Paradise Falls (Paradise Falls #1-5)(8)

Jennifer didn’t recognize either of them. Instinct kept her back. Usually, a fight between two boys was a few blows, maybe a punch or two thrown if there was a real grievance, a grave insult, or a dispute over a girl. Girls fighting girls were more dangerous, since they rarely held back once they pushed past the breaking point to physical violence.

This was no boyish struggle for dominance. The larger of the two boys in the hall shoved the smaller one’s face into a locker hard enough to draw blood, sending Jennifer back into her room. She slapped the intercom button, and Linda, the lead secretary, answered after the beep.

“There’s a fight down here,” Jennifer shouted.

The shorter boy was losing badly. Jennifer couldn’t just stand there, even as Rachel grabbed at her wrist. She put her hands on the taller boy’s shoulder, and without looking he shoved his elbow into her stomach, knocking the wind out of her sails. She stumbled back, and her hurt ankle sent a shooter of pain up her leg enough to cause her to fall.

Jacob caught her. Whether it was intentional or instinct she didn’t know, but he picked her right up off the floor, gently lowered her to sit on the tiles, and stepped into the melee. He didn’t say anything before grabbing the taller of the two boys by the belt, then dragged him away from the smaller one. The shorter boy wasn’t fighting back, just shielding his head and cowering against the lockers. The big one rounded on Jacob and threw a wild punch that hit nothing but air. Jacob twisted out of the way, took hold of the boy’s wrist, and pinned him against the lockers in less than half a second.

By then, the cavalry had arrived. Howard Unger, the vice principal, followed Edwards down the hall. Howard immediately put himself between the two boys, while Edwards touched Jacob’s shoulder and eased him away. The boy immediately twisted free and tried to run, until Edwards roughly held him against the lockers. The doors rattled from the impact as Edwards dragged the boy’s arms behind his back and handcuffed him.

“Stop moving,” Edwards snapped.

“What happened?” Howard turned frantically in the hallway.

“I don’t know,” Jacob said. “I didn’t see it start.” He nodded at the taller boy. “That one hit Miss Katzenberg.”

“His backpack,” the shorter boy said, panting. His voice went high and tight from tension. “Check his backpack.”

“You f*cking snitch!” the taller boy shouted and renewed his struggles. Edwards just sighed and pushed him harder up against the lockers. Calmly, he looked at Rachel, who was standing in the middle of the hall, gaping.

“Mrs. Garrison, go buzz Linda and tell her to call the locals.”

Rachel nodded and retreated into her room.

Howard bent down and found the boy’s backpack, and pull it open. He jerked back, his bushy eyebrows rising.

“Jesus Christ,” he said, stepping back. “Nobody touch that.”

“What is it?” Jennifer said.

She started to rise, taking Jacob’s offered hand, and he pulled her to her feet. His hand lingered on hers for just a second. Two things struck her: in addition to his warm strength and the little shiver passing up her arm from his touch, it felt like every bone in his hand had been broken, then healed gnarled and twisted. She leaned on the locker, lifting her hurt ankle.

“Drugs,” Howard said. “There’s a whole pharmacy in there.”

Edwards leaned over, sighed, and turned back to the boy pinned to the lockers. “You messed up, kid. Now calm down, before you make this worse.”

As Edwards pulled him by the elbow down the hall, Howard picked up the backpack by its top handle.

“Can you two escort him down to the nurse? Jennifer, I’m going to need to see you about filing an injury report.”

Jennifer nodded. Jacob had already moved to the other boy’s side. A black eye would soon join the boy’s bruised cheek, and a cut on his forehead bled down the side of his face to stain his shirt dark red. Jacob stooped to look him in the eye.

“Look at me,” he said. “Are you okay to walk?”

The boy nodded.

“What’s your name?”

“Cole,” he said.

“Come on,” Jacob said.

Jennifer limped down the hall with them.

“What happened?” Jacob asked.

“I saw him selling that stuff to another kid.” He shrugged. “He saw that I saw and he just went crazy.”

Jacob’s jaw tensed and cords stood out on his neck. “Let’s get you looked at. It was a brave thing you did, telling us about the bag.”

“I don’t feel brave,” said the boy.

“You usually don’t,” Jacob said softly.

They led the injured boy into the nurse’s office. He flopped down on the big beige exam table-slash-couch as Miss Meyers sat beside him and gently pulled his shirt away.

“I’ll get something clean for you to wear,” she said, softly. “You said you didn’t hit your head when you fell?”

“I don’t think so,” he said.

She nodded. “Doesn’t look like your nose is broken, but I’m going to get an ambulance out here anyway, and excuse you for the day. The police will want to talk to you.”

“Am I going to be suspended?”

Jennifer glanced at Jacob, who folded his arms but said nothing. Like almost every one in the United States, the school had a zero tolerance policy. Generally, everyone involved in a fight would face disciplinary action depending on who started it.