Page 26 of Spencer and the Younger Girl
She saw the kick coming as the goat chewed on the laces of Mr. Thompson’s shoe. He raised his other foot and drew it back.
Hadley bolted from her seat. “You can’t hurt Stammer,” she yelled, throwing herself between her teacher and the goat.
His face reddened. “The goat a friend of yours?”
It was a trap; she knew it was. But one she’d already stepped in. Refusing to cower, she lifted her gaze to his.
“I put him here.”
Chatter erupted through the classroom as Hadley and Mr. Thompson squared off. She reached behind her to rub the top of Stammer’s head as he bumped her legs.
Out of the corner of her eye, she caught Roman starting to rise and waved him away. If she was going down for this, she’d go down alone.
“Ms. Gibson, I want you out of my classroom.” He ripped a sheet of paper free and scribbled something on it before handing it to her. “Go straight to the principal’s office.”
With a grunt of annoyance, she ripped her book and notebook from her desk and marched into the hall as her classmates watched.
It wasn’t until she reached the stairwell, she realized Stammer followed her every step.
She laughed when she caught sight of him. “Are we friends now, buddy?”
She hadn’t made a contingency plan for getting caught, and it was the animal’s fault, but she’d do it again. Because last night, she’d felt truly alive.
And she regretted nothing.
* * *
Despite her troublemaking ways,the principal’s office was not a place familiar to Hadley. She walked in to find the two secretaries cleaning up a mess around their desks. Both Principal Morgan and Vice Principal Madison’s doors stood shut.
Mrs. Cary, an older woman with round glasses and a pinched nose, stopped cleaning when Hadley walked in. “Hello, dear. What can we help you with?”
Hadley handed her the note. “Mr. Thompson sent me.”
Mrs. Cary looked around Hadley to where Stammer waited, making only soft bleating sounds.
Another goat was tied in the corner of the room. Hadley suppressed a smile, remembering how she’d left it in the principal’s office.
“Well,” Mrs. Cary said. “Looks like you’re in some trouble, young lady.” From the shine in her eyes, Hadley almost thought she was impressed… or amused.
“Goats?” The other secretary, Mrs. Reams laughed. “Who would have thought of goats?”
Mrs. Cary sent Hadley a wink. “Someone used pigs once. Then there was the great Saran Wrap on all the toilets debacle. I’d take goats over that any day.”
Vice Principal Madison’s door opened, revealing Mrs. and Mr. Lee. The three of them walked out.
Stress lined the Lees’ faces, stress caused by Hadley.
“Hadley.” Mrs. Lee crossed the office toward her. “How are you, dear?”
“I’m fine. What are you doing here?”
“You’ll never guess it, but someone stole our goats last night and brought them here to the school. I’m sure you’ve seen them wandering around. Our oldest son probably had something to do with it, but there’s no proving that.”
Just like Damien said they would, they wanted to blame Spencer. Words rose in her like vomit, and she couldn’t hold them back. “It wasn’t Spencer. It was me.”
They shared a look like they didn’t believe her. She took the note from Mr. Thompson and waved it in front of them. “Look. My chem teacher thinks it was me too.”
As if to prove her point, she crouched down. “Come here, Stammer.” The goat hesitated. It wasn’t a dog, after all, and she’d only met him once before. Heck, she didn’t even know if it was a him. He had a beard, but they all looked like they had beards.
