knew what that was like. âAnd what about you, Faroush?â
âI go where she goes.â
âThatâs commitment for you,â I said. âSo, Faroush is an interesting name.â
âItâs my last name.â
âWhatâs your first name?â
âJohn.â He squinched his nose as if the name disgusted him.
We ate the rest of our lunches in silence. In literal silence. These people loved their silence.
Despite my hope for being promoted to scandal or tragedy, my first two weeks at Chiswick were full of fluff pieces like âMost Productive Study Techniquesâ and âBest Power Foods for the High School Student Brain,â and incredibly short on anything meaty.
The more I worked with Jesse and the rest of the staff, the more it confirmed my earlier suspicions that Jesse was, indeed, the front-runner for the Bennington Scholarship. He oversaw every editorial meeting, he had the final say as to content and assignments, and the way he convinced Professor Ferguson to run one of the weekly editions in color made me think he could sell beef Popsicles to a colony of vegans.
Iâd hoped heâd see I was âearning my stripes,â but on my third Monday at Chiswick, he handed me yet another dry informational pamphlet, this one about security systems.
âThe school is updating their security. One paragraph and a twenty-second voice-over, please.â
I tried not to roll my eyes as I opened the pamphlet. Another nothing piece.
After the meeting broke up, I went to the administration area to interview the principal about the new security systems. He welcomed me into his office.
âMiss Baird,â he said, holding his hand out. âNice to meet you in person. How are you liking Chiswick?â
âItâs good,â I said, omitting the fact that Iâd received detention from the Beast on my first day. âI wanted to ask you a couple of questions about the new security system.â
âOf course,â he said. He leaned back in his chair and the leather squeaked.
I sat down and pulled out my notebook. âFirst off, why are you changing the old system?â
âItâs always smart to keep everything updated.â
I nodded and scribbled notes. âAnd what does the security system entail? What equipment?â
âWell, the intercoms. The telephones. The camera feeds, et cetera.â
âAnd when was the last time you updated the system?â
âUm . . . uh . . .â
I looked up from my notepad.
âLast year.â He frowned.
We were both quiet for a moment.
âLast year?â I repeated, the scent of a story prickling at the back of my brain. âIâm all for keeping current, but is it typical to do it so often?â
He sighed and was suddenly very intrigued by the books on his bookcase. âWe have a lot of generous donors. We can afford to be extra vigilant.â
âVigilant? Is there a reason to be extra vigilant at Chiswick?â
âAn administration should always be vigilant.â
I took a breath and tried to slow things down. âRight. So one last question.â
âOkay.â
âDo you change the system every single year? In the name of vigilance?â
He sniffed. âI donât know what youâre implying, Miss Bairdââ
âIâm not implying anything,â I said.
âThe purpose of your story is to educate students about the new system.â
âRespectfully, sir, I disagree. The purpose of any story is the story.â That had sounded better in my head, but I hoped he got the gist.
âWhatâs that supposed to mean?â
âIt means that I follow where the story takes me.â
He pressed his hands onto the top of the desk. âLook, Miss Baird. There is no story here. Itâs a simple system update. Thatâs it.â
He stood and ushered me out the door, practically slamming it shut behind me.
âOh,
Alaska Angelini, A. A. Dark