The Trouble with Evie

Chapter 9

The words of Niko's warning lingered in my head as I weaved my way through the corridor at school. When he said that to me last night, I never thought I would realize it was the truth so soon after.

My locker was in the new section. I had the first one in a long row of a wing that had just been built. I was also the only person to have a locker in this section. Because it was at the end of the corridor, I was still close to the main thoroughfare where the other lockers were. I was a part of their world, but not really because no one ever turned the lights on. This section was not in use yet, so they didn't think it was necessary.

So, I had to use my locker in the dark. I guess the staff just assumed that, like every other kid in this place, I would have a phone with a flashlight. Ordinarily, I would. My last phone broke, and Brad was yet to obtain a new one for me. The life of an unemployed minor sucked.

But, back to the tale at hand. Me, stuffing my books from my morning lessons into the locker, in the dark. Mean girls in the corridor, far too close to my locker, giggling and whispering. You get the picture, right? You can see what's going to happen. I hear more than I should. They don't know I'm here. I'm as quiet as a mouse because I know that I'm about to hear something that's worth the effort of hiding.

"Daddy said the master is not happy."

Intriguing. My ears perked up.

"Jeez, Audrey, why does your father associate with those weirdos?"

"Because he said it's worth it."

"They are not going to give him immortality. They won't give it to anyone. You're either born into it, or you are their food."

"I think he's trying to get a closer association that will protect us. Dad got all the real estate contracts, and the competition was eliminated because of this guy wanting to know what was going on in all the houses in this place."

I wonder who her father was.

"That's never going to happen."

"Why is the master not happy, Audrey?"

"I dunno. Dad went to a job on the east side of the town. He said something about a crack in the basement wall."

My eyes widened, and my breath hitched. As I desperately tried to listen, my heart began to thunder so hard it was pounding heavily in my head.

"When dad told him there was a crack in the wall and the address, he said the guy went off his tree at the underlings around him. Dad said he nearly wet his pants."

The girls giggled. Lockers slammed, and I heard the laughter fade. Quietly I pulled all of the books out of the locker. I knew that I would not be able to concentrate, and the afternoon would be a complete write-off. Stuffing everything back into my bag, I edged closer to the corner of the wall, hoping that the girls weren't just a few steps down the corridor. They weren't.

So, I hightailed it down to the office.

The woman behind the counter looked up over the counter when I walked through the doorway.

"Evelyn, is everything okay?"

"No, I don't feel well. Can you please call my uncle and ask him to come and get me?"

"Of course, dear. Go through that door there to the sick bay. Lay on the bed, and I'll give him a call."

Brad wasn't going to believe a single moment of this unless I did the unthinkable. I'd embarrass him, and then he'd stop asking questions, and he'd leave me alone.

I laid on the bed, wondering how many germs were on it. How long did a germ live for? I could hear the soft murmur coming through the wall, the conversation that would be short and filled with disbelief.