Chapter 3 - The Office
Grace sat in the attendance office wearing a borrowed sweatshirt while her wet jacket hung over the back of a chair.
Across from her, Brittany and Kayla whispered to Ms. Crane.
Officer Reed stood near the door with his arms folded.
“Let’s make this simple,” Ms. Crane said. “Brittany says you became violent after a harmless joke.”
Grace almost laughed.
“A harmless joke?”
Ms. Crane’s mouth tightened. “You put two students in physical danger.”
“They attacked me.”
“Do you have proof?”
Grace looked at Officer Reed.
He was looking at Ms. Crane.
“The cafeteria has cameras,” Grace said.
Brittany’s fingers stopped moving.
Kayla stared down at the floor.
Ms. Crane answered too quickly.
“The camera near that table has been unreliable.”
Grace said nothing.
Officer Reed uncrossed his arms.
“Since when?”
Ms. Crane turned toward him. “Excuse me?”
“I checked the system Monday. Camera twelve was online.”
“That doesn’t mean the footage saved.”
“It saves automatically.”
For the first time, Ms. Crane looked irritated.
“Officer Reed, I’m speaking with the students.”
“And I’m investigating a fight.”
Grace watched Brittany glance at Ms. Crane.
It was quick.
But it was familiar.
Not the look of a student hoping an administrator would help.
The look of someone waiting for a plan they had already used before.
Ms. Crane opened a disciplinary form.
“Grace, I’m placing you on immediate suspension pending review.”
Officer Reed stepped away from the wall.
“No.”
The room froze.
Ms. Crane lifted her chin. “No?”
“Not until I pull the video.”
Brittany suddenly spoke.
“My dad already called the superintendent.”
Grace looked at her.
There it was.
The sentence everyone was supposed to fear.
Ms. Crane slowly closed the disciplinary folder.
Officer Reed held out his hand toward the security office.
“Then we’d better see what the superintendent is about to hear.”
A minute later, the four of them stood behind the security desk.
Officer Reed clicked on Camera Twelve.
The screen went black.
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