CHAPTER FOURTEEN

Charlotte didn’t let me down. I got my report around four o’clock on Thursday—half a day early. Just as I expected, the findings backed up my story. The photos I’d posted online matched the originals from the camera. They hadn’t been altered in any way, just as I’d told Principal Juarez. The thought of him getting the same report in his e-mail and puzzling through it gave me the biggest grin I’d smiled for days.

The next day, I wasn’t due at Juarez’s office until one o’clock, but I showed up early just in case. I’d dressed to impress in a button-down shirt and slacks. I even made sure my hair looked a bit less wild than usual. I couldn’t leave anything to chance.

Juarez greeted me with a much more respectful tone than the one he’d used at our last meeting. I looked him in the eye and put on my “friendly, mature young man” face. Ms. Opal, on the other hand, wouldn’t even look at me. She took a seat across from me and directed all her attention to Juarez.

“I’ve called this meeting so that the two of you can talk through this difficult situation,” the principal began. His secretary set down a plastic cup of water in front of each of us, then took a seat off to the side so that she could take notes.

Ms. Opal raised her eyebrows. “My understanding was that you called this meeting so that Kai could apologize to me before being allowed to return to school,” she said. Then she faced me for the first time. “I’m listening.”

I met her gaze. She looked so offended, so injured, that for a second I wondered if maybe I did owe her an apology. But only for a second.

“I stand by my story, Ms. Opal. I know what I saw. And I have proof that I didn’t manipulate the photos I took in any way.”

“I’m sure Principal Juarez would like to see that proof,” Ms. Opal said. “I know I would.”

Whoa. Juarez hadn’t even told her about the photo analysis—he’d let her walk into the meeting thinking she’d gotten away with the whole thing. Talk about setting someone up for a hard fall. Note to self: Try to stay on the principal’s good side from now on.

Juarez cut in. “Actually, I’ve seen it already. Kai has enlisted the services of a digital forensics team. They’ve submitted a report that verifies the authenticity of the photos.”

I took a printout of the report from my backpack and handed it to Opal. She glanced at it, then tossed it aside. “This could have been faked, just like the photos.”

“I thought of that as well, of course,” Juarez said. “That’s why I’ve asked the technician who did the work to join us by video chat.” He positioned his laptop so that both he and Opal could see the screen. I moved my chair so that I could see too. Juarez opened the chat window, and soon there was Charlotte, saying good afternoon.

“Now, Charlotte,” Juarez said in the special talk-down-to-you tone he used with anyone under the age of thirty. “I have your report here, and I understand that you’ve authenticated these photographs Kai took of his teacher. Is that correct?”

Charlotte smiled helpfully. “Yes, sir.” She started to say more, but Juarez cut her off.

“That’s all well and good,” he said, “but what I really need is confirmation from your manager. Mr., uh, McNamara, is it? Is he available?”

“Oh,” Charlotte said. “Sure. I’ll get him right away.”

I said a silent prayer that McNamara would be at least thirty-five and wouldn’t have green (or blue or yellow) hair. Or piercings. Turned out he looked like my dad, only white: a middle-aged, balding dude in a shirt and a tie. In other words, the man oozed respectability. Perfect.

Charlotte introduced him, then stepped out of view of the webcam so that her boss could take the stage. He and Juarez got down to business.

“Mr. McNamara, did you examine the images in question?”

“I did. Charlotte’s a reliable technician, but I verify her findings for all our customers. Standard procedure.”

“And did you find that the photos had been digitally altered in any way? Photoshopped, anything added or changed?” Juarez looked so proud of himself, using what he probably thought was fancy technospeak.

“Not at all. We have the ability to analyze the metadata of JPEG files like these to determine—”

“Fine, fine,” Juarez said. “So you can confirm that the photos are authentic, is that what I’m hearing?” He sounded like a prosecutor at a trial. No, more like a judge.

“Absolutely.”

“Wait a minute,” Ms. Opal interrupted. “Kai is this man’s customer. How do we know we’re getting an honest assessment, not one that Kai paid for?”

I raised my eyebrows and offered my most innocent expression.

“My services are trusted by police departments across the state,” McNamara said. “I have an endorsement from the local district attorney and another from the sheriff’s department. Please be assured that—”

“Yes, all right,” Juarez said. “Please, Mr. McNamara, I understand where you’re coming from. Thank you so much for your time.”

Just as they signed off, someone knocked at the door, then opened it. The janitor poked his head in.

“Mr. Sullivan?” Juarez said. “Is there some problem?”

“Actually, sir,” I said, “I asked Sully—Mr. Sullivan—to come by. He has something important to tell you.”

Sully took a chair across from Opal and Juarez.

Juarez frowned. I imagined he didn’t like losing control of his courtroom, even for a moment. “What’s this about?” he said. “Kai, please fill us in.”

This was it. Time for the final act. “Well, like I said last week, I was hiding in the supply closet when I took the photos of Ms. Opal,” I began. “And while I was in there, I heard the classroom door open, and then I heard Mr. Sullivan saying hello.”

Opal looked surprised, then confused, then angry. She started to speak, but Juarez held up a hand. “What happened next, Kai?” he said.

I made sure to sound as natural as I could. Not rehearsed at all. “I, um, I heard Ms. Opal tell Mr. Sullivan to get out. She said the room didn’t need cleaning and she was busy. And then Mr. Sullivan said sorry, good night, and I heard the door open and shut again.”

Opal couldn’t keep quiet any longer. “This is ridiculous!” she said. “This is a complete lie.”

Juarez shushed her again. “Mr. Sullivan,” he said, “what did you see when you entered the classroom on the day in question?”

I held my breath. Everything hung on this moment.

Sully cleared his throat. “Well, it was like this,” he began. “I opened the door and rolled my stuff inside—”

“Yes, yes,” Juarez said.

“And Ms. Opal, she had all these papers spread out on her desk and an eraser in her hand and she was bent over one of the green papers. And then she looked up and saw me and just about bit my head off.”

Ms. Opal stood up. “Never! I never did any of that!”

“Now, Kai,” Juarez said. “This would have been very helpful information to have last week, when I first confronted you about these photographs. Why didn’t you mention Mr. Sullivan’s visit to the classroom then?”

I’d prepared for this question too. “Honestly, sir, I didn’t even think about it at the time. Everything was happening so fast. I was in shock that Ms. Opal would accuse me of doctoring the photos. It didn’t occur to me until the next day that I had a witness who could back me up, and by then I was suspended.”

Ms. Opal stood up. “You lying little—”

“That’s enough!” Juarez said. “You’ve told your side of the story, Michelle. The facts aren’t backing you up.” He turned to me. “Kai, there’s one question you still haven’t answered. What were you doing in that closet?”

I gave a sheepish smile. “It’s kind of embarrassing, sir. I lost my trig textbook, and I was hoping to find another one without bugging Ms. Opal.”

Juarez nodded. “Well, that explains it. Kai, part of being a leader is admitting it when you make a mistake. I made a mistake here, and I apologize to you.”

I started to croak out a “thank you,” but Juarez was too caught up in the moment. He just kept talking.

“I’m scrubbing the suspension from your record,” he said. “We can question your judgment in publishing the photos the way you did, but no one can question your intentions. You have my thanks for protecting the integrity of our school and our testing process. And thank you, Mr. Sullivan, for helping to clarify the situation.”

I managed to squeeze in a few words. “So my suspension is over?”

“Officially, it never happened. We’ll look forward to seeing you back in class tomorrow morning.”

And with that, he stood up. Court now in recess.

“Oh,” he added, “I’ll be certain to phone your parents tonight and explain the entire situation to them. They deserve an apology as well.”

“Thank you so much, Principal Juarez. And thank you for keeping an open mind.” I almost made myself puke with that last bit. It was so fake. But the situation clearly demanded some butt kissing.

Ms. Opal looked like she might lose it. She started to get up, but Juarez gestured again with his hand: Sit down. Looked like the sentencing phase was about to begin.

Out in the corridor, I thanked Sully for backing me up. He flashed a grin and told me to take it easy.

And just like that, I was redeemed. Proved innocent. Forgiven—at least, as far as the system was concerned.