Part 14 (1/2)
”Elle?”
”Will you stop reading into this? I'm merely helping out a student, who happens to be a pretty young woman. Would we be having this conversation if she were male?”
Katherine flips her hair over her shoulder, looking ent.i.tled and smug all of a sudden. ”I know women, Mr Price.” And I don't? ”And I have a bad feeling about this one...”
I stand, my frustration getting the better of me. ”You don't know her anymore. She's clearly changed and trust me when I say she's isolated herself. She isn't trying to get my attention. The simple fact is, she doesn't even want it, nor does she want anybody else's attention.”
”If you say so...”
”I insist it. Maybe you should spend some time with her and see for yourself. There's something going on and I think right now, more than ever, she needs help. It'd probably be better coming from another woman.”
”Your mother wasted an entire school year worrying about that girl and her friends as they partied and took more drugs than I've ever had the displeasure of hearing about. If she's going down the same road, who cares?”
I shake my head with disgust. ”We should care. You should care. Besides, she's not doing that s.h.i.+t anymore. She has a job at Crystal's cafe and works her a.r.s.e off there. I've seen it with my own eyes. She's also helping her dad with his rental scheme. She's doing well in school. She's just taking too much on, but refuses to quit.”
”You two are close it seems.”
”She hasn't told me any of this; it's just what I've picked up on over the past few weeks.”
Her face falls. ”You really are taking an interest. I bet you can't tell me any of this about the other students.”
She's got me there. ”She's pregnant.” f.u.c.k.
f.u.c.k!.
”W... what?”
”She's pregnant. She doesn't know I know. I overheard a conversation that I shouldn't have heard. I'm pretty sure n.o.body knows.”
Katherine gapes in shock, clearly not expecting to hear that. ”Holy c.r.a.p.”
”Exactly. I'm just... I don't know. I feel bad for her. I'm trying to help, but there's not much I can do.”
”You should tell her parents!”
”I'm not going to and neither are you. This is for her to decide, not us. We have no right.”
Katherine growls in frustration, but doesn't argue. ”Who's the father?”
I shrug. ”I'm guessing it's that new kid. I don't know his name... Gaz or something.”
”Garrett? Yeah, those two do seem to have a close relations.h.i.+p. Do you think he knows?”
”I don't know. He's not in my cla.s.s.”
Katherine's demeanour oozes determination. ”Well they're both in mine. I'll get to the bottom of it.”
”Don't make it obvious.”
”Do I look stupid?”
I choose not to answer. Probably not the right choice of action. ”You better not say anything.”
”I won't! I know she's over the age of consent, so it's none of my business.”
Well, at least she understands to a certain level. ”Good. So... you'll keep an eye on her?”
”If she starts failing in my cla.s.s or acting peculiar, I'll give her the attention a teacher is required to give to a student and nothing more. You should do the same.”
Chapter Eleven.
Eloise ”So, do you want the good news or the bad news?” I grin, almost bouncing on the spot from excitement.
”Bad news first,” Mr Price senior says and Mr Price Junior and Miss Hart both nod.
”My dad won't sponsor the school, but Crystal will and I've been doing some planning of my own with a few of my friends. They've all agreed to help set up and clean up.” I hand Mr Price Senior the file in my hands. ”I think more students will come if more teachers are involved, so I've put the three of you down under certain roles.”
”I'm pretty sure this is my event,” Miss Hart snaps as Mr Price Senior looks over my plans. He ignores her, as do I.
When Mr Price Senior sees his role, he laughs and nods. ”I can do that.”
”What am I?” Mr Price Junior asks and s.n.a.t.c.hes the list from his father's hand. He frowns when he sees his own and lets out a deep sigh. ”Jason? Seriously? Why can't Simon be Jason?”
Miss Hart goes next. ”No way, not a chance. Nope. No. It's not happening.”
”Crystal wants to supervise the food sales. She's good at recognising thieves when she sees them and Hayley has agreed to do the tickets on the door. She's too chicken to actually partake in the events.”
”And you?”
I smile proudly. ”I'm going to supervise and fill in for people when they need a break.”
”Can we get this done in three weeks? I'm not sure how much time I'll have to spare, what with Mrs Price having a broken ankle.” My heart lurches when I see the sorrow in the older man's eyes.
”It's fine. I can handle it, if you'll lend me some of your faculty and students.”
Mr Price Senior shrugs. ”It seems like a great idea to me. Nothing exciting ever happens in this G.o.d forsaken town. What do you think, Isaac?”
Isaac... that's his name? Wow... that really suits him.
Isaac, aka Mr Price Junior, looks at me blankly. ”I don't have a problem with it. I just worry that we can't get it done.”
”We can definitely get it done,” I rea.s.sure them. ”Definitely. My friends are all for scaring a bunch of lower years and their families. If we start decorating on the last day of school before we break up, then there's no way we won't be ready. All we ask is that people can get a hold of their own costumes, which the fancy dress store in town has said she'll happily order in for us and give us discount, seeing as it's for a good cause.” When they all consent I almost squeal. It's been a long time since I felt this excited about anything. ”You won't regret it!”
I'm not sure how or when or even why I became leader of this project, but it's actually starting to not feel like such a bad idea.