Page 29 of Spencer and the Younger Girl
He gave her one more long look before heading back down the hall. Hadley took a deep breath before re-entering the office.
Mrs. Cary watched her with a small smile on her face that made Hadley uncomfortable. Adults weren’t supposed to be amused by troublemaking teens. Right?
Except, her antics seemed to give her grandfather life.
She checked her phone for the time, realizing her grandfather had already been in there for twenty minutes.
She checked her text messages, wondering where her mom was. Why hadn’t she come with her grandfather? She shouldn’t have been surprised by her absence.
A few minutes later, the door opened and her grandfather’s apologetic face appeared. That was how she knew she’d lost.
Principal Morgan stopped in front of her, hands on his hips. “Last chance, Hadley. Tell us who helped you.”
She bit her lip and shook her head. “Lone wolf, remember?”
He sighed. “Fine, then you are suspended for the rest of the week and may return to school after spring break.”
“That’s it?” She looked from the principal to her grandfather. “A few days’ suspension?”
“That’s not it, Hadley.” Her grandfather met her gaze. “You’re not allowed to go on the school trip.”
His words didn’t register at first. School trip. School trip. “Paris?” She shot to her feet. “I can’t go to Paris?” She worked for months to get her grandfather to say yes to her dream trip.
The principal’s expression tightened. “All school-sanctioned activities are off limits during a suspension.”
“But that isn’t fair!”
“If you’d like to tell me who aided the prank, I might be persuaded to shorten the suspension to only include this week of school.”
If she sold out her friends, she could go to Paris. It wasn’t even a question. She lifted her chin, staring him straight in the eye. “It was just me.”
He nodded as if he’d expected that. “Please remove yourself from school grounds.”
They stared at each other for another beat before she tore her eyes away and stormed into the empty hall. A man walked by, leading a goat. She wondered how many they’d recovered so far. By lunch, all the goats would be returned to their home.
And Hadley would be in hers.
Because she was suspended.
“I’ll meet you at home.” Her grandfather left her to make his way to the visitor lot as she walked toward student parking.
As soon as she got into her car, tears welled in her eyes and she released a scream. She’d known there could be consequences, that they were breaking rules.
But missing her chance to get out of Gulf City?
A part of her felt she’d be stuck in that town for the rest of her life.
