Page 12 of Spiteful Lies

Rawlins stops typing. “Astrid, would you take the paper off my desk?”

It isn’t a yes or no question, and I reach out, sliding the paper off the desk. It’s my econ test; the A-plus on the top has been crossed out, and an F is written beside it. I don’t need an explanation because it’s obvious what has happened. Gillian got caught somehow, and it led back to me. I don’t say anything. I just stare at the paper in my hand. The shitty thing is that I knew all the correct answers.

“Gillian also received an A-plus on her test,” replies Rawlins to a question that isn’t asked. “If she hadn’t been greedy and had written in a few wrong answers, she wouldn’t have been caught. A D student who is about to fail receives a solid A-plus with no errors?” Rawlins glares at Gillian, who refuses to look at anything but her hands.

Rawlins is right. Gillian was greedy, and it makes me burn as my cheeks flush. I want to lash out. I want to tell Gillian she’s stupid and cuss Rawlins out for being so fucking smug about it, but I won’t. I refuse to do it because I’m a Howland. My lips tremble when it sinks in that soon I’ll be the only one.

My attention snaps back to Rawlins, and my face flushes when I see the expression on hers. She is studying me like I’m a bug that found its way into her office, and she’s trying to identify me before she grinds me into the ground. I shake my head, realizing that she’s mistaking my reaction for remorse.

“Gillian, you may go,” she says.

Gillian hesitates near my chair. I can sense the nervous energy coming off her body. Her breath catches as she debates what to say. I don’t make it easy as I continue to ignore her.

“Now,” Rawlins snaps.

Gillian hurries out of the room without speaking a word. The door closes behind me with a soft tap, and it might as well have banged shut. The air becomes heavy and oppressive as I wait for Rawlins to say something…anything to me. Nothing as she starts to tap again on her keyboard, and her gaze remains on her computer screen.

I notice that I’m fidgeting and force myself to stop by pressing the back of my legs hard against the chair. Minutes go by, but she says nothing as she makes me wait. I bide my time and refuse to look at her, prolonging the unavoidable—my expulsion.

I don’t know how much time has passed, but boredom finally makes me look away from my lap. Slowly, I lift my eyes and meet her icy stare, and my stomach lurches, shaking up my body. Was she staring at me the whole time? I fidget again in my seat, but my eyes stay on her. Her disapproving look has more force than a quick right to the jaw. She can thrash her enemies with a disapproving sneer.

“You would’ve passed without cheating,” she finally says, “so why did you try to help her?”

I have to swallow before I can talk. “She’s my friend.”

“Your friend turned you in,” she replies, “I offered Gillian amnesty if she gave me the name of the person who gave her the answers. Athletes aren’t easy to crack, but it was her future or yours. So, I’m considering offering you the same deal, Astrid. Where did you get the answers?”

The thought of being a snitch is worse than expulsion. I’ll never talk to Gillian again after what she did. I get it. If she didn’t tell, then goodbye scholarship, but because she did tell, I’m sitting here, about to be chucked out. I fold my arms and give back a dose of the attitude I’m receiving.

“How do you know I didn’t give her the answers later?” I ask, “We’re not in the same class.”

Rawlins opens her desk drawer, the one she keeps locked, and pulls out a test, handing it to me. But this test is different from ours. The pages are yellowed, and the edges are curled. The writing has faded on the page, but as I hold it in my hands, I see that it’s the same exact test we took earlier in the week, except the date is different.

“Getz recycles his exams,” explains Rawlins, “and this one was given at least ten years ago. Gillian’s answers were almost identical to the student who received an A-plus for her hard work. Getz was so impressed with the student that he kept the exam as an answer key.”

I toss it back on her desk as if it burns to touch it. She’s still watching me, waiting for me to do something. Does she want a teary confession? She’s freaking me out, but I’m not breaking.Try harder, lady. I’m not a snitch.

“Nothing to add?” Rawlins teases me with a light tone in her smooth voice. She grabs the original exam and tosses it back into the drawer, locking it. “Fine. Let’s talk about something else.”

“My expulsion?”

Rawlins laughs without humor. “Not yet. That’s coming. When the police came to campus, they searched Getz’s office for information to help with their investigation. They found a few inconsequential items. The typical black and white photo of a naked woman pretending to be art when it’s really soft porn. Of course, they didn’t find anything, but Alice found a stuffed garbage bag here in my office. And it made me wonder if the Investors Club had a late-night meeting.”

She pauses and stares at me.

“Nothing to add to that either?” she replies. “Astrid, let me explain something that you seem to have trouble comprehending. I’m not your enemy. I’m your protector. By protecting the school from scandal, I’m also protecting you. The reporters weren’t allowed to swarm our campus like maggots because we’re a private school on private property, and a no-trespassing ordinance is strictly enforced.

“The goal is to make every student feel safe and protected here from the things that exist past the gate. Astrid, there is an abundance of assholes running around out there, ready to pull you down so they can get ahead. I’m not one of them. I have what I want, and it’s to be in charge of Stonehaven.”

I sigh heavily. “If you’re going to kick me out, just do it and spare me the speeches.”

Rawlins ignores my rudeness. “You’re not convinced of what I do. It’s so seamless that you haven’t noticed, but I’ve been covering your ass more than you realize. You better start talking to me, or the world is going to become a cruel place. Indisputably, Weymouth is a tough town, but Rockingham will destroy you.”

“I don’t believe you,” I reply harshly, “Once I’m out of here, I’m free.”

“Fine. Don’t tell me and see how your world changes overnight.”

For some reason, Ted Leister’s face pops into my head, leering at me as if he’s real and pinning me down again. It makes my body shake. Someone has to know it was me. I’m the student the press is looking for and the person the cops want to question. It was leaked that a Stonehaven student is involved. No one knows the exact details, but a mystery student is on their radar.

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