SK01 - Waist Deep by Frank Zafiro Read Free Book Online Page A

Teacher’s Lounge held some mythical quality. It was a forbidden zone for students. Not even the teacher’s aides or those with most-favored status were allowed in. When I got a little older, I imagined it to be a den of iniquity where my English teacher quickly gave his last four papers a ‘B’ grade in order to turn his attentions to the supple prize that was my French teacher. In spite of the historical irony of the French and English getting along, I figured it had to be true. There was no other explanation for how I passed English in high school. Mr. Henderson was too busy trying to bang Miss Couture . It had to be.
    In reality, the lounge looked like any other break room in the country. It could have been lifted whole and dropped in any office building in River City and it would’ve fit right in. Coffee pot, sink, a lunch table and a couple of easy chairs, along with a TV in the corner.
    Another image of childhood crushed, I thought sarcastically.
    A woman in her fifties sat at the lunch table with a cup of tea and a newspaper. She wore a shawl made of light blue yarn and half a dozen bracelets on each wrist. She didn’t look up as we entered.
    “Mrs. Byrnes?” Bill said.
    The woman lifted her head, adjusted her glasses and took us both in. Her eyes quickly registered recognition of Bill and turned to me. “Yes?”
    “This is—“
    “Stefan Kopriva,” I interrupted him and stepped forward. I offered my hand and she shook it lightly. Her touch was warm and her face open. We exchanged pleasantries.
    “What can I do for you, Mr. Kopriva?”
    “Stefan,” I said and smiled at her. “Or just Stef.”
    “Very well. Stef.”
    “I’m looking into the disappearance of one of your students. Kris Sinderling?”
    Her face paled. “Disappearance? I knew she’d run away, but has something…else happened to her?”
    I shook my head. “Her father’s worried and has asked me to try to find her.”
    “Are you a private detective, then?”
    “No. Just a friend.”
    Mrs. Byrnes studied me closely then. Her eyes bore into mine. Surprisingly, it wasn’t an unpleasant feeling, until I began to wonder what she saw there. “ So her father knows you’re here?”
    I nodded.
    She looked past my shoulder at Bill. When her eyes returned to me, she sipped her tea and flashed me a warm smile. “Okay, then,” Mrs.   Byrnes said . “What can I do to help?”
    I sat down opposite her.
    “Tea?” she asked. “I have almost a full box of peppermint.”
    “No, thanks.”
    She looked up at Bill and her lips pressed together briefly. “We’ll be fine, Bill. Thank you for showing him the way.”
    There was a long pause. I imagined Bill struggling with what to do. In the end, he sighed. “I’ll be in the hall,” he said.
    “That’s not necessary,” Mrs. Byrnes said.
    “Principal’s orders,” Bill said, a touch self-important.
    Mrs. Byrnes shrugged and her eyes followed him as he left the room. When the door closed, she turned her eyes to me. “They have to keep us liberals in line, I guess.”
    I smiled. I voted Republican in two of the last three elections, but I liked her anyway.
    “What can I do to help?” she asked.
    “Did you know Kris?”
    She nodded. “Of course. Everyone does. All the girls want to be her and all the boys…well, you know what most of the boys want.”
    “She’s popular then?”
    “Oh yes,” Mrs. Byrnes said. “Very popular. Though I don’t think that is any surprise to you. She is very beautiful and in this society, that is an automatic ticket to popularity. Particularly in high school, where maturity is a rare commodity.”
    “You sound a little…”
    “Bitter?”
    I nodded and she laughed lightly. “No, I’m not bitter. I am resigned, though.”
    “Resigned?”
    “Yes. I am resigned to the fact the world is what it is.”
    “And what is that?”
    “Superficial, for one thing. And, in my darker moments, I suppose I would say it can be ugly.”
    I thought of my time on