20. Juliet #2
It was always going to come to this. I remind myself of that as, half an hour later, I find myself sitting in the same place as I had my first day of senior year. Principal Long stomps into the room and slams the door to her office behind her before throwing herself into her seat.
Without looking at me, she bends and yanks out a drawer to the left.
She rummages around, coming up with a white bottle of pills.
Shaking two out into her palm, she pops them to her lips and swallows them dry.
I almost feel bad because I know I’ve caused her the stress and of all the people in Silverwood, she’s one of the few that I actually don’t hate.
A beat of silence passes in the room, filling it to overflowing with tension so thick if I’d had a knife, I’d have tried to cut it just to see if I could—kind of like those old cartoons we’d all watched when we were younger.
Principal Long drops her head and flattens her palms against the surface of her desk. I can hear people down the hall in the front office. Some yelling, some cursing. The girls’ parents have been called and they’re starting to arrive. My chest aches knowing there isn’t anyone they can call for me.
“Juliet, I can’t make this go away.” Long finally looks up at me, her face creased and tired.
“I’m not asking you to,” I tell her honestly. “All I want is to have the opportunity to defend myself.”
“Defend yourself?” She blows out a breath and leans back. “You put two girls in the hospital.”
“They attacked me. Unprovoked, I might add.”
She levels me with a glare. “We both know it wasn’t completely unprovoked.”
I grit my teeth. “What my father has done to their families isn’t provocation enough for me,” I snap.
“That’s not what I?—”
“They came into the bathroom— seven of them —and they locked the door. They did that. Not me.”
“That’s not what they’re saying,” she says.
“Of course not.” Why would they admit the truth? “So, what then? Are they saying that I cornered seven girls in the bathroom and went after all of them?” I lean forward. “Did they give a reason for my supposed attack?”
Even looking as tired as she is, Principal Long’s glare is a force to be reckoned with as she levels me with a dark look.
“I understand that this is a difficult situation for you, Juliet, but I would appreciate it if you don’t act like I’m an idiot with no sense for reality.
Do I believe that you attacked those girls for no reason?
No, of course not. But I also don’t believe that you tried all that hard to get away. ”
“What was I supposed to do?” I demand. “Tuck my tail between my legs and run?”
“Yes.”
I snort.
“I’m serious, Juliet.” Long sits forward. “Do you have any idea how bad this looks? Their parents are calling for expulsion. Not to mention?—”
Before she finishes, the door to her office swings open. As one, the two of us look in the direction of the open entryway. Ice slams into my veins, freezing over everything as Morpheus Calloway stands there in a crisp Armani suit and thousand-dollar loafers.
No.
“Mr. Calloway?” Dimly, I hear the creak of Principal Long’s chair as she rises from her seat and circles the desk.
Her figure appears, at first, in my periphery and then more centered as she steps in front of me to hold out a hand to the man standing in the doorway.
“I’m currently in a meeting with a student. So, if you could?—”
“Since that student will soon be my ward, I thought it pertinent to be here,” Morpheus murmurs.
Soon be my ward. The room narrows down to a long tunnel. The end is illuminated, revealing the two bodies of Principal Long and Morpheus Calloway.
Soon be my ward. Their muffled voices drift down the tunnel towards me. I can hear them speaking, make out the cadence of their voices, but not the words themselves. Why? I’m right here. I should be able to hear them, shouldn’t I?
Soon be my ward. He thinks he’s already won. He’s confident he will win. I’m not his ward. I’m not his. I’m not anybody’s.
I stand abruptly and the tunnel disappears. I’m back in Principal Long’s office and both she and Morpheus are staring at me.
“I’m not your ward, Mr. Calloway.” My voice shakes the slightest bit, but I straighten my spine and continue on anyway, pretending like I can’t hear it. “What I discuss with Principal Long is my business, not yours.”
Morpheus’ expression goes a careful blank. I’ve only seen the expression rarely from him, but I know it’s the kind of face he makes when someone has pissed him off but he can’t say or do anything to let out the anger. He’s nothing if not protective of his public image.
“I would disagree, Juliet,” he replies. “There are quite a number of angry parents out there.” He gestures down the short hallway at his back. “Many are discussing the idea of suing.”
“They’re welcome to,” I say. “I have nothing for them to take.”
Principal Long stands between us, the physical buffer I need to at least pretend strength.
“I truly am sorry, Mr. Calloway,” she states, recapturing his attention.
“But this is highly inappropriate and as the policy stands, right now, I can’t allow you into a meeting with a student you don’t have guardianship rights to. ”
Morpheus’ gaze remains on mine for several long seconds, pinning me in place with that cold rapt attention of his until I feel like a bug under a microscope. When he blinks and turns back to Principal Long, I drag in a long lungful of air.
“Of course.” The smile on his face is polite. “I understand that you’re just doing your job, Principal Long. I’d hoped Juliet would be more willing to rely on me for help. I was obviously wrong. She’s not yet ready to admit when she needs help.”
As if I’d ever need help from him. I don’t say as much, but I do stay back as Principal Long leads him out into the hall. Her voice is low, but conciliatory, and just before the door shuts behind the two of them, Morpheus looks over his shoulder and our eyes connect.
The second they do, I’m right back where I started. A pretty butterfly trapped under the glass.
Pretty girl… my pretty… pretty girl.