The Amanda Project: Book One

The Amanda Project: Chapter Six

CHAPTER SIX

 "Have a seat," said the vice principal, gesturing to three empty chairs outside of his office. "I have a meeting, so Mrs. Leong, I'm going to ask you to keep an eye on these three. I want them sitting here silently until I come back."

"Yes, Mr. Thornhill," said Mrs. Leong.

"Now." He turned back to the three of us. "While it is true that, historically, Amanda has felt that her attendance at Endeavor was . . . optional, this is different. Today as part of her absenting herself, she chose to send me directly to three people to ask about her whereabouts."

"If you want to know where she is so badly," snapped Nia, "why don't you just call her house?"

Mr. Thornhill's eyes flashed with irritation. "I'll thank you not to tell me my job, Nia. You can rest assured that I'm handling things on that front. Meanwhile, I want the three of you to think very, very carefully about everything you've just seen."

My heart was beating hard enough that I could barely hear him, so it was a relief when Hal took it upon himself to answer for all of us. "We certainly will, sir. We certainly will."

Despite Mr. Thornhill's instruction of silence, I thought for sure we'd have a chance to talk about our tattoos, but the one time Hal started to whisper something, Mrs. Leong jerked her head up and stared at us so fiercely I was actually afraid. Two periods passed while I tried and failed to make sense of what was going on, and by the time Mr. Thornhill walked back into the office and asked if we were ready to talk, I was so tangled up it was all I could do not to tell him everything I knew about Amanda just so he'd help me make sense of it.

But after Hal had answered, "I'm just as confused as you are," and Nia had said, "Has it not occurred to you, Mr. Thornhill, that we, too, are simply victims of a troublesome student's practical joke?" I couldn't start spilling my guts. When he looked at me for an answer, I just shook my head.

"Well, I'm sorry to hear that. Very, very sorry to hear that. Perhaps you'll feel differently after you wash my car this afternoon after school-"

"But-" began Nia.

"And, if not, I'm sure a month of Saturday detention will change your mind."

"That's-" said Hal.

"That's final," finished Mr. Thornhill. "Unless you can convince your friend Amanda Valentino to come by my office and explain everything herself." The bell rang right then, as though Mr. Thornhill had planned it. "You may go to lunch."

I'd expected Nia, Hal, and I to start dishing everything we knew as soon as we stepped into the corridor, but once the office door closed behind us, Nia clutched Hal's arm and pulled him into the sea of humanity that fills the hallways during period changes. It was like I hadn't been with them in Thornhill's office, hadn't shown them my tattoo. I didn't know what to do-was I supposed to trot after them like some kind of desperate puppy? Take me with you! I want to talk about Amanda, too!