Page 25 of Spencer and the Younger Girl
“More worried than mad. They care about their animals. A part of me thinks they assume Spencer had something to do with it because Dad caught us coming home last night.”
“Spencer? But he only tagged along with us.”
Damien sighed. “Spencer has always taken the blame whether deserved or not. It doesn’t help that we don’t know where he is.”
“What do you mean?”
“He was gone this morning, his stuff cleared out.”
Something about that worried Hadley even more than the goats causing a ruckus in the halls. “He just… left?”
“He’s probably still in town. My brother wouldn’t go without a word to me. I’m just waiting to hear from him.” Sadness coated his words, and Hadley walked forward without thinking, wrapping the underclassman in a hug. He stiffened for a moment before hugging her back.
“Hadley?”
“Hm?”
“We aren’t exactly hugging friends.”
She laughed as she pulled back. “I’m a hugger, Damien. So, every friend of mine is a hugging friend.” Holding her books close to her chest, she offered him one final smile before running up the stairs.
The tardy bell rang before she reached chemistry, and when she pulled open the door, every eye in the room landed on her.
Papers lay scattered across the floor. A desk in the back was turned over on its side.
Glass beakers near the far wall had fallen off a low shelf and shattered below. And in the swiveled desk chair near Mr. Thompson’s desk in the corner of the room sat a goat Hadley remembered from the night before.
Stammer bleated when he saw her and leaped from the chair.
“Ms. Gibson, you’re late.” Mr. Thompson’s agitated voice couldn’t penetrate how happy she was to see Stammer.
She bent down to pet the goat. “Hey, Stammer,” she whispered. “Miss me?”
When she straightened, the entire class continued to stare at her.
“Hadley,” Mr. Thompson snapped. “Take a seat.”
She slid into her seat beside Roman, sharing a secret smile with him. The anxiety from moments before disappeared as she saw Mr. Thompson try to shoo the goat into the hall. It didn’t budge.
“So worth it,” Roman whispered.
She hid her grin as she opened her textbook. Something hit her back, and she turned to find Jesse preparing to aim another ball of paper at her.
“What?” she whispered.
Jesse leaned forward, a glint in his eye. “The goat seems to know you.”
Charlotte sent her a pointed look, telling Hadley she knew she’d been lied to.
Hadley shrugged and turned back around in her seat.
“How long should we keep them in the dark?” Roman asked.
“Long enough to drive them bonkers.”
She tapped her pencil against a notebook as Mr. Thompson tried again to make the goat move.
“Animal control is on their way,” he said. “These goats will be gone soon enough.”
