words.

"... punishment..."

". . . naive . . ."

". . . useful. . ."

Finally, the chief turned to us again. "You may go to class," he said, exhaling through his nose. The dean, meanwhile, turned his chair to the side, away from us. He looked like a deflated blowup toy version of himself.

Neither Josh nor I moved. It couldn't be that simple.

45

"I appreciate that you tried to do the right thing by coming in here today," the chief said. "It was a little late, but nevertheless, I see no point in charging you with anything. As minors you would get a slap on the wrist, and from the looks on your faces, I believe you've already gotten that."

Not just on the wrist. Across the face and in the stomach. With brass knuckles.

"But if you think of anything else--anything at all--you are to come to us immediately. Understood?" he asked, pressing one finger into the desktop.

"Yes, sir," Josh said, standing.

"Yes, sir," I echoed, my voice watery.

"Good," the chief said. "Now get out of here before I change my mind."

46

* * *

Weeks ago. Could have found him weeks ago. Thomas had been lying dead somewhere for at least a couple of weeks. But where? Where had they found him? The rumors were conflicting. I'd heard he was found in a field behind the public school. Near a stream in the hills. In some random abandoned building. And-- the one that made me shudder the most--in the trunk of a beat-up old car.

Was I ever going to know the truth?

"Reed, you should really eat something," Ariana said in her mothering tone.

I blinked. The cafeteria was so hushed I had zoned out and forgotten where I was. My turkey sandwich on wheat toast stared up at me, untouched. Kiran and Natasha had just settled in across the table. I hadn't even heard them arrive.

"At least eat the bread," Ariana prodded gently.

"Eat the meat. You need the protein, not the carbs," Kiran said as she lifted a thick issue of Vogue out of her bag.

47

Natasha looked at me and smiled. Was Kiran ever not thinking about calorie counts? Ariana stared Kiran down while Kiran flipped past the pages and pages of ads at the front of her magazine as if she didn't notice.

"What? Carbs will just weigh her down. We're trying to get her energy up, right?" Kiran said finally, her green eyes wide. "Thus, protein."

No one could ever ignore a serious stare from Ariana. I flicked the bread off the top of my sandwich and ate a piece of turkey with my fingers. "Happy?"

Kiran wrinkled her dainty nose. "I would have preferred a fork, but that's fine."

Noelle walked over and sat in her usual chair across from Ariana at the end of the table. She let out a frustrated sigh and glared at Taylor as she slipped in behind me and dropped down in the next chair. Taylor's nose was red and her curls were matted and dark. As if they hadn't seen suds in days. She looked tired. Like someone who had spent the entire night staring at her alarm clock, calculating how many hours of sleep she could get if she just passed out right now.