Page 51 of Tusk & Puck

“You get back here! A teacher is talking to you! I said stop!”

He’s not wearing a vest, and he doesn’t have any facial hair. He doesn’t even have glasses and, in fact, looks like a totally normal person. But Tina and Ryan are running away from him, and that alone makes me certain he’s my guy.

He’s nearly caught up to Tina when I charge into him, grabbing him by his shirt and pressing him into the wall.

“What’s going on here?” I hiss.

But before he answers, I realize I’m not alone. Another door has opened, and Coach Hill, Melody, and the principal, Ms. Greene, are all staring at me, holding Larson. Ryan and Tina have skidded to a halt somewhere near the end of the hall.

“Funny you should ask that,” Ms. Greene says, striding towards me. “I was just about to ask the very same question.”

I let go of Larson and step back. Melody is looking at me suspiciously. I had come here to defend her, but funnily enough, I hadn’t really thought about what she would think of me doing it.

“I just happened to be walking by,” I lie. “Suddenly a door opens, and I see this guy chasing those two kids. I was startled by how angry he looked so I decided to step in.”

“He grabbed me!” Larson says. “I bet he came here looking for me!”

“Maybe I did!” I snap. “What of it?”

“Let’s take a step back,” Ms. Greene interrupts. “Mr. Grey, why were you chasing these two students?”

Tina and Ryan come closer. Larson looks at them nervously.

“The two of them asked if they could talk to me about a project. But then, the girl tried to distract me while the boy went through my stuff. He even tried to steal something from me!”

Ms. Greene turns to the two children. “Tina. Ryan. Is what he’s saying true?”Tina and Ryan look at each other.

“Well, yes, sort of,” Tina says finally. “But we had a good reason for it!”

Ms. Greene puts her hands on her hips. It’s one of her signature moves for making it clear that she means business. “You had a good reason for trying to steal from a teacher?”

“Well, yes.” She looks at Melody and bites her lip. “But I’m not sure we should tell you.”

Ms. Greene is obviously confused. Maybe it’s been a while since she’s heard a kid have an excuse for something they did and didn’t want to share it. But before she can say anything, Melody steps in.

“It’s okay. It’s not a secret anymore.”

Tina beams. “Wait, it’s not? You mean…”

“I’ve already told them.”

“This is the best day ever!” She grins happily at Ms. Greene. “Did you know that my aunt is dating Jaromir Fletcher?”she crows.

Ms. Greene chuckles. “I did. But what does it have to do with Mr. Grey?”

“We don’t have to listen to this!” Mr. Grey cuts in. “These two children tried to steal from me! They haven’t even given back what they took!”

“What is it you took?” Ms. Greene asks gently.

Ryan reaches nervously into his pocket and pulls out a crumpled-up piece of paper. He’s handing it to Ms. Greene when Larson snatches it out of his hand and stuffs it into his coat.

“That’s private!” he says. “Now let’s talk about the punishment for these two rascals.”

Ms. Greene glares at him. “I’d like to see that note.”

Larson stands as tall as he can. “I told you, it’s private. And it’s not relevant to any of this.”

I step forward. “Tina and Ryan. Maybe you can explain why you took it, and then we can decide whether it’s relevant or not.”