He grunts.
“Hold on. Mrs. Castel will speak with you momentarily.”
I put him on hold and walk for a good five or six minutes before taking him off hold.
“Yes?” I ask. With the secretary, I made my voice higher pitched, but with Mrs. Castle, my voice is a little lower. “Lydia told me you wish to speak about Erika Armstrong?”
“Yes,” Mr. Malone says. “I want to know what kind of student she was.”
"One of the best. She's remarkable. We were not the happiest that she chose another school." I pause for a second. "Your school, I take it. Why are you asking about her?"
“Because she is causing trouble here.”
“That does not sound like Erika at all. What kinds of trouble?”
“She is trying to make accusations against upstanding students here.”
“What kind of accusations?”
“Well, I don’t know if going into specifics is advisable over the phone—”
“What have these upstanding students said against Erika?”
“I haven’t exactly spoken with them—”
"So Erika has accused students of something wrong, yes? And you haven't spoken to those students that she says have committed these offenses? Do I have that right?"
“Mrs. Castel, you do not understand. These boys are astounding. They are going to change the world—”
“And Erika is exactly like that,” I say as Mrs. Castel. “That you would just ignore her without getting to the bottom of the matter… Which school is this? What kind of a school do you run, sir? What is your name?”
“I don’t have time for this.” Jonah Malone hangs up on me.
I smirk. Before I applied here, I went through the trouble of setting up a website for the fake school I came to come from. I handed over a fake transcript with my actual grades on them when I came here. I also listed my number as the contact number for the school.
A gamble. I don’t know when my father will realize about the website domain and hosting payment, but none of that comes up for renewal for over a year. By then, I should be in college.
But, seriously, fuck Mr. Malone. Yes, he’s handsome in a Hollywood actor kind of way, but he’s also a sleazy asshole who covers for his male students. He knows that shady underhanded shit they pull. He has to, and what’s worse is that he allows it.
Fuck that shit.
Fuck this entire school.
Maybe I’ll just ditch school and find a job and get ahead that way. College can wait
But that would feel like my father’s winning, that Mr. Malone’s winning, that Liam is.
No. I’ll stay, and I’ll fight.
No more fucking running.