The Whisper Seekers

Punishment

I don't bother going to French since I know I will be unable to concentrate, so I sit on a hard wooden bench outside the office. My knees bounce up and down and my hands sit at my sides as I grip the bench with my sweaty palms. My book bag is still in English class along with my phone but I didn't want to interrupt the next class to grab it. I finally hear the office door open and I spot Derek walking out. He has a tissue stuck in his nose and his eye is already swelling. He grins when he sees me.

"Hey, nice of you to check on me." He strides over to me but I don't move from the bench. He must have gotten hit pretty hard if he thinks I'm here to coddle his wounds.

"I wasn't waiting for you," I say full of attitude, "I was waiting for him." He turns around and sees Liam walking through the door. They stare at each other but neither of them says anything. Derek looks back at me and sneers, "Wait? You're with him now?" I give him a sly shrug since I'm not exactly sure where I stand with Liam at the moment and Derek quickly adds, "I'm glad we were broken up for two minutes and you've already run off and found the next thing. You're pathetic." He begins to walk away so I call out after him.

"What's pathetic Derek is that I stayed with you as long as I did and that you just got your ass beat in front of the entire school."

"This isn't a joke Ellie. This could fuck up my Stanford scholarship."

"Well, maybe next time you'll think twice before touching me." He looks at me gobsmacked before storming off down the hall. My adrenaline rush mixed with my anger is causing my hands to shake. I look back at Liam and he is just standing there with his hands in his pockets.

"So you really think he got his ass beat?" He jokingly asks. We both let out a light laugh and I can tell it hurts his split lip when he quickly winces.

"So what happened in there?" I nervously ask and he leads me back over to the bench. He sits down next to me but there are still a few inches between us.

"Well Derek had no idea why I attacked him, well until two seconds ago and I assumed you didn't want Mr. Anderson to know why. I owned up to starting the whole thing but Mr. Anderson punished both of us because Derek didn't try to stop anything," he says before nervously twisting his hands. "Derek is suspended until Monday and I...am, uh suspended for the next week."

"Seriously?" I gasp out. 

"That's not the worst of it. He also said I'm not allowed to go to the homecoming game or the dance."

I immediately panic.

"You have to be at school next week. All week! I can't figure out what Ian and his demented posse are going to do and prevent all this myself!" I snap.

"Shhh..." He looks around and notices no one lingering in the hallways. He scoots in closer to me and puts his head closer to mine.

"I know, I know and I will be. I just have to figure a few things out first," he says calmly and it reminds me that I haven't told him what I heard in French class.

"I forgot to tell you, but there is definitely more than one person involved. Ian has an accomplice, maybe two of them. I think it's the girl Marissa, from my French class. She's helping him plan the whole thing."

He nods while processing my words.

"That's probably why I've seen Mike, Aaron, and you even though you aren't in the same classrooms ever." He puts his fingers up to his split lip and dabs it with his thumb. I can tell he's thinking but he won't let me listen.

"We should try and get a hold of someone. Give them an anonymous tip about Ian. Someone should know about this even if we can't prove it," I suggest.

Liam nods, "We have one week and two days until this goes down so we are going to have to think of everything possible to try and stop this." We are interrupted by the sound of heels clicking against the tile. We look to the main doors and watch as Liam's mom struts down the hallway. I hear him mutter, "That was quick." 

When she sees him, she removes her large black sunglasses and mouths the word, "Come." She points to him with her long glittery nail and pulls it in toward her, signaling for him to come over to her.

"Mr. Anderson called my mom to tell her about my suspension. I gotta go," he whispers and surprisingly kisses me on the forehead. He walks slowly over to his infuriated mother and she grabs his arm as she leads him out of the building like a child. I finally leave the bench after they disappear through the doors and make my way back to the English hall to grab my bag. It will be lunch in a few minutes and word about the fight will surely have traveled to Harper and Lily already.

I stand outside of the classroom door and wait for the bell to ring. I push against the oncoming student traffic and grab my bag from the floor. I quickly pull out my phone and head back into the hallway. I decide to sneak out the side door of the building that leads to the back of the parking lot, hoping to avoid both Lily and Harper. I get to my car unnoticed and make my way to my house.

When I'm back in my room, I pull out my laptop and open a word document. I start to write out an anonymous letter explaining that I heard Ian planning to bring a gun to school and he has accomplices. I know Marissa from my French class but I don't know who else he has helping him. I think back to who he was talking to that day in the science hallway and remember another boy next to them.

I quickly go to the school's website to investigate the online blogs. I'm scrolling through the online photos when I come to the sports pages. There is a big picture of all the band members in the bleachers from the football game and I immediately spot Ian. I keep scanning and find Marissa, and the other boy they were talking to. My eyes run over the caption until the name lines up with the face, Elijah Henderson. I write his name on the letter and hit print. I know this is a serious accusation to pin on these three but I myself have heard two of the three of them plotting something and I can't just sit around and do nothing.

I check the time on my phone and know I have to get back to school for my last class. Even though Liam's suspended, we have to figure out a way to get him back into school. It's nice having someone to help me figure this out without having to spill my secret to a bunch of people. Even if it would help prevent all this from happening.

It's crazy to think three weeks ago I was going with Derek to homecoming and most likely college. I had my dress and dreamed of a perfect night, wearing the crown. I had no knowledge that there were other people like me out there and I had no issue lying to or manipulating my best friends. I would have never thought students from Highland Park were capable of bringing violence into school, but here we are. Liam just came here and changed my whole world. 

I grab my printed-out letter and stuff it into my bookbag.