Carolina Wren

Chapter 16

Wren's POV

The phone ringing cracked through the sound of Mr. Morris attempting to begin lecturing, only a minute after he'd finished taking roll. He sighed as he moved away from the board and walked over to his desk. "Hello? Yes, that student is in my class," he confirmed as he skimmed down the roster for this period. My stomach sank as he lifted his eyes up to catch my gaze. "Sure, I'll send her down right now."

Behind me, North shifted around, judging from his looming presence he was now sitting up straight and in front of me, Victor twisted so he could look at me as Mr. Morris called out, "Wren Nelson, you're wanted down at the principal's office."

Every eye in the room seemed to be on me and I wondered if unwanted attention was the reason people spontaneously combusted. I hardly ever get into trouble, it would only mean worse trouble at home, and I've never been called down to the principal's office. Had they discovered the forged signature? Had somebody managed to get ahold of Sheila and she confirmed she's never stepped foot in this school?

When I didn't move as fast as he thought I should, Mr. Morris called out, "Today, Wren," before going back to his lecture over the sounds of chuckles from around the room.

Fingers shaking, I dropped my things in my backpack and went to stand up. To my surprise, North stood up, grabbing my backpack for me and Victor looked up at me with sympathy as he hit send on a text. North made a gesture for me to lead the way but Mr. Morris stopped lecturing again to call out, sounding exasperated, "She doesn't need an escort, North."

I looked up and North was openly glaring at Mr. Morris. A quick glance at the man it was aimed towards told me he wasn't immune to the ferocity in it, although he kept his composure. When intimidation didn't work, North growled, "We have permission to leave--"

"For tasks assigned to you by your teachers, yes," Mr. Morris confirmed. "If I call Mr. Blackbourne right now, is he going to tell me that you have his permission to walk a perfectly capable girl down the hallway?"

North looked ready to tell him that's exactly what he had permission to do in a way that was going to, at a minimum, land him in detention and at most, possibly suspended. Taking a deep breath, I put my hand on his arm. His attention was immediately drawn to me and his expression softened, though it didn't lose its edge. "I'll be fine, North," I tell him quietly, hoping the noise doesn't carry. "The hallways will be empty; I'll be fine going down by myself."

He doesn't look happy, determination to follow me clear in his eyes. He glances down at Victor, who nods almost imperceptibly and there's a shift in North's demeanor. His eyes close briefly before meeting mine and I can see that he's going to relent before he hands me my backpack and mutters, "You're not going to be alone, baby." I know he sees my confusion, but he turns and thuds back into his seat without a word of explanation.

Not wanting to cause more of a scene, I turn and hurry from the room. My mind is racing with concerns over what this might be about and what my punishments might be as I push into the main building. I'm so focused on my thoughts that I almost miss Dr. Green coming down the stairs, hands nonchalantly shoved in his pockets, and a wild grin on his face.

"Suzume!" he calls out cheekily and I look up more from the sudden presence of a familiar voice rather than any sort of recognition to my new alias. "What are you doing wandering around the hallways during class?"

I feel something akin to mortified-- behind Mr. Blackbourne, Dr. Green is the teacher I want to disappoint the least. I don't want him thinking he stuck his head out for a student that's going to be nothing but trouble. "I got called down to the principal's office."