Don't Die Dragonfly by Linda Joy Singleton Read Free Book Online Page A

fingers. “I wasn’t doing anything wrong. Tell him, Sabine!”
    I turned to her with bewilderment. “Tell him what?”
    “About—the kid we saw sneaking around and how we chased him in here.” Danielle was squeezing my hand so tight, I shook her off.
    “A kid?” My heart thudded. “Oh, yeah. The kid.”
    “But he ran off before we could catch him,” Danielle said quickly. “I think he was a vandal. He could have broken windows or started a fire, only we scared him away. Instead of giving us a hard time, you should be thanking us.” She sounded so pathetic. Still, I nodded, playing along.
    The janitor scowled. “You expect me to buy that load of crap?”
    “That kid could still be around,” Danielle warned, sticking to her ridiculous story. “Don’t waste your time with us; go look for him before he gets away.”
    The janitor rubbed his beard and narrowed his gaze at us. “Enough. I’m calling the cops.”
    “But you can’t!” Danielle sobbed.
    “Watch me.” He chuckled and reached for a cell phone in his pocket.
    Danielle clutched at me. “Sabine, do something.”
    “I wish I could.” Panic pounded with my heartbeats. If we were arrested, everyone would find out and ugly rumors would spread. Penny-Love might stick up for me, but some of the others would turn away. And Josh—what would he think? I’d die if he turned away, too. But there was nothing I could do.
    Don’t give up so easily, Opal told me. Tell him that the police will find his car trunk interesting.
    “The police will find his car trunk interesting?” I questioned out loud, feeling like a total idiot but desperate enough to try anything.
    The janitor stopped dialing and glared at me. “What did you say?”
    “Nothing. Uh—just that if the police show up, they’ll look everywhere.” I thought fast. “Including your trunk.”
    “My car’s got nothing to do with this,” he growled.
    “Pens, staplers, a phone, and a computer monitor,” I repeated the message Opal passed on. Realization dawned, and I pointed my finger at the janitor. “You stole those things from the school?”
    “Shut up!” He curled his hand into a fist. “You’re a lying little bitch. One more word and I’ll let you have it.”
    Danielle stared at me with wide eyes. “Sabine, stop saying scary stuff. You’re making things worse.”
    “Listen to your girlfriend if you know what’s good for you. Say one word about me to the cops, and I’ll come after both of you.”
    He’s bluffing, Opal told me. Don’t let him scare you. He has serious issues to overcome in this lifetime. He compensates for his inadequacies by thievery, going as far as stealing money from his mother’s purse.
    “Stealing from his mother!” I exclaimed.
    “Who told you that?” he demanded.
    “You took money from your own mother’s purse!”
    “Why you little—” Mr. Watkins dropped his cell phone. He didn’t move to pick it up, instead he raised his fist at me. “Get out!”
    “But—But what about the police?” I stammered uselessly. “Aren’t you going to call them?”
    “Just go!” he shouted.
    I grabbed Danielle, then we raced out of there. All I could think about was getting far away from that psycho janitor. I ran so fast, Danielle lagged behind.
    “Hurry!” I heard the quickening of her footsteps.
    Racing down the hall, around a corner, out of the school. Relief and gratitude filled me. Opal had truly been my guardian angel this time.
    I didn’t slow down until I reached the sidewalk. Only then did I stop, ready to get some answers from Danielle.
    “After nearly getting me arrested, you owe me the truth,” I said as I turned to face her. Only I was talking to air.
    Danielle was gone.

When I reached home, the lights were off and my grandmother was already asleep. I found a Post-It note on my door from Nona that said simply: “Mom called.”
    I’d spent the last hour breaking laws and risking arrest, but none of that compared to the anxiety I felt