The Amanda Project: Book One

The Amanda Project: Chapter Eighteen

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

Is it possible for time to move backward? Backward. Absolutely. Backward. For a while, it seemed to me that the clock at the front of the room just wasn't moving at all, but then I looked up and it was definitely two minutes earlier than it had been when I'd last checked. Meanwhile, what could Nia possibly be doing? What was she going to say to Thornhill about being gone for so long? Even though I wasn't the one who was about to have to explain my absence to him, my heart was alternately pounding and stopping. If this went on for much longer, I was going to need one of those machines doctors have that zap a person's chest with ten thousand volts of electricity to bring him back to life.

For a long time I was sure Hal was as blissfully unaware of Nia's absence as I was conscious of it. While I shifted around in my chair, glancing at the book in front of me before looking up to check the time again, he stayed focused on his sketchbook, calmly drawing the library. How could he just sit there like that? How could he be so mellow? But then Mr. Thornhill stood up and I saw Hal's hand go to his pocket. As the vice principal made his way toward the door of the library, Hal's hand closed around his cell phone. My heart was beating so hard I was sure everyone in the room could hear it. I could tell Hal was dialing a number, but then Mr. Thornhill took a stapler from the librarian's desk and headed back to sit down and Hal slid his hand from his pocket. I couldn't tell if he'd hit send or not.

Less than a minute later, the door flew open and Nia, breathless and red in the face, came in. If you'd have told me three days ago that I'd be this happy to see Nia Rivera, I'd have laughed in your face.

"That was longer than I would have liked a bathroom break to be, Nia," said Mr. Thornhill, not looking up from his project.

"Sorry," said Nia. "All the girl's bathrooms in this wing are locked. I had to go to the one by the theater."

Was she lying? If so, it was a bold lie-how easy would it be for Mr. Thornhill to check? But before I could decide whether he was likely to do that, Jason raised his hand.

"Mr. Thornhill, I gotta go to the bathroom, too."

Mr. Thornhill didn't look up. "I'm sure you can wait, Jason."

"No, seriously. Mr. Thornhill, I have this problem with my bladder and it means that if I don't go to the bathroom at least once an hour I-"

"Be so kind as to spare us the details of your physiological disorders, Jason," said Mr. Thornhill. "Please come up here."

In spite of myself, I was kind of curious about what Jason was going to tell Mr. Thornhill. Were there really disorders where you had to go to the bathroom every hour? I heard Jason say the word "doctor" and Mr. Thornhill say "highly doubt" when suddenly Nia's hip bumped against my table, and in the middle of the wild swans was the familiar key and a tiny piece of folded-up paper.

Key works.

Get file.

I looked up, but Nia was already sitting at her table. Only the fact that she was breathing a little rapidly made it possible for me to believe this was all happening. Had she really broken into Thornhill's office? Had she been able to get the footage? For a second I wondered why she hadn't just grabbed Amanda's file while she was in there, but then Mr. Thornhill said something to Jason and as Jason left the library, I realized it was time for me to focus on how I was going to get out of there, too.