Sydney sat in her car and watched the students make a break for the school building as the first warning bell sounded before the Brookhaven Monday-morning announcements. With a sigh, she leaned over and grabbed her black Gucci-logo tote full of books that she should’ve been studying over the weekend. “You can do it, you can do it,” Sydney muttered repeatedly to herself as she took a last look in the vanity mirror, popped the trunk, and hopped out of her car. After closing the door, she headed around to open the trunk and grabbed her dirty pink Nike gym bag. With a firm slam, she was on her way.
There are eighty-three steps from the front entrance to the principal’s office. Sydney made a mental note as she stood in front of the open door, willing her stiff limbs to take another step forward. A gaggle of freshman boys rushing down the hall on their way to class almost knocked her over. “Hey, my bad,” the pimply faced one on the end apologized over his shoulder as the group kept moving. That was just God’s way of pushing me, Sydney thought as she squared her shoulders and finally stepped inside the receptionist’s area.
“Good morning, Mrs. Tisdale, I’d like to speak with Principal Trumbull,” Sydney greeted the elderly woman with a determined look on her face.
“Good morning, Sydney. Principal Trumbull is speaking with another student right now. Would you like to have a seat?” Mrs. Tisdale responded, motioning toward the stiff, overstuffed, burgundy leather couch behind Sydney.
“Yes, ma’am,” Sydney said as her heart pounded in her ears. When she sat down, her foot tapped nervously on the floor. She twisted the diamond stud in her right ear and looked out the door at all the students hurrying to get to class before the final warning bell sounded. More than anything, she wished she was one of them. Sydney closed her eyes and tried to envision the look of confidence on Dice’s face when he assured her that she was in the right. “Yes, I can. Yes, I can,” she murmured softly. Her eyes snapped open at the sound of the principal’s inner office door opening.
“You should go clear out your locker immediately,” Principal Trumbull instructed gravely as he rested his right hand on Marcus’s left shoulder.
Marcus nodded sadly in response. “Yes, sir, I will.” Sydney finally stood up from her seat. For a moment, Marcus made direct eye contact and then cast his gaze downward.
“Good morning, Ms. Duke,” Principal Trumbull said. “Step into my office, please.”
“Yes, sir,” Sydney replied immediately as she picked up her bags and walked toward the inner office.
As Marcus stepped aside to let her pass, he reached out and touched the sleeve of her black Calvin Klein button-up. “I’m so sorry, Sydney,” he whispered softly. “And thanks for telling me about Dara. I really appreciate it.”
Sydney didn’t respond for fear of falling apart. Instead, she rushed inside the inner office and sat down without a backward glance. Principal Trumbull closed the door behind them and headed over to his desk. Sydney placed her tote on top of her gym bag, and sat back in the chair anxiously.
“Well, Ms. Duke, I’m happy to inform you that the missing money has been located,” he said quietly. “Under normal circumstances, I wouldn’t discuss the details of the return with you, but as the co-chairwoman you have a right to know.”
“Don’t you mean, since I was being accused?” Sydney corrected.
Principal Trumbull raised his eyebrows. “Well, yes, and as I’m sure you can understand, I apologize for my hasty misjudgment. But as I said, the good news is that the money has been located. Apparently, your co-chair has developed some bad habits and personal issues that compromised his integrity. And in light of this, his mother will be returning all the missing money as well as making a generous donation to the teachers’ retirement fund.” Principal Trumbull stopped to take a swig of water from the Crystal Springs bottle on his desk before continuing. “Since the nature of the issue is so personal, we think it’s in his best interest for Marcus to take the next semester off and spend some time at a rehabilitation facility.”
“Wait, you’re sending Marcus to rehab?” Sydney asked incredulously. “Are there actually rehabs for thieves or isn’t that just jail?”
The principal cleared his throat and tugged uncomfortably at his Hermès tie. “Again, because of the nature of the illness and out of respect for Councilwoman Green, we have decided not to press charges.”
Sydney shook her head in disbelief. “Wow, okay,” she said softly. She bent over to pick up her tote and gym bag.
“I appreciate your understanding the delicacy of this matter, Ms. Duke. And it goes without saying that none of the details of this conversation should leave this room,” Principal Trumbull stated solemnly. “And again, I apologize for any unnecessary anxiety this may have caused you over the weekend.”
Sydney stood up. “Understood,” she said as she turned and headed toward the closed door.
“You may leave the door open,” Principal Trumbull requested gently.
“Yes, sir,” Sydney mumbled as she walked out.
“Do you need a pass to go back to class?” Mrs. Tisdale asked as Sydney passed her desk, heading for the hallway. “We wouldn’t want you to get into any unnecessary trouble now, would we?”
“No, no, we wouldn’t,” Sydney confirmed.
Sydney stood in front of her open locker facing her books. For the life of her, she couldn’t remember what class she was supposed to be going to at the moment. In fact, the only thing she could think about was that Marcus was being sent away to rehab. Principal Trumbull’s words echoed in her mind: “We think it’s in his best interest for Marcus to take the next semester off and spend some time at a rehabilitation facility.” Sydney shook her head; life was becoming more surreal than Mariah Carey and Nick Cannon’s crazy wedding.
Finally, Sydney grabbed her Global History text and shut the locker. She checked her Cartier tank watch; there were still twenty minutes left in the period. As she opened her tote to drop in the book, her phone vibrated twice, signaling the arrival of a new text message. Wondering if the news about Marcus had already hit YRT, she nervously pulled out her cell. Thankfully, the text was from Lauren: FYI, talked to Uncle L. OMG, U R so not going 2 believe this—Rodney got killed by some wack corner boy. L
Completely stunned, Sydney stopped dead in her tracks. She punched in her reply as fast as she could: Whaaat? Dish! She leaned up against the nearest locker to wait for a response. Finally, her phone buzzed again. To her dismay, Lauren’s response was far from informative: Can’t. Got the crazy Chem teacher breathin down my neck, we’ll talk at home later. L
“May I see your pass?” the heavyset hall monitor with a head full of blond-and-black microbraids asked from down the hall. Sydney quickly dropped her phone back in her bag before the monitor saw it and gave her a detention. She pulled the pass out of her back pocket and waved it in the air. “Alrighty, then, perhaps it’s time for you to keep it moving,” the monitor suggested.
“You’re absolutely right; it’s time for me to keep it moving,” Sydney replied and walked away.
“Great job this morning, Ms. Duke.” Sydney’s riding instructor, Jackson Harper, complimented her as they led their horses back to the stables. “Your form has really improved. This upcoming spring season should be very promising for you,” the tiny, green-eyed man continued as they reached the entrance to the stall of Sydney’s filly, Thunder.
“Thanks,” Sydney said simply as she gave Thunder one last rub before the stable boy took her away. Still a little shell-shocked from the early morning double drama, she found it hard to process the praise. “I know I kinda slacked off for a while…” Sydney admitted as she removed her riding helmet and tucked it under her arm.
“Well, as I’ve explained to the athletic director numerous times, sometimes having the lessons first thing in the morning is difficult for the busier students. Luckily for you, your schedule includes a double study twice a week. So we were able to insert your lessons.”
“Yeah, it totally made a difference,” Sydney agreed with a nod. “My days feel much shorter now that I’m not waking up at five o’clock for our workouts.”
“And as long as you stay on top of things from here on in,” Jackson replied as he stroked his own mare, “you should be more than ready for competition.” Another nondescript stable boy headed over to retrieve Jackson’s reins. “Speaking of getting ready, will you continue riding over the break or is your family headed out of town?”
Memories of past Christmas breaks spent sunning on the white sand beaches in St. Lucia or hitting the powder slopes at Tahoe immediately flooded Sydney’s mind before she remembered Altimus’s upcoming tax-evasion trial. “No, unfortunately we’re not going anywhere this year,” she said somewhat bitterly as she kicked at a pile of loose hay.
“Well, then, I certainly hope to see you for at least two or three lessons over the week,” Jackson responded with an enthusiastic smile. “We’ll dedicate an entire day to your jumps.”
“Sure, sounds like a plan,” she responded flatly. For the first time, it occurred to Sydney that both of her BFFs were leaving Atlanta with their respective families for the holidays and she’d have absolutely nothing to do but feel bad about getting dumped by Jason—for a second time.
“Well, I’ll let you go so you have time to shower before your next class,” Instructor Jackson said as he patted her on the shoulder. “Again, great job today.”
Sydney had just finished throwing the last of her dirty riding gear into her gym bag when Jason’s cryptic text message arrived: I think we should talk. Meet me behind the gym before next period. J. Completely caught off guard, Sydney hesitated. More than anything, she wanted to clear the air about everything that happened on Saturday, but today had been bizarre enough. The last thing her nerves needed now was an argument. Sydney started to toss the cell back in her bag but stopped. “Oh, what the hell,” she muttered with a small grin. Throwing caution to the wind, she sent her BFFs a quick text: Gotta meet J behind the gym 4 a sec. Might be a couple mins late for Spanish, so cover for me, por favor? Taking a deep breath, Sydney checked her tote for her Spanish notebook, slipped into her coat, and slammed her gym locker closed. After a quick spin of the lock’s dial, she grabbed her stuff and hurried out of the girls’ locker room.
As she rounded the corner, Sydney could see Jason leaning against the back of the building, looking at his cell phone. Wow, he is so cute, she thought as she watched the sunbeams play off his chiseled profile. The butterscotch trim on his Louis Vuitton leather jacket complemented his complexion perfectly. Sydney paused to smooth down the front of her hair before walking over. She was almost in front of him before he noticed her approaching.
Jason immediately straightened up to greet her, “Hey! I wasn’t sure you got my message in time.”
“Yeah,” Sydney replied softly. “I, um, didn’t bother to reply since I was already down here.”
“That’s cool,” Jason nodded. “You look nice.”
“Thanks,” Sydney responded as she looked down at the black-and-white Calvin Klein swing coat she was wearing. She shifted from foot to foot as a million emotions ran through her. She felt like she should say something, but she just couldn’t figure out where to start. “So, um, how was your weekend?” she asked lamely.
“Let’s just say I’ve had better,” Jason laughed bitterly as he tugged at his navy Yankees cap.
“Yeah, me, too,” Sydney admitted. She started twisting her right earring as the uncomfortable tension hung between them. She looked both ways at the deserted parking lot.
Finally, Jason cleared his throat. “I called you back, you know, after everything,” his voice faded away.
“Yeah, I guess I was driving and missed the call,” Sydney responded as she switched the bag to her other shoulder. “You didn’t leave a message, so I wasn’t really sure you wanted me to call you back.”
Jason sighed as he scuffed the bottom of one of his all-brown Nike Air Force Ones against the pavement. The thumping sound pierced the air. “I guess I called to apologize,” he mumbled as his eyes remained downcast. “I didn’t mean for things to go so far. But when my call went straight to your voice mail, I just assumed that you were still with Marcus and I just hung up.”
Sydney was surprised how little his words did to make her feel better. Maybe it was the whole Marcus drama, but for some reason, she just wasn’t in the mood for another sorry apology. “Yeah, well, I wasn’t,” Sydney said with a shrug. “But it’s cool.”
“Is it?” Jason questioned, his voice rising just a tad. “ ’Cause I’m really messed up about this whole thing and, I don’t know, you seem pretty okay.”
Sydney tried to conjure something really reassuring and positive to say to get the two of them back on track, but she drew a complete blank. “It’s not that I’m okay, J, it’s just that it’s a lot,” Sydney answered slowly and truthfully. “There’s so much going on with me. And I want to tell you. But I never really know what I can and can’t say, because I never know how you’ll react.”
Jason’s head snapped back slightly as an expression of disbelief clouded his face. “What are you talking about? You can tell me anything,” he retorted, clearly offended. “You make me sound like some kind of…I don’t know, some kind of monster!”
“Can I tell you anything, Jason? I don’t know what it is, but I feel like no matter what I say or do, you won’t ever really trust me. And seriously,” Sydney paused and took a deep breath before she blurted out the question that’d been on her mind since Saturday. “What is the point of us if you don’t trust me?”
“You don’t know what it is?” Jason snapped as he pushed off the wall and stood over Sydney menacingly. “Weren’t you the same broad who went behind my back and had a date with Marcus the last time we were dating?”
“And I said I was sorry,” Sydney responded nervously as she reflexively took a step back. “I know what I did was wrong, but it was only one time.”
“Do you know? Or are you just playing some type of game with me?” Jason growled.
Sydney’s heart started pounding in her chest. She was not feeling Jason’s tone or the sinister look in his eye. She snuck another look at the deserted parking lot and regretted her decision to meet him so far away from where anyone might hear them. “You know what, Jason?” Sydney said hesitantly as she nervously fingered the Cartier bracelet. “I don’t think this is working for either of us right now. I think that we may have taken things a little too fast…”
Sydney didn’t have a chance to finish her sentence before Jason grabbed her by the right arm and twisted it. “Oh, you think you can just make a fool of me and get away with it?”
Sydney whimpered as tears filled her eyes. “Jason, please. Please stop,” she begged. “I’m not trying—”
“You’re not trying to what?” he demanded as he shook her forcefully. Sydney tried to yank her arm away but his grip only got tighter. “You’re not leaving me.” Jason threw Sydney against the wall.
“Ouch, please, Jason,” Sydney sobbed from the sharp pain where her shoulder hit the concrete. Her bags and personal items were scattered around her. She cowered fearfully. “Please stop. I’m sorry. Please!”
“Oh, you ain’t sorry yet, you selfish, conniving brat,” he threatened as he raised his hand. Sydney closed her eyes in anticipation of the impending blow.
“Hey! What are you doing?” Carmen suddenly shrieked from out of nowhere.
“Get the hell away from her, you asshole,” Rhea yelled as the two came hurtling around the corner.
Jason looked up at the two girls running at him and stepped back from Sydney. He shook his head and looked completely bewildered, almost as if he didn’t know how he’d gotten there. “She started this…she made me,” he stuttered as Rhea’s oversized lavender quilted Marc Jacobs bag connected with his right shoulder.
“Help! Somebody help us!” Carmen screamed at the top of her lungs as she raced to her friend’s side. She helped Sydney scramble a few feet away.
“Omigod, you freak! Get the hell away from her!” Rhea screamed as she connected with the side of Jason’s head. She knocked his Yankees cap to the ground.
“Rhea, it’s enough,” Carmen called out. “He’s not worth it!”
“You crazy bitches! You all deserve one another,” Jason hissed from between his arms as he blocked the blows. He stooped down to make a quick grab for his cap and turned to run away.
“I got your bitch,” Rhea yelled from behind him when she finally stopped brandishing her bag like a lethal weapon. She walked over to where Carmen was holding Sydney.
“Omigod, thank you so much,” Sydney sobbed. “How did you know?”
“Shh, it’s okay, calm down,” Carmen soothed her. “It’s okay, we’re here. It’s okay.”
“Girl, what in the world? Is that fool crazy?” Rhea exclaimed in disbelief as she looked at her friend sitting on the ground crying. She started picking up Sydney’s scattered belongings.
“I don’t even know what happened,” Sydney said, shaking her head. Tears continued to streak down her face. “I just told him that it wasn’t working out, and the next thing I know he snapped.”
“Wow! You are so lucky we had a substitute teacher today! That’s the only reason Carmen and I came out behind you. We wanted to tell you not to rush back to class,” Rhea explained as she walked over and held Sydney’s hands tightly. Sydney just shook her head as her sobs and tears finally started to subside. She slowly rubbed her bruised shoulder.
“Did he hurt you?” Carmen asked with concern when she saw Sydney wincing in pain. “Honestly, I think we should go to the principal’s office right now.”
“Absolutely, Syd,” Rhea co-signed.
“But what will people say—it’s his word against ours? Who’s gonna believe us?” Sydney asked, suddenly uncertain as she thought about how crazy the incident might sound to anyone who hadn’t witnessed the altercation.
“Damn what people say. You’re Sydney Duke,” Carmen said vehemently.
“We got you, Sydney,” Rhea swore truthfully. “We got you.”
Sydney sat silently thinking about Carmen’s words before finally standing up and straightening out her clothes. “You’re right. I’m Sydney Duke and I’m better than this,” she said determinedly as she reached for her things. “And no one is going to hurt me and get away with it ever again.”