Vanished (Private 12)

Instantly, everyone around me fell silent. My original plan had been to wait until Hathaway had launched into his usual slate of announcements about club meetings and alumni days and keeping the campus clean, but my impatience got the best of me. I jumped up, stepped into the aisle, and screamed at the top of my lungs.

“Snake!” I shouted, pointing at the floor, my eyes wide. “Snake! There’s a snake in the chapel!” Every single person in the room turned to gape at me.

“Reed! What’re you doing?” Lorna cried.

“There’s nothing there,” Astrid said.

“Miss Brennan, kindly take your seat,” Mr. Hathaway ordered, his words clipped.

“Snake!” I screamed again, edging around my imaginary reptile. My face was so hot I actually thought it might spontaneously burst into flame, but still I pressed on. “Snake! Everyone get out! There’s a snake in the chapel!”

“Miss Brennan!” Headmaster Hathaway shouted.

Missy, Constance, and some of the other girls in their row started to laugh. I grabbed Missy by the shoulder and yanked her out of the pew. “Snake! Run, Missy! There’s a snake!”

“Get off me, you freak!” she shouted back, tearing my fingers off her shoulder.

“Miss Brennan!” the headmaster roared.

I almost laughed. Guess I had officially succeeded in pissing him off.

Now people were starting to stand up from their seats to better see the nutjob in the aisle. Some of them looked appalled, others amused. Gage stood on the pew, laughing a big belly laugh. I saw a few flashbulbs pop as people whipped out their phones to commemorate the morning that Reed Brennan finally lost her marbles.

I bet a lot of them thought it was a long time coming.

“Snake! Snake!” I screamed.

Sawyer jumped up from his pew and put his hands on my shoulders. “Reed? What are you doing? Are you okay?”

“Snake!” I screamed in his face, feeling awful for pulling him into this. “Snake! Snake! Snake!”

Finally the headmaster gave the nod to the two security guards stationed at the back of the chapel. They both marched forward and each of them grabbed an arm, turning me around, and basically dragging me out the door. Sawyer tripped backward and stood there in the aisle, dumbfounded as he watched us go. I purposely averted my eyes from the area where Josh and his friends sat. I wasn’t sure I wanted to see his reaction to all this.

“Snake?” I said mournfully over my shoulder, just for fun. As the guards manhandled me outside and the door was slammed behind us, half the chapel burst into applause and cheers.

Nice. I bet that pissed Double H off more than anything.

Five minutes later I was perched on one of the cots in the nurse’s office, the starched, white coverlet crunching beneath me as the nurse tugged the thermometer out of my mouth.

“Normal,” Nurse Raine said, appearing surprised. She shrugged and tossed the disposable tip into the garbage. “You sure you’re feeling all right, dear?”

“I’m fine,” I said dismissively. “I don’t even know why I’m here.”

The nurse stood up straight and shrugged. I suppose that after a number of years of dealing with kids trying to get out of tests, avoid ex-boyfriends, and spend the day sleeping, she’d pretty much seen it all.

“Here. Drink this and lie down,” she said, handing me a paper cup full of water. “I’m sure you’ll feel better after a nap.”

“Thanks.”

As she walked out her hand reached for the light switch, but she paused when she saw Headmaster Hathaway walking in. My heart thumped extra hard in my chest. What was he doing here? And how had he gotten here so fast?

“I’ll take it from here, Ms. Raine,” he said, tugging his leather gloves from his hands. He slipped off his overcoat, hung it over the back of a chair, and sat, tugging up the legs of his suit pants slightly.

“That must’ve been a very quick morning service,” I joked, trying to mask my nervousness.

“We need to talk, Reed,” he said without preamble. He leaned forward, forearms on his thighs, and laced his fingers together. Headmaster Hathaway was actually a nice-looking guy, with his light brown hair, tan skin, and chiseled cheekbones. But there was something about his demeanor that made me want to squirm. He tried to act like he was a friend to the students, but there was always some kind of backhanded threat or ominous warning just waiting on the tip of his tongue. “There’s something going on with you, and I need you to tell me what it is.”

And just like that, my tongue started to itch. I could tell him. I could just tell him and let him deal with it. He was an adult. A person of authority. He was even friends with Noelle’s parents. He’d walk right out of here, call them, and they’d get a SWAT team on Noelle’s ass in about fifteen seconds. Josh was right. I didn’t have to deal with this on my own. I was, technically, just a kid.