Page 27 of Spencer and the Younger Girl
Stammer walked toward her, bending his/her head so its horns hit her hand.
Mrs. Madison looked down at Hadley. “I have to go meet animal control at the front of the school with the Lees. You stay here and wait for Principal Morgan. Don’t leave this office.”
Hadley only nodded, offering a short protest when Mr. Lee led Stammer away.
She slumped into a chair as the secretaries finished fixing up their office, cleaning goat poop, and chattered on about other senior pranks of years past.
After what seemed like an eternity, the principal’s door opened, and Principal Morgan looked down on her. “What do we have here?”
Hadley sighed. “A goat napper.” She held up her wrists. “Take me away.”
Principal Morgan lifted an eyebrow. “No need for the theatrics, Ms.…”
“Gibson. Hadley Gibson. You can put that on my gravestone after the execution.”
His lips twitched. “My office. Now.”
With a dramatic sigh, she hauled herself from the chair and walked with slow, deliberate steps as if putting on a show. She guessed she was.
Principal Morgan sat behind his desk and shuffled papers around.
Hadley studied the room, looking for any sign that she’d left a goat unsupervised within these walls just hours ago. But everything seemed to be in its place.
“Senior pranks are not permitted,” he began, leveling her with a stare. “I’m sure you’ve seen the destruction wrought by the goats.”
“Sure. They scattered some papers.”
He shook his head. “What you are seeing is the cleanup our staff couldn’t get to before students arrived. Papers torn apart, desks and chairs overturned, goat… feces in the cafeteria. Now, my first question for you is this: How many goats were there?”
“Nineteen.” Hadley couldn’t believe nineteen goats caused so much trouble. She dug her nails into her leg, reminding herself not to be intimidated. Her panic attack in the stairwell was a one-time thing, not something to repeat.
She was Hadley freaking Gibson. Punishment didn’t scare her. Who cared if she got a short suspension? It wasn’t like she planned to go to college next year—though, she hadn’t told anyone that yet.
“Nineteen.” He wrote the number down. “Too many for one girl to handle.”
“I don’t know, sir. I can handle quite a lot.”
He set his pen down and folded his hands together. “Okay, young lady, this is how we are going to do it. You will tell me who aided you in this prank, and I’ll consider an easier punishment.”
She leaned back in the chair. “No, sir. This is how it will go. I won’t sell anyone out. You can get that notion right out of your head. And you’ll call my grandfather.” He’d help her.
“Hadley, this isn’t the county jail. I don’t need a parent or lawyer here to speak with you.”
“No, but you need one here if you expect me to speak to you.”
“I can expel you. Right here, right now. The destruction your prank caused is still unknown. You stole nineteen goats and broke into the school. You’re lucky the police haven’t been called. If you’re expelled, you can kiss graduation goodbye. College will be wishful thinking.”
Not for someone like her. There’d always be a place for kids who could buy their way into school. But she never wanted that. She didn’t want her privilege to determine her worth.
She crossed her arms over her chest and nodded toward the phone. “813-535-7783.”
Principal Morgan Narrowed his eyes. “Go wait in the hall.”
She jumped from the chair and bounced into the hall. Whatever they did to her, she wouldn’t let it define her. Roman, Damien, Bailey, and Brayden all had much brighter futures ahead of them, futures full of college and bigwig jobs.
Hadley didn’t have the grades or the desire for that kind of life. Nothing this school did to her could keep her from her dream of seeing something outside the Gulf City town limits, outside of endless beaches and shops crowded with tourists.
As she waited for her grandfather to show up, she pictured herself in only a few days walking through the streets of Paris.
