Page 81 of A Lesson in Deceit
“I wasn’t erratic though. That’s a lie.” I might not be so open when it came to certain truths, but I wasn’t going to have someone say something so blatantly false.
“Why would he say that then?” My mom scooted closer to me, placing her hand on my leg. Her skin was smooth like velvet when I placed my hand over hers.
“I don’t know, but if I’m honest about anything, Mom, it’s that I was completely sane before I got dusted with magic.”
She nodded, taking in my words and considering them. “And you being in your dad’s office, did it help you at all? I’m still highly upset by your choices, but I guess I understand feeling the things you do. Did being there give you any clarity or maybe even some closure?”
I squeezed her hand. “No, but I’m working on it.”
Her eyebrows furrowed with alarm. I stopped her before she could start yelling at me. “I’ll find a less invasive way to do it that doesn’t involve school property or trespassing.”
She placed a hand over her heart, letting out a breath. “Good. You have a meeting with the Dean of Students anyway, so if you were even considering another stunt then I’m sure that would have you thinking twice.”
“The Dean of Students?” I smacked my palm against my forehead. “But…”
My mom pointed her finger at me. “It’s still misconduct. You violated school rules and a little thing called breaking and entering. They aren’t pressing charges on that front thankfully, but you and your friends are having a meeting to discuss potential punishment, if there is any. Hopefully it will just go on your record and get removed in a year.”
I sucked in a breath, exhaling when I leaned back against the couch. Beau jumped on me as if he was small enough to be a lap dog and snuggled into my lap. “Just perfect.”
40
Riley
Itapped my foot against the floor, way too antsy to sit in my chair. I wasn’t nervous because I thought I was going to get reprimanded, but I didn’t want to go through another moment of having to dodge questions about a topic I had no interest in discussing. Corrin, Ike, and I were all called in, finding ourselves in the spacious office of the Dean of Students.
An older woman with short brown hair motioned for us to sit down, while she sat in the chair behind her desk. She placed her hands in front of her, clasping them together. Her name plate read Mercedes Wales.
“In my position, it may seem hard to believe, but I don’t like disciplining my students. I do believe that people make mistakes and should learn from them without being made out to feel like everything they do from then on needs to be perfect. I try to understand the reasoning behind incidents before I take action and then plan accordingly.”
I snuck a glance over at Corrin, who was also looking at me, but quickly looked away. What she was saying was promising, but until I heard her whole speech, I wouldn’t take my chances.
“Would anyone like to explain to me how you ended up in Mr. Monroe’s office?”
We were all silent until Corrin cleared her throat. “Don’t you already know all that?”
Ike’s breath caught. “Corrin!”
My roommate gave her brother an incredulous look. “What?!”
Dean Wales cut in. “I really just wanted any explanation that might enhance the things I already know, but Mr. Hayes, you do know the consequences for using your magic on campus unsupervised or without written approval from a faculty member, correct?”
Ike nodded solemnly.
Dean Wales shook her head, leaning back in her chair. “Since you have been a model student thus far, and from the looks of your academic track, your magic is not your chosen career path, then I give you disciplinary probation for the rest of the year. You will also reform the original locks that you messed with.”
Ike seemed to physically relax. He would be watched more closely, his choices put under a microscope to make sure he stayed on the straight and narrow. Dean Wales focused on Corrin and me. “I know both of you have had a hard semester so far with everything going on with your coven,” she eyed Corrin, “and with…”
Knock, knock.
Dean Wales straightened in her seat, while each of us looked to see who it was.
“Come in.”
River’s dad peeked his head in, catching sight of us. He closed the door behind him, stepping further into the room. “I am very sorry to bother you Dean Wales, I was just bringing these for you to look over.” He sat some papers down on her desk.
She smiled up at him, giving them a quick scan. He gave each of us a simple nod as if he hadn’t barged in on us that night andput us to sleep. Oliver fiddled with the cufflinks at the end of his shirt. “I am truly sorry for what I had to do to you all. I was only working in your best interest. I would have hated for you to hurt yourselves or get into something you weren’t supposed to.”
His words were meant to sound sincere, and Dean Wales ate it up. For me, all it did was make me curl my hands around the chair’s armrest. I wanted to scream thatIwasn’t the problem here.
