NINE YEARS LATER

2. The Note

It was a steamy August morning, when no one in the city seemed to want to leave the comfort of their air conditioners. Yet somehow, some 800-odd teenagers had been persuaded into a cramped, claustraphobic building and were being forced to listen to the ramblings of their not-so-entertaining teachers. This inhumane treatment, in combination with the heat, hormones, and hunger, was creating its usual mixture of angst.

In Room 381, Mr. Edward's English class, it was nothing but the same. Apparently, the school board had had some difficulty in hiring adequate teachers or something, because they seemed to be trying to jam as many kids as possible into a classroom. With walkways so small you could hardly squish through sideways, Kiley figured there had to be at least 30 to 40 cramped students -- in all different stages of desperation -- in the classroom with her. While she set about counting (because she had nothing else to do) her friend Diana was passing notes to some redhead, her brother Calen was -- as usual -- chucking things at Diana's brother, Carter, and everyone else appeared to be sleeping. Though, she did not fail to notice, some girl at the front of the class was taking notes with flawless cursive. Nerd.

Mr. Edwards was saying something about apples... maybe. She just couldn't run it through her head for some reason. Well, teachers didn't say anything worthwhile on the first day of school anyway, right? It didn't seem like he would reproach anybody for not listening, even if they were mooning him from the back row or drooling on their textbooks. He was like a robot, plowing on as if he was only talking to himself. But in a way, he was talking to himself... well, besides that strawberry blonde in the front row.

Kiley decided she didn't care how many people were in the class because she had lost count anyway. About to doze off, she was startled by a note that was suddenly plopped in front of her. That's daring, she thought, because she sat in the front row. Surely Mr. Edwards would turn around any minute now... but he didn't. She sighed and opened the note, which was folded like a paper football. There were four stick figures on one side of the paper, and... she had to turn it sideways to read the writing. Sneaking a glance at Mr. Edwards, she decided he wouldn't care anyway. After all, people were sleeping in his class, right? He probably wouldn't mind an innocent, crumpled piece of paper!

Taking her time, Kiley squinted, because whoever had writen the note certainly had tremendously small and squishy writing. Okay, so there were four stick figures on the left; two with dark scribbly hair and two with what looked like cloud-heads, but she supposed that was the note-writer's way of drawing blonde hair. They were labeled something illegible. And then on the other side were some random stick figures -- they, too, labelled something illegible -- but it looked like the artist maybe had A.D.D. and had lost interest halfway into drawing them. The badly-drawn people on the right were saying... Die, bitches, die. Then she noticed little red slashes all over the figures on the left-- so they didn't have chicken pox, then? She cocked an eyebrow in her usual fashion and wondered who could have created such a lovely picture. Slowly winding her head to left, she knew.

Caed McConaughey and his cronies were smiling devilishly in her direction. She scowled with grim acknowledgement, and started crushing the paper into a ball, but--

"Excuse me, Miss... Chorover. Is that your name?"

"Kiley," she corrected weakly, staring up at the suddenly imposing figure of Mr. Edwards.

"Miss Chorover, I do not permit notes in my class. I shall have to confiscate this," Mr. Edwards said, and inconspicuously lifted the paper from her desktop. Kiley sat there, petrified for a second, but then broke into a wide, gleaming smile.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Edwards, it won't happen again."

When he had turned his back, trudging to his desk in that way he did, she looked dead left. Caed, who had a minute ago been thrilled that he'd gotten Kiley in trouble, was now staring at her, as in disbelief of his own stupidity. Dare he mess with her? Yes, she thought vehemently.

"Miss Chorover? Mr... McConaughey?" Mr. Edwards said, frowning, "could you... come up here, please?"

The attitude of the classroom was significantly different now, Kiley noticed, because all the kids seemed to be listening for once. But what did she care? This was no fault of her own! Caed, however, had his head in his hands and it looked like he was trying to pull his hair out. Then, after a couple seconds, both she and he rose from their seats, to stand together in front of Mr. Edwards at the head of the class. Kiley thought it comical that the nerdy, strawberry blonde girl looked deeply affronted at their disobedience. Calen, Carter and Diana (her brother, best friend, and best friend's brother) seemed amused, actually. They seemed confident that she'd worm her way out of this one, too.

Mr. Edwards was now turned to his desk, scribbling something in perfect Teacher writing on his stationary. Kiley took the opportunity to sneak a glance at Caed, and was pleased to see that he was looking quite surly by now. All in a day's work....

"Here--" Mr. Edwards icily gave the note to Kiley. It was sealed in an envelope and had Mrs. Daley written on it. W-why weren't they going to their grade administrator? Why the head of school? Was this a lot more significant than she'd imagined? Suddenly the joy of busting Caed dissolved, and she was filled with a terrifying anxiety. Head of school... A visit to Mrs. Daley's office was warranted only by extreme action.

"I have to finish teaching class, and I cannot accompany you two. Go to the Main Office and tell them you are waiting for the end of the period so I may join you and we can discuss this." And he waved the crumpled note in their faces for effect. He opened the door for them, and gave them both Hall Passes. "Go," he said, as if instructing a dog, and jerked his head in the direction of the office. They got the idea, and stepped out, and he shut the door swiftly at their backs.

Kiley thought vaguely that he must be new to this teacher business, to trust them --enemies since first grade-- to walk down the hall together without sustaining great injury from each other. She knew there were cameras, but what good could cameras do in a fight besides alert an elderly old lady in the Admissions Department?

Caed was too smart to pick a fight with her now, though. They were expected in the office, so they'd have to go to the office. But of course he couldn't resist...

By the time she hit the floor, her head bouncing horribly on the linoleum, he was halfway down the hall. He cast her one handsomely devilish grin and all she could do was sigh.