Just Another Hero (5 page)

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 8

ARIELLE HATED THE SCHOOL LUNCHROOM.
It was always hot and sweaty and smelled of vegetable soup and old french fry grease, regardless of what had been cooked that day. Last year, when Jericho had been pledging to get into the Warriors of Distinction, she'd hung with November and Dana at lunch. November had been dating Josh, Dana and Kofi had been tight since birth, it seemed, and she had Jericho. They'd giggled together and swapped clothes and shoes and stories about the guys.

But this year was all different. Jericho was hooked up with his honey bear Olivia, Josh was gone, and the girls avoided her. She didn't blame them. It took her a while, but in the end she realized she'd been a real bitch—there was no nicer word to describe it. She knew she deserved the cold shoulders they gave her.

She'd broken up with several boyfriends since then, and, even though she figured she had to be one of the cutest girls
in the school, nobody was clogging up her cell phone to ask her out.

It's senior year, and I'm going to be home playing Scrabble with my mother instead of going to the prom,
she thought miserably, grabbing a salad and juice box and heading to the empty table where she usually sat.

“Hey, Arielle!”

She turned to see who was calling her.

“Over here!” November waved from two tables over. “You gonna eat, or what?”

Is she serious?
Arielle couldn't believe her ears. Still, she walked over to where November sat with Dana and Olivia, trying to look casual, daring to feel hopeful. She stood there, hesitating, holding her tray in front of her.

“Well, sit down. Don't just stand there lookin' all ghetto-fabulous,” Dana said with a smile. “I really like your outfit,” she added.

“Thanks,” said Arielle quietly, sliding onto the cafeteria bench. “I got it on sale at T.J. Maxx.”

“My favorite place to shop!” November said. “I need new clothes like a madman! Nothing fits me anymore!”

“Aren't you tired of sitting by yourself at lunch every day?” Dana asked Arielle.

“Yes, but I just figured…” Her voice trailed off, and she looked away.

“Get over it, and get over yourself,” Olivia said. “I ain't mad at you—or anybody else these days.”

“I'm really sorry, Olivia,” Arielle began.

“I said, get over yourself,” Olivia repeated emphatically. “If I had wanted to hurt you, I woulda sat on your skinny
little behind a long time ago.” She laughed, then stopped when she saw the look on Arielle's face. “Relax, girlfriend. Life goes on. So, anybody seen Crazy Jack today?”

“He came to art class,” said Dana. “He wasn't acting any goofier than usual.”

“Maybe we ought to get him a chemistry tutor—at least until the weather gets warmer,” November said. “My first day back and I spent it outside in the cold. I coulda done that at home!”

“Uh, how's the baby, November?” Arielle asked. She nibbled uneasily at her food. She kept waiting for them to try to pay her back for all the horrible things she'd done to them last year—like throwing spaghetti on Olivia or talking bad about the pregnant November, or just for thinking she was all that. The list went on and on in Arielle's mind.

“Sunshine is doing really great. Of course, sometimes she decides that three a.m. is playtime, so I'm always sleepy.” November rubbed her eyes.

“Can I see a picture?” Arielle asked shyly. She realized she was probably one of the only kids in their class who hadn't even had a glimpse of the baby yet. She'd almost thrown five years of friendship down the drain.

But November happily whipped out her photo album. Arielle was stunned at how pretty the baby was. Even though she was tiny, shades of Josh could be seen in her face and smile.

“She's so beautiful,” said Arielle in a reverential whisper.

“Yeah, I'm pretty proud,” November said, beaming. “And she's a really good baby, which is great since my mother says the baby is my responsibility, so I'm the one
who has to get up at night to feed her and change her. I'm the one who has to buy her formula and clothes and diapers.”

“Your mom doesn't help you?” Arielle asked in disbelief.

“Tough love, she calls it,” November explained. “It was
my
choice to come back to school to try to graduate, and my job to find a place for the baby to stay and the money to pay for it.”

“Deep,” said Arielle.

“That reminds me,” Dana said. “You heard from Josh's parents lately? I know they gave up trying to adopt the baby, but do they see her or help you at all?”

November made a face. “Not much. They only wanted her if she was healthy, and when she wasn't, they disappeared.”

“That's so crazy. They were breakin' down your door with lawyers and money when you were pregnant, and now…”

“They've only been to see her once. They didn't stay long, and neither of them would pick her up. It was so weird. Mr. Prescott tried to give me some money, but I wouldn't take it. I mean, c'mon. How lame is that?”

“Good for you!” Arielle said, hoping she sounded positive and encouraging. She felt like a foreigner at the table.

“So, who's your latest honey, Arielle?” November asked. “I've been out of the loop for a few months. I have no idea who's hooked up with who.”

“Nobody, actually,” Arielle admitted. “I think the boys around here put my name on a ‘Do Not Call' list.” She shrugged. “But that's fine with me. I guess I've got a lot of bridges to rebuild.”

Arielle glanced at Olivia, then looked away.

After a moment Olivia said, changing the subject, “Everybody's getting college letters, seems like. You decided where you're going?”

Arielle breathed out slowly, thankful the conversation had turned. “I applied to Stanford and Cornell and a couple of schools here in Ohio, but I haven't heard anything yet. What about you?”

“I've applied to a few places with rockin' marching bands and great pre-med programs. I should know something real soon,” Olivia replied.

“I'm going to Florida A&M,” Dana said with attitude. “I'm gonna love that Florida sun. They got a dynamite political science program. Dana the Wolfe for the defense, Your Honor. My client is innocent!”

“I'd be scared to be the lawyer for the other side,” Olivia joked. “You can be fierce, girlfriend.”

Dana sat taller on the lunch bench. Arielle noticed a glint of pride in her eyes. “You're already accepted?” she asked, a little surprised.

“Yep. Early decision. Grants and loans in place. Feels great to have that worry off me. All I gotta do is pack.”

“What about Kofi?” asked November.

“He's gotta find a way to pay for MIT, but he's filled out lots of scholarship applications. Something will come through for him. It's just got to.”

“Does it worry you that you won't be at the same school?” Arielle asked her.

“It looks like we're gonna need good cell phone plans,” Dana replied with a shrug.

“What about you, November?” asked Arielle.

November sighed. “Maybe you'll get my spot at Cornell. That's where I was headed until I got pregnant. For now, I hope I can enroll in a couple of evening classes at Cincinnati State, but lots will depend on Sunshine's health and my job. Right now I'd just love to have some clothes that fit!” Her laugh fell flat.

“Well, maybe we can all take November shopping this weekend,” Dana suggested. “You want to come, Arielle?”

“That'd be cool,” Arielle said, trying really hard to hide how happy she was to be included once more.

“So what's up with Eddie?” November asked Dana. “How'd they let him back here?”

Dana stiffened. “After he burned me with that wire hanger and dipped my head in pee, I hoped I'd never have to see him again.”

“I guess you don't get life in prison for hazing a kid during pledge stunts,” Olivia reasoned.

“Too bad,” said Dana, her eyes hard.

“What happens now?” Arielle wondered.

Dana thought for a moment. “I'm not sure. I thought being the only girl to pledge the Warriors of Distinction would be the straight-up highlight of my high school career. But it turned into a total disaster.”

“Are you scared now that he's back in school?” Olivia asked.

“No. Angry.” She drummed her fingers on the table.

“You'll be a great lawyer,” November told Dana.

“I know.”

Trying to fill the uncomfortable silence that followed,
Arielle spoke up. “Hey, I want to show you all something. I got that new iPhone for my birthday last week. My stepfather got it for me.” She dug down into her book bag.

“I
so
want one of those!” Olivia said. “They are, like, way cool. They do everything—Internet and e-mail and all the music in the world as well. But it will be ancient and obsolete by the time I ever get one.”

Arielle continued to dig in her bag.

“Yeah, like those old-time ugly black phones with cords and dials,” November added with a laugh.

“Or those old typewriters that you had to put paper into, then roll the paper down each time you wanted to start a new line,” Dana said. “My mom still has one of those in the basement.”

“Or record players that required a needle that scratched in the grooves of a giant big black record that turned around and around,” said Olivia.

The three girls laughed, but Arielle looked worried as she dumped the entire contents of both her book bag and her purse onto the lunch table.

She sorted through lip gloss and makeup and nail polish and pens and hair ribbons. She tossed her wallet, her keys, a calculator, a small bottle of cologne spray, and an apple out of the way. She stacked four notebooks, three textbooks, an assignment pad, and her laptop in front of them. Both bags were empty, with only crumbs from an old cookie wrapper left inside one of them. There was no iPhone.

“It's not here!” Arielle cried out when everything was spread out on the table.

“Maybe you left it at home,” Olivia suggested.

Arielle was near tears. “No, I listened to it this morning during study hall while I was writing some stuff on my laptop. The earphones are here, but the iPhone is gone! My stepfather is gonna kill me! He told me not to bring it to school!”

November, in a calming voice, said, “Let's think backward. When did you last see it?”

Arielle's face had turned a hot pink. “First bell.”

“You've had four classes since then—which ones?” Olivia asked.

“Uh, math, art, chemistry, and world history,” she said, her hands shaking. “Do you know how much he paid for that thing? My life is over!” She picked up a notebook and shook it, just in case the iPhone had wedged itself between the pages.

“Do you put your book bag on the back of your desk, or under it?” asked Dana.

“Usually behind me.” She paused. “Do you think someone took it?”

“Well, let's figure out who sits behind you in each class,” November reasoned.

“I don't know! I can't think!” Arielle cried out. “Wait. In math, it's Roscoe Robinson. He's actually in my chemistry class too, but he sits on the other side of the room in there. He's cool, even though I think he copies my math papers. But he wouldn't have taken it—he told me he got one for Christmas.”

“Lucky dude,” Olivia said. “What about art class?”

“We put our bags on a shelf on one side of the room. They're in full view of everybody all the time.”

“Okay, what about chemistry—you got Pringle, right?” Dana asked. “Who sits behind you in there?”

“Kofi,” she said, looking away.

Dana inhaled. “Hey, look, my Kofi is scrapin' quarters together right now, but he's no thief,” she snapped.

“Oh, I know that, Dana! I wasn't implying…” Her heart sank even further—she didn't want to make Dana mad at her on the day she decided to reach out and make up.

Dana looked at her sharply. “Just so we're straight.”

Arielle nodded vigorously. “Let's see—today Miss Pringle had us doing labs, trying to make up the time we lost during the fire drill. Everybody was out of their seats, walking around most of the period.”

“That's not good. It could have been anybody.”

“So that just leaves world history. Who sits behind you in there?” asked Olivia.

“Osrick Wardley.” Arielle's thoughts flashed to Osrick lying stripped and humiliated, Osrick huddled in his coat. She really hoped the poor guy wasn't the thief.

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 8

ARIELLE STUFFED EVERYTHING BACK INTO
her book bag. “I'm going to report this to the principal.” She hesitated, and then looked at the girls who had extended that thin thread of friendship. She wasn't sure how far to test it. “Will you come with me? Please?” she added.

“We're here for you, girlfriend,” Dana said, as if speaking for the group. “Let's go.”

“Thank you. You don't know how much this means to me.” She was near tears. She hoped they didn't notice.

“You think it was Weird Osrick?” November asked as they stood to leave. “I've known him since sixth grade. He's a little different, but I've never known him to steal anything.”

“He likes electronic stuff—maybe it was too much of a temptation,” Arielle said slowly, thinking it through.

“Osrick could probably build an iPhone from bubble
gum and batteries if he wanted to,” said Olivia. “The kid is a genius. I heard his IQ is pushin' something like two hundred.”

“All I know is he was probably the last to see it, and now it's gone,” Arielle said as they got to the principal's office. The thought made her increasingly uncomfortable.

“You're not a hundred percent sure of that, Arielle,” Olivia said, voicing Arielle's very thoughts.

Rosa Gonzalez, who worked as a student aide for Mrs. Sherman, sat at the desk outside her door. “How can I help you?” she asked officiously, picking up a pencil and a notepad.

“We need to see Mrs. Sherman right away,” Arielle explained.

“And this is in regards to…” Rosa put the pencil behind her ear.

“Oh, come on, Rosa,” said Dana impatiently.

Mrs. Sherman opened her office door then and said to them, “And how can I be of assistance to you ladies today?”

Arielle wondered how long it took an adult to develop that tone, that body language, that attitude that made a teenager feel like a kindergartner who's about to wet her pants. “Can we come in to discuss a private matter?” Arielle asked, glancing at Rosa.

“Of course!” Mrs. Sherman, dressed in a tailored navy blue suit, stepped aside and ushered the girls into her office. Arielle wondered where the woman shopped for clothes.

Her office, obviously not decorated by school board
funds, was done in tones of pale green and gold. Gold woven drapes covered the institutional-looking windows, and a large, pale green area rug covered the bare floor. Decorated with roses and lilies, the room reminded Arielle of a grandmother's parlor, not a school office. A comfortable-looking leather sofa sat on the far side of the room. Dana, November, and Olivia hurried to sit there, looking a little overwhelmed. Arielle took the brocaded wing chair in the front of Mrs. Sherman's desk.

“What seems to be the problem?” Mrs. Sherman asked kindly.

“My iPhone has been stolen!” Arielle blurted out. She didn't want to cry in front of everybody, but she knew what waited for her at home.

Mrs. Sherman scribbled some notes on a yellow pad of paper, then looked up. “Hmm. A cell phone, you say? How can that be when cell phones aren't allowed on campus?”

“Well, you know, every kid at school has a cell phone, and everybody knows that.”

Mrs. Sherman nodded. “You're right, my dear. I can't stop progress, but the school board, made up of folks who are older and even more uptight than I am—if you can believe that's possible—is determined to pass laws I can't possibly enforce. Nevertheless, let's at least make a report of this and see if there is anything we can do.”

“She's a lot more human than I thought she'd be,” Dana whispered to November.

“And her hearing is still pretty good!” Mrs. Sherman said with a smile. “Chill, girls. I'm not here to make your life miserable. Honest.”

The three girls on the sofa seemed to relax, but Arielle's stomach still churned with the thought of what would happen if she went home without the iPhone. “Can we search people?” she asked hopefully.

“First of all, we have more than two thousand students in this building, so that would be impossible. But more importantly, it is illegal to search anyone without a warrant. Didn't you learn that in American history class?”

“Uh, yeah, I guess,” Arielle murmured. “But I might know who took it.”

“And who would that be?”

“Well, it might have been Osrick Wardley.”

“And why would you accuse Osrick?” Mrs. Sherman asked, her tone changing. “That young man suffers quite a bit from bullies around here.”

Arielle wondered if she should say something about the swimming pool incident. She thought for a moment. No, she'd promised. And Osrick couldn't possibly be the thief—could he?

Arielle blurted out in a rush, “He sits behind me in world history class, and I had my bag on the back of my chair, and it was open, and when I went to lunch, the iPhone was gone.”

“Did you see him take it?”

“No, but…”

“Did anyone else see him take it, or see him with an iPhone?”

“No, I just discovered it was gone,” Arielle replied. “And Osrick is, you know, a little strange.”

“That doesn't make him a thief,” Olivia interrupted.
“Trust me, I know what it's like to have no friends and not fit in.”

Arielle knew that Olivia's comment was in part directed toward her. But she still had to add, “But who else could have taken it?”

Mrs. Sherman addressed Olivia first. “You're right, Olivia, about being the outcast kid at school. I, too, had my share of teenage difficulties.”

The girls looked at one another and rolled their eyes as if to say,
Too much information!

Mrs. Sherman continued, “And unless there are witnesses, there is nothing I can do right now.” She stopped and sighed. “I'm sure you girls know that there has been a real increase in petty thefts around our building lately.”

“I had ten dollars taken from my purse in the girls' locker room,” Dana offered.

“And I had a camera stolen a couple of weeks ago,” said Olivia. “Also from the girls' locker room.”

“Why didn't either of you report this?” Mrs. Sherman asked.

Both girls shrugged. “I figured nobody would care about a lost ten-dollar bill,” Dana replied. “But it was all I had in my wallet, so I know somebody took it. It was there before gym, and not afterward. It was my lunch money. I didn't lose it, and it didn't fall out.”

“And the camera was one of those cheapo-drugstore types. It wasn't expensive, but it did have some cool pictures of me and my boyfriend on it,” said Olivia. “I hated to lose those.”

Mrs. Sherman continued to take notes, then looked up.
“Oh, by the way, welcome back, November. I just received your paperwork from the homeschool teacher. It seems you've worked very hard to keep up with your classes.”

“Thanks. Will I be able to graduate with my class in June?” November seemed surprised that the principal knew her by name.

“Well, it's too soon to determine that, but if you continue to do well, it's a possibility.”

“Yes!” November said, squeezing her fists together.

Mrs. Sherman put down her pencil. “Okay, then, I have your report. There's not much more I can do right now. I'll keep my eyes open, as should you. Keep your valuables at home, and your money in a jeans pocket. If you hear or see anything else, don't hesitate to come and see me.” She stood and made it clear that their time was up.

“Thanks, Mrs. Sherman,” said Arielle sadly. “I'm gonna be in big trouble at home.”

“I'm sure your parents will understand,” Mrs. Sherman told her gently.

“Not likely.”