Chapter 14
Camryn had to fast walk through the halls to make it to drama class early so she could try to talk to Mrs. Porter alone.
Her hopes weren’t high—there was always a theater kid or two vying for Mrs. Porter’s attention—but she didn’t want to have to find her after school, since she’d promised to drive Nika to Allison’s house.
Once she was through the classroom door, Camryn’s relief at being the first student in the room evaporated like water on a cast iron skillet.
Mrs. Porter wasn’t alone. The janitor, Mr. Cooper, was there, his phone out like he was texting.
The older man was graying at the temples, his lean build giving the coveralls a slightly baggy appearance, and the sight of him never failed to fill Camryn with guilt.
She’d almost gotten him fired. All because she hadn’t kept her stupid mouth shut and blabbed to Zara about what she’d seen—Mr. Cooper’s keys in a student’s hands.
Keys he wasn’t supposed to give to anyone, let alone a student.
Many didn’t believe him when he’d said they’d been stolen off his desk.
Even some of the people who did buy his statement said that he shouldn’t have left them unattended anyway. He should have been more diligent.
A bright, promising student was led into temptation because he hadn’t taken more care with those keys. Like Allison couldn’t help herself.
Accusations and suspicion had clung to him like tree sap, even after the school’s investigation had cleared him of wrongdoing.
Every time she thought about it, her gut churned with acid.
It felt like no matter how much time passed, that grade-tampering article Zara had written because Camryn had snitched was going to haunt her.
“Camryn!” Mrs. Porter’s smile was cherubic, her welcoming hand gestures wide and dramatic, even though she saw Camryn almost every day.
It was hard not to like Mrs. Porter—she seemed so genuinely happy all the time.
Her dresses, which she paired with rhinestone cat-eye glasses, were brightly colored.
She was loud in every possible way, and Camryn loved loud.
“Hey, Mrs. P,” Camryn said, dropping her bag into a chair. “Mr. Cooper.”
The janitor smiled at her, returning her greeting, and the guilt cut deeper. He tapped a few more keys on his phone. “Do you need anything else, Gretchen?”
Mrs. Porter shook her head. “That’s it, I think. Thanks again.”
“No problem.” He stowed away his phone, nodded a farewell to Camryn, and left.
Camryn relaxed immediately.
“You’re here early,” Mrs. Porter said, leaning a hip on her desk.
Camryn sat on her desktop, not quite wanting to sink into her chair.
She wanted to be on Mrs. Porter’s level for this, as close to equals as they could be.
It would be easier to watch her, but also might keep Mrs. Porter more relaxed.
Just two people chatting away. Camryn rested her palms on the desktop.
“Yeah, I was hoping to catch you before class. Zara Moxley’s doing a profile on Bryce and Mr. Stephens for the school paper. ”
Mrs. Porter’s smile faltered. She turned away, moving to her desk chair to grab a peacock-colored shawl that she draped over her shoulders. “Oh. Such sad business.”
Camryn nodded in agreement, because it was sad business.
“Anyway, Zara’s trying to fill out her story, you know.
Getting quotes and things about them both.
Did you know Bryce?” Camryn thought this was kind of a silly question—everyone knew Bryce—but she thought it was a good one to get her teacher talking.
Mrs. Porter sat heavily onto her desk. “Of course. He was…” She frowned off to the side, staring out the classroom windows.
Then the corners of her mouth tipped up, just for a second.
“He was a pain in the ass, to be honest—please don’t quote me on that.
I don’t mean it as an insult. Sometimes the kids that cause the most trouble are also the ones with the most potential.
” Her eyes teared up, and she laughed. “I must have given that kid detention half a dozen times. He was always pushing the rules and doing things he shouldn’t. ”
She didn’t sound mad about it to Camryn. She sounded…almost proud?
Mrs. Porter dabbed at her eyes with a tissue. “Bryce was always—how do you kids put it now—extra? It landed him in hot water often, but as an adult…it would have taken him a lot of places, I think.” She blew her nose into the tissue. “It’s heartbreaking, really. All that lost potential.”
This felt like a dead end to Camryn. Mrs. Porter obviously liked Bryce, despite all of the detentions, so she hardly had a motive. Not that she could really picture her drama teacher as a stone-cold killer. But then again, it was always the people you didn’t suspect, wasn’t it?
Camryn cleared her throat. “What about Mr. Stephens. Were you friends?”
Mrs. Porter looked out the window again, pulling her shawl tighter around her shoulders.
“I’m afraid I didn’t know him well beyond being colleagues.
The occasional staff meeting or outing, but nothing outside of work.
” She turned back to Camryn and flashed a brief, sad smile.
“An opportunity lost, I’m sure. He seemed like a nice man. ”
“Yeah,” Camryn said. “Mr. Stephens was a pretty nice guy.”
Mrs. Porter swallowed hard, her smile wobbly.
Camryn opened her mouth to ask another question, but right then a group of students stumbled in, and the opportunity was lost. She supposed it didn’t matter.
Mrs. Porter didn’t seem to know them very well, anyway.
—
Nika wiped her sweating palms onto her jeans as she stared up at Allison Haysmith’s house.
Camryn stood next to her, her thumbs in her belt loops, her chin tilted up as she took in the sight before her. “It looks like the kind of house where you have those big plates that go under your normal plates and three different kinds of forks.”
Nika blinked at her, not because she disagreed—it did look like that kind of house—but because she wasn’t sure about the plates. “Why would you put a plate under another plate?”
Cam shrugged a shoulder. “Rich people shit.” She squinted at the roof. “Not that I would call Allison’s family rich. It’s just…” She shrugged again, unable to put her thoughts into words.
Nika looked around at the landscaping full of rosebushes, an old Japanese maple with leaves turned scarlet red in celebration of the fall.
The house, though not large, had fresh paint and a welcome mat that looked like no one ever used it.
“It’s like it’s camera ready. For real estate or something. ”
“I’m going to be honest,” Cam said, finally tearing her gaze away from the house. “Places like this give me the creeps. I know it’s irrational, but it feels like at any moment, someone is going to jump out and give me a pop quiz about my manners and I’m going to fail.”
Nika smiled at her. “I think it’s pretty, but also yes.”
Camryn made a face. “It’s not going to get any less intimidating, so let’s get on with it.”
They walked up to the front door, which was lavender with white trim and had a wreath of orange and brown leaves on it declaring Happy Fall!
Nika stepped up and knocked on the door, Camryn hanging back from her a little.
The lights were on, so Nika was hoping someone was home.
Maybe they’d luck out, and Allison would answer the door herself.
The door swung open a second later, revealing Mrs. Haysmith, her hair in a neat bob, a pair of gardening gloves held in one manicured hand.
She stared at them blankly, and that combined with her wide white smile made Nika think of an old porcelain doll her grandma had given her.
It had creeped Nika out, so her father had stashed it in a box in the garage.
Nika straightened up automatically, correcting her posture, and thought there might be something to Cam’s idea of a manners-based pop quiz. “Hi, Mrs. Haysmith, sorry to bother you, but we were hoping Allison might be home?”
“I’m afraid not,” Mrs. Haysmith said. “She’s at her father’s today. Can I give her a message?”
“That would be great. We’re helping to put together an article for the school paper about Bryce Mackinaw and thought Allison might want to contribute since they were friends.
” Mrs. Haysmith was staring at her, making her nervous, so Nika kept going.
“I mean, it felt wrong to not have something from Allison in there. She was such an important part of the school.”
Nika clicked her teeth shut after that. She worried that maybe she’d laid it on a bit thick, but Mrs. Haysmith only smiled.
“Of course. I’m sure she’d love to share a memory.” She placed a hand on her chest, her brow furrowing. “It was so hard for Allison to leave Meadowvale, you know, but she couldn’t turn down such an opportunity.”
“Oh?” Nika said, hoping Mrs. Haysmith would take the lure. Next to her, Cam shuffled, uncomfortable, not saying a word.
“Early college admission.” She was beaming now, her gardening gloves clutched to her chest. “I couldn’t be prouder, though I’m not surprised. My daughter has always been driven to do great things.”
“Tell her congratulations for me,” Nika said. “That’s quite an achievement.”
“I will pass along your kind words. Why don’t you leave me your number or your email, dear, and I’ll give them to her.
Allison is very busy, but I’m sure she’ll make time to say a few words for the school newsletter.
” She glanced at her watch. “Speaking of busy, I’m afraid I must go.
I’ve got a Booster Club fundraising meeting in an hour and have to spend some quality time in my greenhouse.
” She waggled her gloves at them. “Those plants aren’t going to prune themselves! ”
She laughed at this, and Nika joined her, even though she wasn’t entirely sure what they were laughing at, but then Nika often had to laugh at jokes adults made that she didn’t think were funny.
“Of course,” Nika said, searching her bag for a pen and a piece of paper.
“We don’t want to keep you.” She found a lonely index card at the bottom of her bag.
She considered placing the card against the side of the house to make it easier to write on but thought that might make Mrs. Haysmith freak out, so she used a book instead, which was awkward.
Writing finished, she handed the card over to Mrs. Haysmith. “Thanks again. Have a good evening.”
Next to her, Cam muttered something that might have been a “thanks,” but she wasn’t sure.
Mrs. Haysmith took the card with a smile, waved goodbye, and shut the door behind her. They were buckling themselves into Cam’s truck before either of them spoke.
“I’m not sure if there was a pop quiz or not,” Cam said, turning in her seat to look over her shoulder as she backed up. “But I think I failed it.”
Nika patted her friend’s shoulder. “You did fine. We weren’t there to make friends, anyway.”
Cam glanced over at her. “I’m not entirely sure if we accomplished what we were there for, either.”
Nika settled her bag on the floor. “I think we were very successful. We found out that, unsurprisingly, the rumor mill was way off base about what happened to Allison, and we’re one step closer to talking to her about Bryce.”
“I’m not saying I’d hoped she’d joined a cult or become an underground street fighter, but I’m a little disappointed,” Camryn said. “I was hoping for something interesting.”
Nika laughed. “Well, I’m sorry it wasn’t exciting for you. How about we stop by the store and get some snacks for tonight?” Nika patted her shoulder, her voice turning singsong. “I’ll let you pick out some chips.”
Cam grinned. “Thanks, Mom, can I get some cookies, too?”
Nika sat primly in her seat, her nose up. “Only if you promise to eat your vegetables and brush your teeth.”
Cam turned left, heading toward the store, and gave a little shudder. “It’s eerie how much you sounded like my mom just then. Doesn’t seem to matter how old I get, she still acts like I’m a toddler who doesn’t care about hygiene.”
“She cares,” Nika said, all lightness gone from her tone. “That’s the important bit.”
“Yeah.” Cam shot her a sympathetic look. “I guess it is.”