Page 86 of Chasing Headlines

“No, I don't.I don't. That's why I'm here.”

“I don't get this.” I shook my head. The claws in my stomach began to burn. “What the fuck?”

She pulled me a few more yards away from the door. “One of the devices registered to you, is pinging or beaconing? Something like that?”

“I'm not following.”

“Someone is cheating.”

“It sure as shit isn't me!” The world vibrated around me in living color.

“Calm down. It's hard to explain, but someone called in a tip that several athletes had an advanced copy of the ECON test. That it was being emailed around.”

Blood pounded in my ears, but it didn't drown out the sound of her voice.

“I have my own person digging into the um, logs. The forensics, I think it's called.” She looked up at me, eyes glassy, her brow pinched. “But the first look, when she matched the address to the tracker, your name was the one that?—”

“Dammit, if you're trying to?” What? What was this? “I can't believe this. What the hell, Milline?”

“It's not me.” She shook her head vigorously. “It's Rivers Reyes and his source or something.”

“I have no idea who that is.”

“Reporter for the cyber beat. But like I've been saying, I have my—Cathy combing through everything. I'm out of my depth on this, but it would help to know if anyone had access to your phone, your computer? Do you have a roommate or?—”

“No roommate.” I paced a few steps and ran a hand through my hair. My fingers shook. “I don't think anyone's borrowed my phone. I don't remember. I leave it in the locker during practice? But I lock it up.”

“Any strange emails? Odd device in your dorm or?—”

“No, nothing.” I dropped my hand. My brain raced through the past few days. “Wait, I did. I got an email. I dunno, it seemed odd at the time.”

“Can I see it?”

“Yeah. I asked a couple of people about it, but forgot to ask Nevins. I just.” I unlocked my phone and pulled up the email from “Coach Nevins”.

She looked at it, tapped and then spread her fingers across the screen. “I'm going to send this to my friend. She can look through message headers and?—”

“I know how all that works.”

“That's actually not in your favor.” My phone whooshed in her hands. She held it out to me. “Would you let us take a look through your phone and computer? As soon as you're finished, here, I mean.”

“How do I know you won't, that you're not just . . . ?” I couldn't finish the rest of the sentence. But she knew what I was asking. I didn't need to say it.

She closed her eyes, her shoulders dropped and her chin hit her chest. It was like she . . . deflated. “That's really your opinion of me?”

No. But cheating was no joke and would be the absolute end of everything. Every dream, every sacrifice.Every minute I didn’t spend with her.

“Cathy will be there.”

“I'll bring my own witness.”

She nodded. “Sure.”

“Where do I, uh, meet you?”

“La Reunion Dorm. Number 342. Bring anything that connects to the internet. I have class, so, depending, I may not be there.” She kept her gaze on the floor. “Probably best that way.”

My chest tightened and my brain conjured the image of her from this morning, straddling my lap. “I . . .” But before I could speak actual words, she took off at a jog.