Page 225 of The Forbidden Note

Eyes blinking. Lips pursed.

They stare at me.

Pawns.

Just like I am.

I lean over the mike.

The sound of my harsh, uneven breaths fill the air.

More students are gathering. They all have their cell phones out. Watching. Waiting. Listening.

Expecting the adults to know better.

Do better.

Be better.

So they can be better too.

What would have happened if one… justoneteacher at Redwood didn’t care about losing their jobs, reputations or lives and stood up for Sloane? What would have happened if they weren’t so scared of the powerful and took a stand against the system that broke and then killed her?

Would I still have her with me?

I blink rapidly and adjust the mike. The feedback screams through the crowd and people flinch.

Speaking clearly and intently, I stare at the cameras, “Principal Harris was just a cog in the machine that took my best friend’s life. But there are others. Guilty perpetrators who were involved in The Grateful Project.” I lift my chin and stare at the Redwood Prep sign. “Whoever you are, and whatever you’ve done, I will drag your sins to the light.”

CHAPTERFIFTY-SEVEN

GREY

I finish clearing my desk and putting all my things into the box. My co-workers stare at me like I’m infectious, saying nothing.

They’re glad to see me go.

I walk out without a goodbye.

Students clear a path when I walk out. I’m sure they have questions, but no one asks me anything. It’s almost like I’m a virus. Contagious.

Redwood is finally getting rid of the poison.

“Miss Jamieson!” One of my best students chases after me. “Is it true? Are you really leaving?”

I nod. “Don’t let this distract you. Keep studying, okay? You’re almost at the finish line.”

Her bottom lip trembles and she steps back so I can pass.

Once I get to my car, my limbs feel heavy and my head is pounding. The adrenaline I felt from being on TV and giving Harris his due is gone, replaced by a strange emptiness.

No, worse than that.

It’s like I’m naked.

I stripped myself of something—some armor, some protection—when I put myself in front of the world and unmasked a villain. Now, I’m left with the shambles of a life I’d built here at Redwood. It’s gone. The students. The memories. Someone else will have to protect them now.

I climb into my car and grip the steering wheel.

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