Page 82 of Did You See Evie

Coach Phillips remained the head coach, helping me improve my skills in any way he could. He made sure I improved my grades, too. When it came time to apply for colleges, he ensured I stayed on top of my applications, even escorted me to different campuses for visits. And of course, he oversaw the scholarship process, making sure every offering school gave me a fair deal. Sometimes I felt like I’d never be able to repay him for everything he’d given me. Other times, I thought having me in his life helped him, too. It gave him a second chance at fatherhood, something he felt he’d fumbled the first time around.

My chance at a better life meant I had to give up my friendship with Nadia, something that never felt completely fair. What we did put lives at risk, but she’d only been trying to help me. When I passed her in the hallway at school, I’d turn the other way, but I couldn’t avoid her entirely. The sadness in her eyes haunted me, the rejection. Still, I had to keep going; it was the only way I could embrace the new person I was trying to become.

As time went on, the longer I stayed away from Nadia and other reminders of my old life, I found it easier to live with what I’d done.

I try my best to shoo these memories away as I approach Mr. Lake’s office door. I imagine he wants to discuss the team meeting. He’s probably upset I reached out to the police without first going to him. In my drunken haze, I hadn’t even thought of involving him. All I wanted to do was get the information about Kyle to Detective Fields in the hopes it would lead us to Evie.

When I step inside his office, he’s standing behind his desk. Without looking at me, he tells me to sit. Unlike earlier in the week, there’s something demanding about his tone. I sit immediately.

“If you want to talk about Kyle,” I begin, “you need to know?—”

“We got the rest of the security camera footage back,” he says, cutting me off.

My stomach sinks. “More?”

“We have all of it now.”

This is what I’ve been waiting for, dreading. Mr. Lake knows I lied about my whereabouts that night. He knows I opened the computer lab door.

“There’s a couple of pieces of footage I’d like us to go through together,” he says.

“Mr. Lake, I can explain?—”

“Let’s just watch the tapes,” he says, cutting me off again. He turns his computer screen to face me, just as he did yesterday with Coach Reynolds in the room. This time, however, it’s just the two of us, the enormity of my anxiety and guilt enough to swallow me whole.

The video begins to play, but instead of the six small screens that were present yesterday, Mr. Lake has already zoomed into one screen: the back parking lot.

In the bottom left corner, I can see the time and date from when the footage was taken. It’s close to midnight when a shadowy figure appears. It’s me, confidently opening the door. I poke my head from left to right before bending down and grabbing a small rock. I prop the door open and, just as quickly, leave again.

Mr. Lake halts the video and looks at me.

“Can you tell me what that was about?”

“I…I don’t know,” I say.

“We’ve discussed your whereabouts at length,” he says. “You never mentioned you opened one of the doors to the school.”

“I don’t remember.” I try to make my voice strong and confident, but it’s not working. Beneath his desk, my fingers begin to shake.

“One of the two chaperones present the night of the lock-in deliberately opened one of the exterior doors a couple of hours before one of our students went missing,” he says, plainly. “That’s a big deal.”

I bite my bottom lip, unsure of how to respond. I don’t have a convincing story. Even if I did, I’m not sure I could use it now. I’m so tired of lying.

“I wouldn’t do anything to hurt Evie.”

“I’ve been convinced we weren’t getting the whole story since that night,” he says. “But I didn’t think the lies were coming from you.”

“I’m not lying!”

“And weren’t you there when the video footage was contaminated?”

“Yes, but Joanna?—”

I realize how useless that sounds. He’s already suspicious of me, and nothing I say will change that.

“The police are already reviewing the footage. I feel sure they’ll be in contact with you soon,” he says. “That’s all for now.”

I shoot up to a standing position. “Mr. Lake, please. You need to listen?—”

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