Finding Sarah

Chapter Nine

I woke up and stretched, today would be interesting. I had to go toSarah's school and talk to her friends. I hated middle school as a kid. I was the youngest and the easiest kid to pick on so I was the butt of most jokes. I threw on a sweater and some dress pants and headed out the door. I met JJ in the elevator and she gave me a disapproving look.

"What?" I asked.

"Your hair." She said reaching up to fix it.

"What's wrong with my hair?" I questioned. Letting her move it around.

"It's all messy and floppy."

"I like it all messy and floppy." I said.

"Trust me, you don't want to give these kids anything else to criticize." She finished my hair and moved on to my tie. We finally got off of the elevator and I grabbed a bagel from the buffet.

"How long will it take to get to the school?" JJ asked me.

"Approximately, thirteen minutes including morning traffic delays."

"Perfect." She said nudging me. "That will give me plenty of time to explain to you what you should and should not say to these hormonal teenagers."

The car ride was long, it was thirteen minutes to the dot, but it was full of critiquing and advice.

We pulled into the school and walked inside.

"Hi! Can I help you?" The secretary asked.

"We're with the FBI, I called yesterday." JJ explained.

"Oh! This is about Sarah! She is such a sweet girl, I hope you find her."

"We do too." I said smiling.

"Here is a map of the school building, her classes are highlighted. "The secretary said, handing JJ a sheet of paper.

"Okay, it's eight now, so all of the students are in first period. " JJ said walking to the seventh grade hall. "Sarah's friend Carlie is in Room 133," I quickly scanned the map.

"Follow me." I walked to Room 133 and knocked. A short blonde girl opened the door.

"Hi, is Carlie here?" I asked.

The girl responded, "I'm Carlie, is this about Sarah?"

"Yes." I looked at the teacher, "Can we have a few minutes?"

"Of course!" The teacher said.

We walked into the hallway, "Sarah, my name is Jennifer, and this is Dr. Reid." JJ said.

"Have you found Sarah?" Carlie asked.

"We're trying," I said, "Can you tell me about Sarah?"

"She's smart...nice," Carlie smiled, "she has this biting wit. But, she's not rude. She's my best friend. You have to find her."

"Carlie, was Sarah athletic?" JJ asked.

"Absolutely, volleyball and basketball mainly. She runs a lot, she's the strongest girl in the grade. Last year she challenged half the boys to arm wrestle, she beat all of them." Carlie took a deep breath, "She was determined to be one of you guys. An FBI agent, that's all she talked about. 'Training with Agent Morgan!' And 'Guessing people's next move."

"Had Sarah been acting different?" I asked.

"She was upset about basketball season being over, but no more than the rest of us."

"Okay, thank you, you really helped." JJ said.

"Thank you for looking for her." Carlie said walking into her classroom.