Heavenstone 02 - Secret Whispers

listened as she described the events, emphasizing how I had been made uncomfortable and placed in danger. I couldn’t help but wonder how he was really feeling and what he was really thinking about all of this. In my heart of hearts, I had always believed that he thought I would do something or something would happen that would make my graduating impossible. He had often said about other things Cassie and I had done, “I’m waiting for the second shoe to drop.”
    “Your father would like to speak with you,” she said, holding out the receiver. She stood. “Mr. Kasofsky and I will see to the girls and make sure they do not do any more damage, especially to your things.”
    I rose and took the phone. She and Mr. Kasofsky left the office, and I sat behind Mrs. Hingle’s desk.
    “Hi, Daddy,” I said.
    “Well, that does sound like quite a disaster there. I’m glad you’re on the right side of all this, Semantha.”
    “I didn’t tell on them,” I said. For some reason, I felt that was important for him to know. “Mrs. Hathaway just guessed something was wrong when she saw me. I was upset and had left the room.”
    “It doesn’t matter. None of that matters. What matters is your being comfortable and safe until your graduation. Perry and I will be there. Just listen to Mrs. Hathaway, and do whatever she tells you to do.”
    “Okay, Daddy. I’m sorry.”
    “There’s nothing for you to be sorry about, Semantha. What you can learn from this is how important it is to be careful about the friends you make, even mere acquaintances. Call me whenever you want,” he said.
    After I hung up, I saw Cassie standing in the doorway.
    “I didn’t tell on them,” she mimicked. “Don’t you realize how pathetic you sound, and to Daddy?”
    Everyone is going to hate me here, I thought. I didn’t have to say it aloud for her to hear me.
    “Hate you? Nobody here likes you anyway. Go home, and stop feeling sorry for yourself. Self-pity is unbecoming for a Heaven-stone.”
    The moment Mrs. Hathaway returned to the office, Cassie evaporated.
    “Follow me,” Mrs. Hathaway said. “I wantyou to get your books and notebooks to use in the library.”
    I got up quickly and walked back to my room with her. Ellie was putting her things in her suitcases and didn’t look at me at all until I started to gather my books.
    “Where are you going?” she asked.
    “I don’t want you speaking to Semantha. What she does and doesn’t do is no longer your affair,” Mrs. Hathaway said. “I’m this close to changing my mind about the police,” she added, showing her right thumb and forefinger closing against each other. Then she went down the hallway to check on the other girls.
    Ellie continued to put her things together in silence. Suddenly, she crossed to my closet and took the black satin dress off the hanger, picked up the red shoes and the clutch, and stuffed it all in her suitcase. She closed one suitcase and stood there a moment, looking out the window.
    “You know, you really owe me a lot, Semantha. I never told the other girls how you talk to yourself. I heard you say your sister’s name, too. I know you talk to your dead sister. I ignored it because I felt sorry for you, but you’re crazy for sure, and you’ll really end up in some nuthouse.”
    She rushed to finish packing her other suitcase and bag when Mrs. Hathaway returned.
    “There seems to be an additional problem,” Mrs. Hathaway said. “Miss Patton, leave your things as they are and follow me to Mrs. Hingle’s office.”
    “Why?”
    Mrs. Hathaway didn’t reply. She turned and walked off. Ellie spun on me.
    “What else did you say?”
    “Nothing. I never said anything. Maybe one of your new best friends told her something,” I said. I could see the possibility lighting up her eyes.
    She went to the doorway and looked down the hall to her left. Then she looked to her right. I could hear the footsteps, too.
    I stepped up beside her. Down to the left, Pam Dorfman was talking to Mr. Kasofsky. Coming down the hallway from the lobby was one of the campus security men. Ellie’s eyes widened, and she rushed back to the suitcase she had closed and opened it to dig under the garments and bring out a gold necklace. She rushed into the bathroom. I heard her flush the toilet just as the security guard appeared. He went right to her suitcases and began to rifle through them.
    She stepped out of the bathroom.
    “What are you doing? Those are my things. You