What We Saw(32)

Nothing is exactly as it appears.

By the time the pass reaches that empty space, Kyle or Reggie is there, hands snap open, the satisfying pop of leather on palms. The step back, the square up, the shot.

That promise of the consummate athlete I’ve watched a hundred times in our old soccer video has come to fruition. Perfect connection every time.

The closer you look, the more you see.

It dawns on me in this moment that the whole school is so focused on Dooney and Deacon, that no one has actually talked to Stacey. It isn’t that she’s disappeared. It’s just that no one is focused on her. We’re too busy looking at the stars.

When I turn to say this to my friend, I see Lindsey has disappeared, too.





UNCORRECTED E-PROOF—NOT FOR SALE


HarperCollins Publishers

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eighteen


THIS VIDEO DOESN’T show you everything.

For instance, you can’t see the whole drill team, so even if you know that Stacey Stallard is a member, you won’t notice that she’s missing from the formation. You can’t see that every student is standing as Coach Sanders takes the mic from Wyatt, but even though the audio is terrible, you can hear the chorus of boos when he says the words vicious rumors.

Sloane was shooting this over Mr. Johnston’s shoulder so you can’t see the frown on his face when the chant begins.

Tough as BUCC! Tough as BUCC! Tough as BUCC!

You can’t see that the blurry figures on the opposite side of the gym are Principal Hargrove and Ms. Speck. You can’t make out Ms. Speck’s charcoal tailored suit or her black high heels with the red soles. You also can’t see her mouth drop open slightly when Coach asks, What happens to losers when they run up against the Buccaneers?

But you can see the anger cloud Coach Sanders’s face when he spots Sloane Keating in the corner. You can see him shouldering through the drill team and a crush of chanting students as he makes a beeline for her. You can see Mr. Johnston’s groovy glasses as he glances over his shoulder, then back at Coach—a look of comprehension, then apprehension, spreading across his face.

You can see Coach Sanders jabbing his finger and shouting above the din at Sloane Keating. But more importantly, you can hear what he’s shouting at her.

Get the hell out of here.

You filthy liar.

I’ve got your number.

You better watch your back.

Mom gasps and sinks down on the arm of the couch. She has just walked through the door from work as Dad turns up the volume.

“Shocking footage from a Channel Thirteen reporter who was threatened this afternoon by Coral Sands High School basketball coach, Raymond Sanders. I’m Jeremy Gordon in Des Moines bringing you breaking developments in this case. As always, Channel Thirteen is on the scene, and we go now, live, to our very own Sloane Keating, who shot this incendiary footage—on your cell phone, Sloane, as I understand?

The screen splits, and Sloane’s face fills half. Her blond hair is pulled back at the base of her neck tonight. She wears a dark wool trench over a black sweater that shows no cleavage. The effect is conservative, both somber and studious, stylish with a subtle hint of glamour. I am not a model. I am a serious journalist. She smiles grimly into the camera, then uses those words again:

Coral Sands Rape Case.

“As I reported this morning, last night, local authorities released all four of the young men taken into custody on Tuesday. Two are minors whose names have been withheld, but they are both eleventh-graders here at Coral Sands High. Seniors John Doone and Deacon Mills were also released on bail after pleading not guilty.”

“And do we know if these young men have been cooperating with the investegation?” asks Jeremy.

“It’s been extremely difficult to get any further information,” says Sloane. “This town is a team—just like their coach says—and as you can see from this video, they don’t take kindly to outsiders asking questions.”

“That’s not fair,” Mom says. “Makes us sound like a bunch of stupid hicks.”

Onscreen, Jeremy Gordon presses forward. “Sloane, have there been any statements from the alleged victim in this case?”


“Not a word,” says Sloane. “As you know it’s the policy of our organization and the media at large not to report the name or identifying details of the victim in situations such as these. But I have to say, Jeremy, with this video as evidence of the prevailing sentiment here in Coral Sands, it can’t be easy for her. I imagine the young woman must be feeling intimidated, and quite alone.”

Sloane says these words with a quiet determination that telegraphs a simple message: I will get to the bottom of this. As she says them, the screen cuts away from the two-shot and back to the grainy cell-phone video, Sloane’s long pan of what appears to be the whole school, yelling in defiant solidarity with Coach Sanders. The basketball team and entire student body chanting a slogan only one consonant away from an expletive:

Tough as BUCC! Tough as BUCC! Tough as BUCC!

“Truly a chilling scene.” Jeremy Gordon’s voice brings us back to the two-shot, and Sloane promises she’s staying right here until she has more answers. Jeremy tells us where we can follow along with the case on Sloane’s Thirteen’s on the Scene! blog. Then they play out to a commercial with a shot of the chanting student body. This time we seem even more rabid looking than we did before. It’s the same footage, but now Sloane Keating and Jeremy Gordon have decided that this is a chilling scene.