Chapter 4
Most of the sophomore lockers were gold, but with the way BOBCATS was painted down the hall, mine was one of the few that had blue on it.
I was a part of the A. I squinted at the folded piece of paper in my hand, trying for the third time to get the combination right.
It was the third day of school, and I’d only gotten the stupid thing open a total of six times in between periods.
I was convinced the office had copied down my combination down incorrectly.
“Gemma?”
I turned to find Principal Oliphant standing behind me, a statue at the edge of the bustling hallway. Her hair was braided out of her face too, but instead of a long braid down her back like me, she wore hers in a bun.
“Lovely to see you,” she said while taking a step closer, entering my personal space to step out of the flow of students. “I hope the school year is treating you well so far.”
Despite how close she was with my family, I still regarded her warily. Maybe it was because she was close with my family. Maybe it was because I knew how brightly people could smile to your face while sneering at you behind your back. “It is.”
“Has your brother been faring as well as you?”
“He’s even more easygoing than I am.”
She laughed on cue, a tinkling sound that only came off as fake if you knew what to look for. Her eyes didn’t crinkle. “Well, there’s something I wanted to discuss with you. Do you mind if we move this to my office?”
I gave up on my combination, shuffling my last period books from the crook of my arm to the center of my chest, hugging them tightly. “Sure.”
She was a fast walker, Principal Oliphant, and she cut through the student body like water, forging ahead as if she was her own stream. Following in her clicking footsteps felt strange, like I was in trouble and not because she just wanted to speak with me.
It didn’t occur to me that I could’ve actually been in trouble until Principal Oliphant opened up her private office door, and there sat Hudson on the other side.
He had his long legs stretched in front of him, and like yesterday, he wore a pair of ripped jeans. His arms were folded across his chest in a lazy way, slumping into the chair as if he was trying to fall asleep.
He didn’t even jump when Principal Oliphant let the door slam behind her.
“Gemma, please have a seat,” she said with a business-like tone, sounding significantly less friendly than she did in the hallway.
Or maybe I was imagining it. Maybe I was paranoid.
She sat down behind her desk and folded her hands on the top of it, nodding her chin at the empty chair beside Hudson.
A chair that was only two inches from his.
I made myself as small as possible in the seat. We were so close that with the way his elbow pointed out, our arms could’ve touched. I made sure to keep mine tucked against my chest, clutching the textbook tighter.
My brain ran through the possibilities of why we were in here at the same time, but they all went back to yesterday in the hall and the papers flying high.
Or even worse—if Hudson was Bridge Boy, what if he told Principal Oliphant about how I was sitting on the ledge?
What if he told her his wild theory about me jumping off?
My mouth ran dry at the thought of that conversation.
“Gemma, I understand you stayed after school yesterday to hang posters?”
Posters? This was about the posters? Was that not allowed? I thought to myself, brain working in overtime. Wait, if it wasn’t allowed, they would’ve called Morgan into the office too. “Yeah, I—I did.”
“And I understand this is something you’ll be doing consistently for the duration of football season? Staying after school, I should say.”
So, not exactly what I’d expected, but still strange.
How she’d come to know that information, it was any guess.
Maybe Mom had mentioned it. Maybe Landon had mentioned something to Madison, and Madison had told Principal Oliphant.
“If that’s okay.” I glanced at Hudson, but he still hadn’t opened his eyes.
Maybe he was asleep. “I plan to sign in to the library every day, so I swear I won’t be wandering around—”
Principal Oliphant chuckled a little, as if my high-pitched panic was amusing. “It’s more than okay. In fact, Gemma, I was wondering if I could give you…a task, I suppose you could say, on a few of the days you stay later.”
Suspicion immediately replaced the alarm that’d been growing inside me. Well, not entirely. More like eclipsed it for a moment. “A task?”
“We have a peer-to-peer mentor program here at Brentwood,” she went on, gaze flicking toward Hudson. “It’s usually reserved for seniors being a buddy to underclassmen—sometimes a senior is even paired up with a middle schooler—but I think a unique situation could be beneficial here.”
Unique situation… Again, it did nothing to ease the growing confusion. That and the fact that the other third of the conversation still hadn’t participated once. Principal Oliphant didn’t seem interested in pressuring him to, either. “How is a senior a buddy to an underclassman?”
“They’re like accountability partners. A mentor, of sorts.
They do homework together, play games, and talk about life together.
The goal is to get the underclassman comfortable with their progression into high school, and to help them feel less alone within the walls.
And they always meet on school grounds, of course. ”
“That sounds…nice.”
Principal Oliphant’s smile stretched wider. “I’m happy you think so. I was thinking you and Hudson here could be each other’s buddies.”
And just like that, my alarm was back in full force. A buddy program might’ve been fun if it were anyone else. But when Hudson slowly lifted his head, like a vampire rising from a coffin, my panic resurged like it was back from the dead, too.
“On a few days you stay after, I’d like you two to meet. Work on homework together, do an assigned task. You can even play a card game if you wanted. Something to keep you occupied for the hour.”
My throat was painfully dry, impossible to swallow. “Oh, I don’t—I’m—I don’t really need a mentor, Principal Oliphant. I have friends. I don’t feel alone at Brentwood at all, I swear.”
“Actually, Gemma, you would be Hudson’s mentor.”
I sucked in air that sounded suspiciously like a horrified gasp, unable to do anything but gape at her. A sophomore being a mentor to a senior? Me, Gemma Settler, a mentor to Hudson Bishop?
“That’s us rounding back to the unique situation I mentioned.
” She laughed like it was a joke, but her punchline didn’t make me nor the Grim Reaper chuckle.
“Gemma, I’m hoping your responsible nature will rub off a little on him.
Since you’ll be here anyway waiting for your brother, I thought you’d be the perfect accountability buddy. ”
“I told you.” Hudson’s first words he’d uttered the entire time came out low and gravelly, like the three syllables were a threat themselves. “I’m not staying after school.”
“And I told you that we’re not having a repeat of last year.
” Principal Oliphant matched his firmness in a way my parents would’ve applauded.
Maybe they all took the same college course.
Being Authoritative 101 and that was where they met.
“Maybe this will teach you that your actions have consequences, Hudson. This is what I’d like to call preventative care. ”
He narrowed his eyes at her. “So, you’re pairing me with a boring stiff three days a week so I don’t go running around kicking puppies?”
I would’ve been offended if I hadn’t been so desperate.
“Let’s look at it this way.” Principal Oliphant laid her chin on her hand.
“I could put you in detention every day of the week. I could expel you entirely—your folder gives me more than enough ammo for that. Superintendent Filmore is pushing for that. The school board is willing to pull the trigger if something else happens, but you don’t seem too concerned about the bullet, huh? ”
It felt like I was a civilian stumbling between enemy lines with the way Hudson and Principal Oliphant regarded each other, caught in the crossfire, preparing for impact.
She ducked her head to a folder, flipping up a page. “Tardies, unexcused absences, talking back to teachers—you’ve been in school three days, and I already have several reports of you displaying intimidating behaviors to other students.”
Hudson turned and hooked his elbow on the edge of my chair, nearly touching the back of my head. I stiffened. “Intimidating behaviors. That’s a new one.”
“Brentwood has a strict code against bullying, and you know it. We’ve been down this road time and time again, and we’re reaching the end of the rope.”
He bit his lower lip, still smiling. “Did you expel the other kids for tardies and absences, or just me?”
“No other student had an incident like yours over the summer.”
And just like that, the smirk vanished, replaced by the icy stare of death.
Principal Oliphant was wholly unaffected. “This is one last ditch effort for you, Hudson, one that I would take.” She turned to me with an entirely different tone. “Gemma. What do you think?”
What did I think? I thought Principal Oliphant had a screw loose.
What were the benefits she saw in pairing an innocent tenth grader with a senior who probably ate his cereal with freshmen’s tears?
She was hoping my “responsible nature” would rub off?
She was worrying about the effect I would have on Hudson, but did she not stop to consider what would happen putting me in this situation?