Beyond the Sea

“Let go of her, you bitch,” Aoife spat, trying to pull Sally off me. I dug my nails into her arm. She squealed and finally let go, but not before the loud ring of the P.E. teacher’s whistle sounded.

“What’s going on over there?” he demanded as he came striding through the gymnasium.

“She started it,” Sally protested, her cheek still red from my slap.

“Yeah, she did,” Claire agreed. “I saw the whole thing.”

“Estella didn’t start it,” Aoife cut in, eyes narrowed at Sally. “She’s been running her mean mouth at us through this entire class.”

“That’s enough,” the teacher scolded, his attention coming to me and Sally. “Miss Shannon and Miss O’Hare. Report to Principal Hawkins’ office right now.”

And that was how I found myself sitting several chairs away from a scowling Sally. We’d both been informed that our parents were on their way to talk to the principal. I wondered at that since I couldn’t imagine Vee leaving the house to come down to the school for me.

It all made sense when twenty minutes later the door swung open, and Noah strode in. I tensed at the sight of him, shivering as I remembered Saturday night. He’d been gone all day Sunday, so I hadn’t seen him since. He glanced at me momentarily, one eyebrow raised as he took me in. I still wore my sweaty P.E. clothes, my ponytail askew.

“Can I help you?” the receptionist asked. Noah turned to face her.

“Yes, I’m Veronica Shannon’s brother. My sister is unreachable at present, so I’m here to see Principal Hawkins in her place.”

I didn’t look at Sally, but I knew she was paying full attention. She gave a quiet scoff, “Is he your uncle? There was me thinking you actually had a boyfriend. I should’ve known.”

The receptionist nodded, eyeing Noah up and down appreciatively before she picked up her phone to inform the principal of his arrival. He turned back around, taking a few steps closer as he eyed both Sally and me.

“Some fight. Neither of you are even bleeding,” he commented, amused.

“Your niece is a psycho,” Sally hissed. “She attacked me.”

Noah focused on her. “How?”

Sally’s forehead crinkled. “How what?”

“How did she attack you?” Noah elaborated. I enjoyed how he used a tone like he was talking to a stupid person.

Sally lost some of her confidence. “She slapped me across the face.”

Noah chuckled as he cast his attention back to me with a tut. “What are you doing doling out love taps? Did I teach you all those death points for nothing?”

Sally paled. I smiled at Noah. He was officially back in my good graces. “I didn’t want to kill her,” I replied in a serious voice. “I just wanted to shut her up.”

“Got a big mouth, has she?”

“The biggest.”

“Hey! I’m sitting right here,” Sally complained just as the door to Principal Hawkins’ office opened. He stepped out and froze mid-step, staring at Noah like he’d just seen a ghost. Odd. A moment later, he straightened, cleared his throat and gestured for us to enter. I shot Sally a parting smirk, following Noah into the office.

“Please take a seat,” said Principal Hawkins, glancing at Noah uneasily. “I had no idea you were back.”

“You must be thrilled to see me,” Noah replied, looking supremely satisfied by my principal’s apparent unease. I was puzzled by the odd tension. There was clearly some kind of history between them.

Hawkins shifted uncomfortably. “Veronica wasn’t available?”

“My sister is otherwise engaged,” Noah said, leaving out the rest. With a bottle of vodka.

Principal Hawkins nodded. “R-right, well, Estella has gotten herself into quite a bit of trouble today. A number of witnesses have stated they saw her start the fight with Miss O’Hare.”

Noah glanced at me, looking impressed, then levelled Hawkins with a cocky expression. “My family enjoys throwing the first punch.”

Principal Hawkins swallowed tightly. “We do not condone violence in this school.”

Noah tilted his head, almost threateningly. “Just outside of school then?”

For a moment, the principal seemed shaken. He opened his mouth to say something, but no words came out. He looked scared of Noah. Then finally, he got a handle on himself and replied, “We take matters like this very seriously. Normally, Estella would be suspended for an entire week, but since this is her first offence, and she’s usually very well behaved, I’ll only suspend her for two days.”

Noah chuckled. “Very magnanimous.”

The principal sputtered. “Are you challenging me, Mr. Dylan?”

Noah didn’t respond, instead turning to me. “What do you think about two days off school, Estella? We can get mani-pedis.”

I resisted the urge to laugh. The image of going to a beauty salon with Noah was surreal to say the least. I found it oddly thrilling how dismissive he was being to my principal, like he respected my opinion more than his. “I started the fight. At least the physical part of it, so I guess I should take the punishment.”