Crushed by Laura McNeal Read Free Book Online Page B

afternoon exceeded even the expected strangeness. When the tardy bell rang, Patrice wasn’t there, and Sands and Zondra weren’t there, but there was the anticipation of an entrance, so the class was unusually subdued. And a minute or so later, Patrice and Sands
did
walk in, followed by the principal, Mrs. Pardoo. The class fell deadly quiet.
    Patrice and Sands went to their desks. Mrs. Pardoo stood formally in front of the class holding
The Yellow Paper,
which she now raised for presentation.
    â€œFirst of all, it needs to be said that what is written anonymously is written by cowards.” Mrs. Pardoo significantly dropped the paper into the wastebasket. “Secondly, when the persons responsible for this paper are apprehended—and please note I use the word
when,
and not
if
—that person or persons will be removed from school and turned over to authorities for legal prosecution.” Mrs. Pardoo took a deep breath. “As for Miss Newman, this school district did a thorough background check and found her not just meeting but exceeding the high ethical, legal, and educational standards required for employment.”
    Which, Audrey realized, was not the same as saying Patrice never filched a sweater or two at Filene’s.
    Mrs. Pardoo turned to look at Patrice. “Thank you, Miss Newman. I sincerely regret what has happened today and look forward to setting it right.”
    After she left, Patrice stood up beside her desk. She seemed different, a little shorter and older than the day before. For perhaps half a minute (though it seemed longer to Audrey), Patrice said nothing and simply stared past the students toward the blank wall at the rear of the room. Finally she brought her gaze back to the students and said in a low voice, “When I was nineteen years old, I made a serious mistake.”
    She fell quiet again and let her gaze move across the room, from one student to another, systematically, so no one was missed. When her eyes touched Audrey, they left behind a feeling of guilt, which, after a second or two, made Audrey resentful—she’d had nothing to do with
The Yellow Paper.
    The teacher said, finally, “I just want to say one thing. By the time each of you is nineteen—the age I was when I made a mistake—you will have made a mistake, too.”
    Audrey expected more—when teachers made a moral point, they always seemed to lay it on thick—but Patrice was almost done. “In the future,” she said, “please address me as Miss Newman.” A pause, then: “I have nothing further to say, but I believe Sands would like to make a statement.”
    Sands stood immediately, even before everyone’s gaze could turn her way. Audrey noticed that, across the room, Clyde Mumsford didn’t turn. He sat as he’d sat through both Mrs. Pardoo’s and Patrice’s speeches, leaning over his desk, doodling with one hand, the other hand draped over his shoulder. He might’ve been bored. Or sneakily amused.
    Unlike Patrice, Sands was assertive and indignant. “I just want to say that yes, I got into Mount Holyoke, but if anyone had bothered to ask, my SATs are over 1800, which would’ve gotten me in easy, with or without drill team and the other stuff.”
    On another day, someone might’ve made a wisecrack about the nature of the other stuff, but this wasn’t another day.
    â€œAnd as for Zondra,” Sands said, “it’s not her fault her parents named her Zondra, and also, just for the record, it’s not even legal to do that kind of surgery until you’re eighteen.”
    Sounds like you’ve looked into it,
someone would’ve said on another day, but today the silence was so total, the quick tick of the clock almost startled Audrey.
    Sands sat down.
    â€œOkay, then,” Patrice said. Her voice sounded tired. “Enough distractions. Let’s get back to work.”
    All Audrey would