Ink and Ashes (12 page)

The disk had a small clip. I attached it to my necklace so it hung next to my bead. “Thanks. I owe you.”

“For the rest of your life.” He slid an overfilled messenger bag onto his bony shoulder. “I’ll need a hot date for the Halloween dance and also every weekend for the next two months. Brunettes are good. And I can’t resist gingers because they complement my hair color.”

I followed Fed into the hall. “You’ll be lucky if I can get a monkey to go out with you,” I said.

Truth is, Fed didn’t quite have Nicholas’s social status, but I didn’t know how any girl wouldn’t fall in love with him. Finding him a date would be easy.

MR. TAMA WAS
speaking to Chase outside the door of the history classroom. Tension set in my shoulders. Was Chase trying to get me into more trouble somehow? I edged a little closer to them on my way into the classroom to see if I could overhear anything, but they were only talking about something for debate. Nicholas had mentioned they were preparing for a tournament.

Mr. Tama grabbed my arm as I passed. “Can I speak to you briefly after class?”

Had Chase said something after all? Maybe he hadn’t liked how I’d confronted him about the cheating. I pressed my lips together and reeled back the urge to glare at him. “No problem,” I said to Mr. Tama. The best I could manage was a flight-attendant smile.

Mumps was already seated when I walked into the classroom, so I gave him a half wave as I passed his desk to get to mine. I sat at my usual seat and had just unzipped my backpack when Mumps sat down next to me in Forrest’s seat.

“Hey,” he said.

I stopped what I was doing and looked up. “Hey?”

“I wanted to apologize,” he said. “That was really awkward the other day, and I swear if I had known you and Forrest were together, I wouldn’t have asked you.”

He had gotten a haircut and his dark eyes didn’t look as vacant as I had imagined them to be the other day. “We’re not,” I said. There were enough lies in my life. I didn’t want to spread more. “And I’m the one who should apologize. I know it was rude to say no, but I’m sure you can understand why I don’t really like Nicholas and my brother setting me up on dates.”

The vacant expression returned to his face. Or maybe it was confusion. He shook his head. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Forrest walked through the door, and as soon as he saw Mumps in his seat, I could tell he was irritated. The seats around me started to fill with the girls from my team. I tried to act like I was really into my conversation with Mumps so they didn’t ask me any questions about my absence from the field. I felt like I’d let them down, even though I hadn’t cheated.

“Nicholas and Parker didn’t tell you to ask me?”

“No,” he said. “Hey look, Forrest is heading this way, and he probably wants his seat. Are you going to Katie’s party?”

Katie flopped into her seat and pointed a finger at me. “You’d better be there.” She smiled, then turned to Mumps. “I’m Katie. I know we have this class together, but I don’t think we’ve been introduced.”

Katie was the kind of person who knew everyone, so I hadn’t realized they didn’t know each other. But then again, I guess I hadn’t noticed Mumps hanging out with anyone.

Mumps shoved his hands in his front pockets. “I’m Mumps.”

“Cool.” Katie crossed her legs and swiveled to face the front.

Mumps tapped the top of my desk with his hand. “I’ll catch up with you there. And you should consider joining the debate team. I hear they have a really cool guy named Mumps on the team who is a lot of fun to be around.” He winked and went to take his seat at the front of the room.

The wink felt more like an inside joke rather than a flirtatious gesture, but I didn’t know him well enough to tell. Lanie and Kimi waved at me, but thankfully no one said anything about my alleged cheating.

“What did he want?” Forrest took his seat next to me. His voice sounded tense.

“To apologize,” I said.

“He should. Nicholas never said he could—” Forrest opened his notebook and suddenly found something more interesting than our conversation inside.

“Nicholas never said Mumps could what?”

“Nothing.” Forrest stuck the front of his T-shirt in his mouth and looked straight ahead at the front of the room.

Nicholas never said he could
what
? Did Forrest really think I would just drop it?

“Forrest,” I whisper-shouted. “Forrest.” I continued to stare in his direction, but he refused to look my way.

I had a pretty good idea what he was about to say anyway. Nicholas never told Mumps he could ask me to the dance. It made sense considering Mumps’s confusion a minute ago.

Mr. Tama walked in. “Let’s get started.”

Forrest might think he was off the hook, but I would corner him later. Was Nicholas vetting the guys who were allowed to approach me? Was
that
why I never got asked to dances by anyone remotely interesting?

When I reached into my backpack to get my notebook, I found a small white box on top of it. It was wrapped with a black bow, and my name was written on a white tag in red. When did that get put there? I’d had my bag with me all morning.

I untied the bow and lifted the lid.

When I saw what was inside, I released what sounded more like a yell than a scream. I dropped the box, and it fell into my backpack.

“Is everything all right, Ms. Takata?” Mr. Tama asked.

The last thing I wanted was for Mr. Tama to think I was a troublemaker in addition to being an alleged cheater. “I’m fine. I thought I saw a spider,” I said, even though I’m not afraid of spiders. “Sorry.”

“No need to apologize,” he said.

Chase laughed. When Mr. Tama’s back was turned, Chase faced me and spun his pointer finger around the side of his head, mouthing, “Psycho!”

Why was punching him
not
a good decision? I waited for my pulse to slow down before I got out my notebook and pen.

Forrest shuddered. “Was it really a spider? Please tell me you killed it.”

“Eyeballs,” I whispered.

He raised his eyebrows.

I tried to copy what Mr. Tama had written on the board, but I couldn’t stop my hands from trembling. “Someone put four eyeballs in a box. In my bag. Real eyeballs.”

Who would have done this? If it was Chase, he was much sicker than I ever could have imagined. But how would he have gotten the box in my bag?

As much as I wanted to run out of the classroom, I steeled my nerves and stayed seated. If there was any chance Chase had done this, I was not going to let him see me squirm.

I couldn’t concentrate enough to take notes, so I closed my eyes and drowned out everything by air-playing “Reverie” by Robert Schumann, tapping my fingers against my legs. It wasn’t a difficult song, and Mr. Tama wasn’t making anyone answer any questions. I’d played it years ago. I let whatever was built up inside lilt away along the melody in my head.

The bell rang, and I gathered myself together. Rather than put my notebook in my bag, I handed it to Forrest. I held my backpack away from my body so I didn’t have to touch any more of it than I had to. If I didn’t get out of there, I was going to explode. I pushed my way—not gently—through everyone ambling out and sprinted through the door.

“Claire!” Mr. Tama called out. “I still need to speak to you.”

When I glanced back, Mr. Tama had followed me into the hall and started after me. For a brief second I thought about turning around. I’d completely forgotten we were supposed to meet after class, but I couldn’t go back. Behind me, Forrest shouted my name. My feet kept moving, propelling me through the masses.

Forrest caught up with me at the end of the hall. Either Mr. Tama had given up, or the halls had become too crowded for me to see him.

Forrest grabbed my backpack and unzipped it. He peered inside and paled, swaying as if he might throw up. It’s not like I hadn’t warned him what was inside. I was far too angry and confused to get squeamish. And right now, I couldn’t control the adrenaline coursing through me.

“I’m going to make a pit stop at the bathroom,” he said.

I tugged my backpack from him before he jogged down the hall. We still had seven minutes before the next class started. I marched the opposite way to the biology lab.

Mrs. Kenton was at her desk. I grabbed a couple of paper towels from the dispenser on the wall and brought my backpack over to her.

“Mrs. Kenton,” I said, pulling out an eyeball with a paper towel. “Someone put these in my bag as a disgusting joke. I need to know these aren’t human so I can try to get some sleep tonight.”

She plucked the eyeball from the paper towel and held it in her bare hands. I’d seen her boiling carcasses of small animals before, so this would be nothing for her.

“Definitely not human,” she said, turning it over so she could look at it from different angles. “Too small to be human, and the irises aren’t right.”

I felt a large weight fall from my shoulders.

“Do you mind if I cut it open?” she asked.

“Be my guest.”

Mrs. Kenton went to a cupboard and grabbed a dissecting tray and scalpel, which she set on the table closest to me. I took a seat on a stool.

She put the eyeball on a tray and stabbed it with a T-pin to hold it in place, then made a careful incision. “Interesting. A pecten. It’s avian, and probably a midsize bird. If it’s local, it could be something like a magpie, or a crow or raven,” she said. “If you find the sick kid who did this, please let me know, but I plan to speak to the principal, and you should go file a report with the front office.”

I opened my bag and held it out for her. She threw the eyeball back inside. “I hope you catch that son of a—” Mrs. Kenton shook her head. “Mutilating animals is the sign of a possible future serial killer.”

“Thank you.” I fought against the current of students coming into the lab for class.

The bell rang on my way to the front office, and I entered, knowing I would probably make sweet Mrs. Davis pass out. It was busier than I expected, so I sat in one of the chairs and waited for my turn with four other students, two girls and two boys.

Mrs. Davis spotted me and hopped to her feet. “Well speak of the devil, Claire. Mr. Tama was looking for you.” She motioned for me to come closer to the counter, so I stood and met her there. “He said he’d wanted to speak to you after class but was a little worried when you raced out of there. I was about to go chase you down and make sure you’re okay when you walked through our door.” She put her hands on her hips and leaned back, rolling her spine into a stretch. “It’s a good thing too because this old thing ain’t what it used to be.”

“I’m fine,” I said. “Really I am.” I brought my knuckle to my lips.

“Good to know.” She winked. “Run to the faculty lounge when we’re done here. He only needs a minute, and he isn’t teaching this period, so stop there on your way out. Where are you supposed to be right now? I’ll let your teacher know you’ll be late.”

“Study hall.”

Mrs. Davis nodded and said I could go sit back down. “How can I help you, Miss Granger?” She pointed to a petite girl with mousy brown hair, who looked too young to be in high school.

In an effort to have a little personal space, I chose a seat as far away from the other students as possible. Who would do this? It had to be someone from school. Probably the same person who had taken my pictures. No matter how many people I considered, Chase was the only one I could think of who would have motive to do something like this.

Ten minutes passed before my name was called. The office had emptied of other students. I warned Mrs. Davis before I even started that what I was about to say was disgusting.

When I told her the rest, she threw her hands in front of her face, even though I hadn’t shown her my backpack. “Oh good heavens! Let me get the officer on site.”

She went through a door behind the counter, and when she returned, Officer Clemmons was with her. Officer Clemmons was big and tall and the friendliest man on campus.

“Mrs. Davis says you received a present?” He set a form on the counter and pulled a pen from his front pocket.

I nodded and raised my open bag. “This is the box inside here. Mrs. Kenton says the eyeballs were from a bird.”

Mrs. Davis went back to her desk and sat down. Officer Clemmons wrote some notes down on the form and asked a lot of questions regarding where I was, what time I found them, and who I thought might have put them there and why. After he finished, he put his pen back in his pocket.

“This probably isn’t what you want to hear,” he said, “but it’s not going to be easy to find out who did this, so if you know or hear of anything, let us know because you’re our best lead. Even if we do find out who did this, be prepared because it might be hard to prove that a crime was committed to the birds. If the person took them from dead birds, it would be sick, but not an actual crime. And it’s probably harassment to leave them for you like this, but again, it’s hard to prove.”

“Are you serious?” I said, louder than I meant to. Mrs. Davis’s head jolted up.

Officer Clemmons nodded. “If the person tortured a live animal or killed it without privilege, it would be a Class A misdemeanor, but there’s no way for us to tell if these birds were alive or not.”

“Oh good heavens,” Mrs. Davis said again from her desk.

He walked around the counter, wincing. “I’m going to need to take the box and eyeballs so they can be submitted into evidence.” He pawed at the opening of my bag, barely touching the zipper. “Ew.”

My backpack still had some notes and pens along with the white box inside, but none of it was anything I needed. “Take the whole thing.” I slid the bag off my arm and gave it to him. If he hadn’t taken it, I’d have thrown it away anyway so I’d never have to see it again.