Page 53 of Locke 2

The only difference was some of us had to erase our identities.

We branched off at his workplace and then I went on my way to the school. Arriving at the classroom, I noticed the door was ajar instead of fully opened. I paused, hearing quiet chatter. Was Patsy having a meeting with one of the teachers?

I inched closer and peered in.

A man’s back was to me, and Patsy was standing behind her desk, gaping up at the large man with horror in her eyes. Why did she look so disturbed?

This was definitely not a teacher. Mr Weedle was a brittle stick, and Mr Donovan, with his mega short stature, was often mistaken as one of the grade 8 children in his classroom. This man, on the other hand, was tall and broad.

Oh, my God, maybe he was a parent, and he was chewing her out for being so shit.

But then he turned away, and my breath caught in my throat. The man was familiar. Too familiar. Horror slammed intomethis time as he opened the door and paused, glancing briefly down at me. He had a smirk on his face, his eyes bright.

His smirk deepened. “Hey,Kari,” he said.

“Jem?” I whispered. “What are you…”

He walked off, leaving me shellshocked for a second. Why was Jem in the classroom talking to Patsy?Not good, not good.I watched him round the hallway and disappear. Then I inched into the classroom, staring straight at Patsy’s stiff body. She had a hand on her chest, like she was trying to calm her heart down.

“Patsy?”

Her eyes shot to mine, and where there had been horror before, now filled with darkness.“You.”

I blinked. “Yeah?”

“I should have known…” her words trailed off, filled with vehemence.

“Known what?” I carefully asked.

“You. Know. What.”

What in the hell was going on? I warily glanced at the door, quickly realising what was happening. “What did that man tell you, Patsy?”

“You know very well what he said,” she huffed, standing upright, like she was trying to assert her dominance. “I had no idea you consorted with such brutal hooligans.”

“Hooligans?” I repeated, astonished. “No, not at all.”

She was riled up, her face reddening. “Disguised as literature, Kari? That big of a fire? To do that to those helpless one-legged birds. You know I’m a bird watcher. You knew it from the start!”

I couldn’t even put together what she was saying I did, but I didn’t need to. I felt my shoulders slump, the all too familiar feeling of another shitfire ending at a job. “Let me guess…you’re going to try and get me fired?”

“You can fight it, but I have friends in high places who would empathise greatly with my bird sanctuary traumas. They were just one day away from full rehabilitation, Kari! The last of the rainbow tongued pink hoppers, no less! An extinctionist, too. I should have detected it.”

“I am none of those things.”

She huffed, sticking her hand out at me. “Save it, Kari. I’ve heard everything I need to know about you.”

“If you fire me, who’s going to clean the windows and do recess duty?” I challenged her. “No one was applying for this position.”

“Look at you, preying on the plights of an old elementary school teacher. I see the position has gone to your head. You feel more capable than me—”

“Not at all—”

“I will not depend on a bird arsonist to help me. I should have paid attention to the signs, but my heart was too big, too pure.”

I didn’t even bother to fight it. This all had to do with Locke. He was back to messing with my life. I didn’t like the jolt of excitement that very thought gave me. I ignored it as I trailed my eyes over Patsy as she huffed and puffed. She looked like a red potato.

I sighed and, as she prattled on about my genocidal agenda toward birds I’d never even heard of. I left her mid-speech. Heading to the office, I trudged down the hallway, telling myself that I hadn’t been in the position that long, so I wasn’t attached to it, but I would miss the kids.

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