Six Little Secrets(29)

After several excruciating seconds, Q opened the cabinet.

‘Bingo!’ he said and rubbed his hands together.

They reached inside to get the phones.

‘We need to get back to the table,’ Zoe said, eyeing the door to the library. She imagined Mr. Curtis coming back into the room before they were back in their seats. It wouldn’t be pretty.

As Q lifted his phone from the drawer, a red piece of paper fluttered out of his hand. Zoe’s heart plummeted. Q grabbed the paper and shoved the drawer closed. ‘We need to get back.’

Zoe practically sprinted to the table. She held Cece’s purple phone in her hand. She dropped it in front of Cece and plopped down in her chair, staring over at Q and the red slip in his hands.

Mr. Curtis still hadn’t returned.

‘Whose is it?’ she asked Q after he’d sat down.

Her chest tightened. Was this it? Was this her task? What would it entail? Would she be able to complete it successfully? She picked at her fingernails, desperate for at least one answer to her burning questions.

‘Whose is it?’ she asked again.

He handed Jackie her phone and Teddy reached across to give Holly hers. Holly hid the phone under the table and started typing on it.

Q held up the paper and Jackie flinched.

‘It’s mine,’ Q said.





CHAPTER FOURTEEN




Q



Four Days Earlier


Q wanted to jump out of the window. Granted, they were on the first floor so it wouldn’t have done any damage, but he needed to get away from Jackie’s incessant chatter. She was a row in front of him, sitting on some jock’s lap. The jock’s hand rested on the side of her thigh.

Q rolled his eyes so hard that he thought they were going to roll out of his head.

The bell rang, and he let out a breath.

Finally.

Jackie jumped up and kissed the jock on the cheek, leaving behind a smudge of whatever was on her lips.

She didn’t even look at Q as she passed.

He didn’t care.

He didn’t care about much anymore. It was a symptom of greater concerns.

Q stood up. It was only the beginning of the class period, but he couldn’t take it any longer. He needed a break.

He went to Mr. Powell. The teacher had a stack of papers on his desk. Q knew a pop quiz was coming today. He was always sure to keep his grades high enough to squeak by. But his marks were bad enough for his parents to have to come to school every once in a while for a discussion with his teachers.

‘I need to use the pass,’ he said to Mr. Powell.

‘Now?’ Mr. Powell asked, meeting Q’s eyes.

‘I’ll be quick,’ Q said, sliding the bathroom pass off Mr. Powell’s desk.

He dared the guy to question him. ‘Hurry back.’

He left the room just as Mr. Powell announced the pop quiz to the class. A chorus of groans and shuffling paperwork followed him out of the room. It wasn’t until the door closed behind him that he was able to breathe.

Q was in the bathroom for about five seconds before the sound started. The familiar eh eh eh of the alarm and flickering lights of the room made Q smirk.

It was a perfect time for a fire drill.

He finished up in the bathroom and leisurely walked out.

Students and teachers hustled down the hallway toward the front entrance. A mix of terror and excitement flashed across everyone’s face.

He wished he’d been the one to make the fire drill go off. He pressed his hand against the lighter in his pocket.

At least now Q didn’t have to take the pop quiz. Someone was smiling down at him today.

Q followed the cattle outside and found his classmates out by the curb in front of the building. The cool, early spring air was refreshing, and he wished he could stay out there all day. Or leave the property altogether.

Mr. Powell seemed relieved to see Q and checked his name off on the attendance sheet.

Q stood to the back of the group and surveyed the area. Everyone he made eye contact with immediately looked away. Q couldn’t hide the grin from his face. School gave him all the entertainment he needed. Because of the way he chose to dress everyone thought he was bad news. And since he spoke out of turn in class, they thought he was a slacker. His constant remarks against his teachers sealed the deal, creating the character he wanted them to see.

Just like his parents, no one bothered to get to know the real person underneath. That was fine with him. This place was a temporary blip in his life.

Jackie’s voice continued to grate on his nerves. Why was she so loud all the time? And why did everyone care to be around her while she blathered on about things that didn’t matter?

Q moved further from his class. Mr. Powell already spotted him, so he didn’t need to stick around.

‘Watch it,’ a girl said from next to him.

He cut a glance her way. Holly Pickard.

She flicked her blonde hair over her shoulder and walked away. She linked arms with some senior and started chatting with him.

Q dug his hands into his pockets. What the hell was her problem? He accidentally bumped into her. Big deal. Get over it.

Principal Killian came out of the school and waved everyone back inside. ‘False alarm! You can all return to class.’

Q glanced behind him. Where were the fire trucks? They came for every alarm at the school, delaying the inevitable.