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Halifax, June 14
8:25 a.m.
“We take bullying very seriously here,” said Principal Faustina Scinto. “We have zero toleration for it.”
Scinto was a curvy, attractive woman in her late forties with thick black hair, dark eyes, and apple cheeks.
“Then what are you going to do to this Margi Tanner?” asked Daniel.
Audra, sitting in the chair beside him, clenched her jaw and looked down at her hands. She knew the school couldn’t do anything unless there was concrete proof. Hearsay. That’s all it was. One person’s word against another.
“I’m going to have a talk with her,” Scinto said. “See what she has to say about all this. It’s okay if someone told you anonymously, but I need to know what happened. When? Where? I need specifics if I’m to take action.”
“Name calling,” Daniel said. “Physical aggression.”
Scinto frowned. “Like I said, I’ll have a talk to Margi. And I’ll ask around the school. See if anyone saw something.”
Beside her, Audra saw Daniel lower his head, heard him shoot a long blast of air out through his nose. She knew he was frustrated, but he had to hear it for himself. Their daughter lay in a hospital bed, while one of the ringleaders responsible would probably go unpunished.
Sure, Scinto would talk to this Margi Tanner, maybe even threaten her with a suspension if she proved Tanner had bullied Daphne. But where would that proof come from? Margi Tanner would never admit to it out of fear of punishment. And even if Audra and Daniel told Scinto it was Tabitha Landes who had given up Margi Tanner’s name, Tabitha would never admit to witnessing anything out of fear of retaliation. The same reason no other kid in the school would say anything. Everyone would just lie and go on their merry way because that’s what people do. They lie. Adults. Kids. Every damn one of them.
“Who is this Margi Tanner?” Audra asked. “Is she in Daphne’s class?”
“No. She’s in the ninth grade.”
“Any trouble with her in the past?”
Scinto drew back one corner of her mouth. “A couple of episodes. But I can’t get into them. That’s confidential. She’ll be moving on from Gorsebrook at the end of this school year. Going to Citadel High next fall.”
Audra skipped her gaze across the principal’s eyes to the office window, and she stared out at the bright morning, quiet again. It was only an innocent comment, she knew, but that “moving on” part burned through her veins like acid.
“I’m very sorry to hear about Daphne,” Scinto added. “She’s a great student. Smart. Talented. I have two daughters myself, and I can’t even conceive what you’re going through right now.”
Daniel lifted his head. “It’s been tough. Toughest thing I...we ever faced.”
“What have the doctors told you?”
“Nothing much. We won’t know the prognosis until she comes out of the coma. She might have to learn to do everything all over again. Walk. Talk. Feed herself.”
Audra said, “She gripped my hand last night. Twice.”
Scinto raised her eyebrows halfway up her forehead. “Really? That’s good, right? That must be a good sign.”
Audra spread her hands. “I thought so.” She dropped her gaze to the desk. “I got up and coaxed her to squeeze my hand again. I tried and tried and tried. But she didn’t respond.”
“What’d the doctors say about it?”
“Could be a grasp reflex. Or maybe just muscle contractions. I don’t think they want us to get our hopes up.”
Scinto made a sad face, shook her head. Her chair crunched as she leaned back, quiet for a brief time.
“I’ll pray for her,” she said. “For you.”
First bell rang out with a loud drone, and the surprise of it made Audra flinch. She glanced at the clock on the wall over Scinto’s shoulder: 8:45.
The building began to rumble with the thunder of a few hundred feet stomping through the hallways. Audra heard kids talking and laughing, rubber soles squeaking on waxed floors, locker doors slamming shut.
“Well.” Scinto shuffled papers on her desk. “I’ll try to get to the bottom of this matter today.”
Audra felt herself and Daniel being dismissed. She stood up and extended her hand across the desk.
“Thanks for your time,” she said.
Scinto gave her a firm handshake back. “My pleasure. Best wishes to all of you. I mean that.”
The hallway outside the office was packed with kids. Audra and Daniel began making their way to the front exit, Audra looking over faces as they walked.
“The principal’s not going to do anything,” she said. “You know that, right?”
Daniel flipped his hands. “She might.”
“Nope. Unless Daphne told Scinto herself. You know, right from the horse’s mouth. Then Margi might get a suspension. Plus it’s too late in the school year. Two weeks left. Margi will be someone else’s problem after that. She’s...” Audra made air quotes. “Moving on.”
“You think Scinto’s looking at it that way?”
“Yeah,” Audra said. “I do.”
She suddenly stopped when she caught a glimpse of Tabitha Landes down a side hall, poking around her locker.
“You go on ahead,” Audra told Daniel. “I’ll catch up.”
Daniel gave her a quizzical look. “Why?”
“Just go on ahead.” Audra watched Tabitha pull a textbook from her locker. “I have something to do.”
Daniel touched the back of her elbow. “What’re you doing?”
“Nothing,” she said.
“Don’t.”
Audra turned to him. “Don’t what?”
“Whatever it is going on inside that head of yours.”
Audra pulled her arm away. “Go on, honey. Please. I’ll be there in a minute.”
Daniel held her gaze for a few seconds, then he lifted his hands and stepped back.
“Okay,” he said. “Okay.”
He spun around and walked off. Audra threaded herself through the crowd, drawing curious looks from a few kids. She reached Tabitha just as she closed the locker door.
“Mrs. Price.” Tabitha’s eyes flashed, and she pressed her back against an adjacent locker, hugged her textbook tightly to her chest.
Audra leaned in close to her. “Don’t be afraid,” she said in a low whisper. “Margi. Do you see her?”
Tabitha swallowed, and her voice leaked out as a mumble. “I think her locker is down the other hall.”
Audra drew back. “Can you check for me? Tell me if she’s there? Just don’t make it obvious.”
Tabitha paused, tentative. “Okay.”
Audra watched her walk to the corner ten feet away and peer down another hallway. Moments later, she came back.
“She’s there.”
“Describe her.”
Tabitha swallowed. “Black hair. Skinny. Jeans. Gray T-shirt. She also has a silk ribbon bracelet on. A pink one. She’s about twenty lockers down.”
“Thanks.”
Tabitha gave her a sheepish nod and began to leave.
“Think about stopping by the hospital,” Audra said to her retreating back. “Daphne would love to hear your voice.”
Tabitha stopped, lowered her head for a few seconds. When she glanced back over her shoulder, her eyes looked wounded.
“’K,” she said softly.
Audra walked to the end of the hallway and gazed down another one to see a throng of kids getting their stuff ready for class. She found herself counting lockers until she saw the girl with the pink ribbon bracelet. Margi Tanner.
Audra looked her up and down.
Just a kid, she tried to tell herself. Like Daphne. A kid showing her cell phone to friends gathered around her and all laughing at whatever was on the screen.
Still, it did nothing to calm the fire blazing inside Audra.
