Rikers High

They finally brought us over to the school, and it was almost time for lunch. It should have been the end of Mrs. Daniels’s science class, but Demarco was there instead. He knew why we were late and wanted to hear about the search.

Demarco wouldn’t let us talk like that in front of him. He asked dudes to stop, and they pulled back. But kids were really letting loose about how school was just a place for them to get into more trouble for shit they didn’t do.

Then Murray walked in to start his history class. Everybody got quiet, and no one would even look at him. We weren’t about to do his work.

I heard him starting to write on the board when Demarco shouted, “What?”

Murray was using his damn chalk holder. He was writing on the blackboard with it like nothing had ever happened.

But before Demarco got an answer, he had to hold kids back from stepping hard to Murray. Four or five dudes were already out of their seats and raging.

Kids turned right to them, pointing at Murray and his damn chalk holder, like he was an inmate they were ratting out.

Murray was trying to get him out of the room to talk, but kids started howling at the top of their lungs. There was so much noise you couldn’t make out a thing. Finally, Arrigo just snapped. He pounded his fist on the desk and screamed, “Everybody sit down and shut up!”

Dudes ran for their chairs faster than I’d ever seen—not because they were scared, but because they were in the right. The game was finally working on their side.

Dawson was in the doorway the whole time taking in the scene. He never said a word. He didn’t have to. The look on his face said enough. He was wound up tighter than tight, like his face was going to explode.

“Give me that!” screeched Arrigo, taking the holder away from Murray.

Arrigo was so pissed that he ripped the chalk out and slammed it down on the desk. It splintered into pieces that went shooting across the room.

“Watch the class, Demarco,” demanded Arrigo. “And you,” he said to Murray, “come outside with me.”

“I can’t,” said Murray, smug. “I’m assigned to teach this—”

“This is jail! I’m in charge!” hollered Arrigo. “Now get out in that hall!”

I know the same current that shot through me was buzzing inside of every kid as Murray did the perp walk behind Arrigo.

Dawson was already on the phone calling Montenez, while Arrigo waited for Murray to catch up to him. Kids in every classroom were pressed up against the windows and looking out into the hall, and had their doors cracked open to hear.

That’s when that high-heeled Ms. Jackson showed up and wanted to know why Arrigo had her teacher out of class.

“Corrections business, Ms. Principal,” said Dawson through his teeth. “Maybe you heard, there’s jail going on here.”

“Look,” said Murray. “I found it at the bottom of my bag yesterday in between some papers and—”

“Yesterday!” Arrigo cut in. “When yesterday? While you were still here?”

“I told Ms. Jackson I found it,” answered Murray. “She was going to report it to—”

“You knew, too?” Arrigo said, turning to her. “And you didn’t come over to the house and tell us?”

“You saw the search squad out in the yard this morning,” said Dawson. “You knew the house wasn’t coming out for school. What did you think we were looking for?”

“That’s right, you’re not,” said Arrigo. “You may have book smarts, lady, but you don’t have any real brains. And you think we’re all stupid? Now we think the same about the teachers!”

Murray started back to class, but Arrigo made him stay. “This is metal,” he said, with the holder flat in his palm. “You’re in possession of contraband.”

“The captain already made it clear. You shouldn’t have this here,” said Dawson.

Captain Montenez got to the trailer, and Ms. Jackson tried to say something to him first. But he walked past her and Murray like they didn’t exist.

Arrigo handed the chalk holder to Montenez and said, “These two found it yesterday.”

The captain told Dawson to call for an escort. Then he turned to Murray and said, “Give me your pass!”

Kids were knocked flat by that. Murray unclipped the plastic card from his shirt and gave it over. Now he was just like us, at the mercy of Corrections. Some dudes whispered that they might even arrest him.

“She’s the principal. I can’t do anything about her—yet,” said Montenez.

“Do you want me to call these kids out into the hall so you can explain to them why they got strip-searched? Or why their house got torn apart this morning? And you had this all along,” he steamed, lifting the chalk holder high into the light. “Do you know how much money you cost the city in overtime? They ought to take it out of your paychecks.”

Ms. Jackson slipped into the teachers’ room during the middle of it all to hide, but Murray stayed put and took it.

“How about if you explain it to these kids yourself?” Montenez asked him.

“At least we turned up a banger out of this whole mess,” the captain said to his officers.

The escort came and Montenez told him to take Murray to the front gate.

Murray went into the storeroom with the escort to pack his stuff. Then Arrigo called us out for lunch. We deuced it up in the hall and could see Murray putting his books into a cardboard box. Dudes wanted to snap on him so bad, but Montenez was wearing a grill to kill.

“Remember, you’re still inmates here,” the captain said, looking us over.

We were lined up outside the mess hall when the escort took Murray across the yard. He was carrying the cardboard box with both hands and had a briefcase stuck under his arm. He had to pass right by us to get to the gate, and dudes’ eyes just lit up.

“Say one thing to him while the captain’s still here and I’ll burn this house forever,” warned Arrigo.

Murray never even raised his sorry head to look at us as he passed. But we watched him until he disappeared around the corner.