Piper The Day She Fell

Piper

The Day She Fell

"What are you doing in here?"

I spin around to see Grant, car keys in hand.

"I-I was waiting for Mr. Davis," I stammer. "I'm allowed to be in here. I'm his TA." But I replace the lid on the paper shredder and back out of the room. Then I brush past Grant to wait on a cement planter in the hallway. He pokes his head into the office and turns back to me, lips tight.

"Aren't you supposed to be at that Survival Club meeting?" I ask.

Grant's brows furrow. "What meeting?"

"Didn't you get a note from Mr. Davis?"

He shakes his head.

"I guess it was only for those of us who need extra help," I say, shrugging. My phone rings in my pocket, and I startle. Grant eyes me carefully as I fumble the phone. It's Alex again, and I debate answering for a moment before picking up.

"Piper?" Alex sounds worried. "Are you at school?"

"Yes, and I'm fine. Please trust me." Then I hang up, guilt already pressing on my chest.

Grant takes a seat beside me, and I keep looking down at my phone, pretending to read text messages.

"Piper, are you okay?"

I almost laugh, the question is so absurd. I'm going to be expelled, and my teacher is covering up a drug scandal. These two thoughts keep spinning around my brain like atoms. I'm frozen to the rough cement. Nothing I've done up until this point will count for anything, all because I trusted my sister to "help" me. All anyone will ever see is the dripping red mark on my file. I'm over.

And my teacher is over.

Sadness wells up in my throat. I became Mr. Davis's TA and joined this club to exonerate him—to prove that he was doing everything by the book so the school board would leave him alone. I looked up to him.

And now? He's gone the way of Savannah and every other person I should've been able to trust. He's probably the one who wrote that threat in my pack.

"Can I give you a ride home?"

I tense. Grant could be involved in this. I never saw his form in that stack. I didn't have time to look for it. "I drove." I stand, but my legs are shaky. "I'll just check in with Mr. Davis in the morning."

"Piper, I don't think I should leave you like this."

"Like what?" I say, already walking away from him. But a new thought rushes into my mind, colliding with the others like a nuclear reaction.

Maybe Grant will help with the piece. Maybe if I can get information from an inside source, my story will hold more weight. Because what else do I really have now? I didn't find any solid evidence in Mr. Davis's office before Grant showed up.

I can't rely on my supposed role models anymore. All they do is prey on the innocent. They take your trust and hold it over a fire, then hammer until it's distorted and warped. Until it's unrecognizable. Leaving you changed for the worse.

If I can prove that Mr. Davis was involved in the soccer drug scandal, his class won't matter anymore. His grades won't matter.

If I can prove his involvement, maybe Savannah and I can get out of this unscathed. Maybe the school will overlook our crimes.

"Actually," I say, turning back, "there is something you can help with. But let's talk outside."