Page 47 of In This Iron Ground
“So, you’re both coming with me.”
“He didn’t even—!”
“I wouldn’t make this worse if I were you,” the teacher warned.
“Fine,” Olive bit out after a moment. “But let go of his fucking arm.” She knocked the hand away from Damien before the teacher could follow the order. He opened his mouth, looking incensed, but then his eyes flicked behind them.
“The third musketeer. Let’s go, Koko. You’re joining the field trip.”
Damien turned to look at Koko’s approaching form, her face stony. His stomach dropped.
The four of them walked in silence towards the principal’s office. The teacher sat them down outside the room and told them he was going to call their parents.
“Foster carers, genius,” Olive snapped.
The teacher clenched his jaw. “Foster carers, then,” he repeated. The lack of apology was noted.
“This is bullshit,” Olive said when he left. Damien didn’t reply. There were no words in his head. There wasn’t anything in there at all.
They were taken into the principal’s office together. Despite Olive’s attempts, they weren’t given an opportunity to speak. They were sternly reminded of the no-smoking-on-school-grounds policy, followed by a rant about the dangers of smoking. They were given detention as a warning for future suspension if it happened again.
“What about—did you call our parents and carers?” Koko asked.
“They have been informed, and a letter will be sent home with you,” the principal replied.
Damien shut his eyes for a moment.
This was it.
The rest of the day was a haze. Olive stopped him between lessons, holding his arms.
“Dude, I’m sorry. But it’s gonna be okay. Your foster carers are okay, right? They’re not gonna do anything weird?”
“No. They would never.”
“Okay, then. You’re good. It’s gonna be fine. Stop…looking like that.”
“Like what?”
“Like…just, it’s fine, Damien. Don’t freak.”
“I’m not,” he said. He wasn’t feeling anything at all.
Damien wondered where they would send him next. It would be Oak House, if he were lucky.
Mia was the one to pick them up after school, expression stern.
“We’ll talk when we get home,” she told them, tying the noose around Damien’s neck. Hakan looked at Koko and Damien, frowning.
“What happened?” he asked Damien, not bothering to whisper. Damien shrugged. Hakan looked at Koko, who made atell you latergesture. Hakan’s frown only deepened.
When they arrived at the house, Hakan was sent upstairs as Koko and Damien sat on the couch. Mia sat on the coffee table, facing them.
“Okay. What happened?” Mia asked. They remained silent. “Guys. Explain.”
“It was nothing!” Koko burst out. “We were hanging under the bleachers.”
“And?”
