Stephanie: Strike Five, “Suspicions”
March 21, 2013
The end of lunch was punctuated by a hand descending on Stephanie’s shoulder.
She jumped, then glanced over her shoulder. Ms. Delaney smiled at her. “Stephanie, I’m sorry to startle you. Principal Delaney would like to speak with you after class.”
“Yes, of course,” Stephanie said. She watched, a little warily, as Ms. Delaney shifted her gaze to another student and began to walk away, saying, “David, a quick word. . . . ”
Why didn’t she wait until the end of the day? Stephanie wondered. Ms. Delaney continued to circulate around the lunchroom, speaking to students.
“Does she always do that?” she asked Aurelia. “Deliver messages at lunchtime, I mean.” It seemed highly irregular; Ms. Delaney, and indeed the other teachers she had met, went out of their way to befriend and communicate with students. At her old school, they would have just done the minimum–unless–
Ah, but this isn’t my old school. She tried to relax and listen to Aurelia’s response. It wasn’t her old school, and old suspicions weren’t necessary.
Right?
