Page 56 of All In Good Time

Mrs. Bernard shook her head in disappointment as she walked him behind the others.

He removed his hands from his nose to show the smear of blood covering his skin. “Look at my face. Look what he did to my face!”

April sobbed as she shuffled along next to him, with her hands hovering by his side like she wanted to help but wasn’t sure what to do. Not that Becca was any more help.

All she could do was watch Derek walk away, wondering what had triggered his violence against Brent. Sure, Brent was annoying and thrived off creating tension, but it wasn’t like Derek was new to this.

They’d been friends since the day he walked into school for the first time.

She didn’t want to admit it, but it felt like it had something to do with her—if Brent’s last comment had anything to do with it.

That thought got her moving, and she followed with some distance as they led the group toward the school office. She stopped next to a wall when they were all shuffled into a room and the door shut, creating a barrier she couldn’t get past. Several other students lingered long in the area, and those who missed out on the action asked around trying to figure out what happened.

One of the teachers paused at the front desk to whisper something to the secretary, Mrs. Simon, who shook her head and picked up her phone.

The first bell rang, and the hallway slowly cleared, growing quiet while Mrs. Simon said something into her phone. Becca pushed away from the wall and walked toward the desk, her ears working hard to catch a piece of what she was saying.

“Yes, sir. That’s right.” Mrs. Simon held up a single finger as Becca approached.

Becca’s toes tapped on the ground as she waited.

“Whenever you have a chance. … Uh, huh. That’s great. … We’ll see you here soon.”

The phone clattered as she placed it back onto his hook. Her eyes sparkled kindly as she finally glanced up to Becca, “What can I help you with, dear?”

Becca opened her mouth, then paused. That was a very good question. She wasn’t quite sure why she’d followed, or why she came to the secretary. What exactly was she expecting from all this?

“Oh, uh. I was just wondering how long they’re going to be in there?” She pointed at the office door.

“Probably a while. Why? Do you need something?”

“I was just wondering.” Becca bit on her bottom lip, looking through the window toward where they were in the presence of the school principal and counselor. She wished she could see in, maybe get a better idea of what was happening.

Mrs. Simon raised her eyebrows above the thin rims of her glasses. “Well, get to class then. You’re going to be late.” The second bell proved her right and Becca jumped.

“Thank you.” She pushed away from the desk, with one final glance at the closed room, before making it to her first class of the day.

Not that it mattered, because it was difficult to focus on anything other than what trouble Derek might be getting into.

She watched the clock closer than whatever her teacher wrote on the board and thought too much about Derek getting into trouble because of Brent’s comments about her. The more she thought about it, the more she wanted to rush out and make sure he was okay.

Last night, Derek had stayed with her and brushed away her tears. Today, he might have broken Brent’s nose because of what he said about her.

Any doubts she had about Derek Stokes were long gone.

Becca was a little scared of how much she had come to appreciate Derek in just a few months, and after what he’d done for her, she wanted to give it right back.

Her hand shot up, catching her teacher’s eye and causing her to pause in the middle of her lecture. She pointed at Becca.

“Yes, Miss Lewis.”

“May I use the restroom?”

She sighed, clearly disappointed it wasn’t some interesting question about whatever historical war she was teaching, and motioned her hand. “Don’t forget the hall pass.”

Becca rose from her chair and grabbed the hall pass from where it hung on the wall of the classroom.

There were three restrooms closer to her than the one she walked to. But none of those passed in front of the school office.

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