Whispers in the Dark by Chase J. Jackson Read Free Book Online

door.
    â€œHey, Denise,” I greeted her.
    â€œHow’s it going?”
    â€œNot too bad.”
    â€œGood,” Denise said, pulling out a piece of paper from a folder she was holding.
“I just wanted to drop this off to you. It’s about the faculty meeting this Thursday.
It should be in your e-mail, but I still believe in handing out hard copies.”
    â€œMy first faculty meeting,” I replied. “Exciting.”
    â€œIt should be,” Denise smiled.
    â€œHey, do you mind if I speak with you outside?” I asked her.
    â€œSure,” Denise agreed. “Well, actually, I need to finish making my rounds. Come see
me at lunch, okay?”
    â€œOkay.”
    As Denise left, students started making their way into the classroom.
    I couldn’t quite figure this out. I had one student who didn’t talk, and then another
one telling me not to say anything to her. For this to be such a prestigious school,
these kids definitely didn’t act normal.
    The warning bell rang, followed by the final bell.
    â€œAll right, everyone,” I started off. “I’m going to take attendance. Just say ‘here’
or ‘present’ when I call your name. Alicia?”
    â€œHere,” Alicia replied.
    â€œMiranda?”
    â€œHere.”
    â€œCali?”
    â€œHere.”
    â€œDorian.”
    â€œPresent,” Dorian responded.
    â€œRaven?” I called, but didn’t hear a response. “Raven isn’t here. Robin?”
    I didn’t see Robin, either. I called the rest of the students’ names, then asked,
“Did I miss anyone?”
    Isabelle raised her hand.
    â€œIsabelle. I missed you,” I said, looking down at the attendance sheet. “I don’t
have your name here. I’ll just write it in till we fix that. All right, everyone,
today we’re going to be discussing your projects that will be due at the end of the
month.”
    â€œA project, already?” Dorian questioned. “We just started back.”
    â€œYeah, well, that’s why I’m giving you the instructions early, so you can get started
on it,” I explained to him. “It’s going to be a brief presentation that you’re going
to show the class. This can be through a PowerPoint, handouts, whatever you think
works best. I want you all to plan on making it five to ten minutes, followed by
a brief discussion that you will lead. So I want you all to write a few discussion
questions to—”
    The door slowly opened, interrupting me.
    In walked the twins, Raven and Robin, late again.
    â€œRaven and Robin,” I said. “Glad you two decided to join us. Everyone, make sure
you’re in your seats by the time the warning bell rings.”
    â€œSorry, Mr. Ramirez,” Raven apologized.
    Once again, Robin did not say anything. Cali waved for Raven, and she made her way
over to where Cali and Miranda sat. Robin looked to see if Cali was going to invite
her over, but she didn’t. After a moment, Robin sat behind Isabelle.
    I started passing out the instructions for the assignment. “So, for this project
we’re going to look at The Hunger Games . We’re going to analyze a few passages, and
then I’ll split you up into groups.”
    â€œWait! What?” Cali interrupted. “You’re not allowing us to choose our own groups?”
    â€œNo, not for this project, but the next one you can,” I told her. “So the first group
will be Alicia, Cali, and Isabelle. The second group will be Dorian, Brent, and Robin.”
    â€œWhat!” Dorian shouted. “Ummm . . . Mr. Ramirez. I can’t work in that group.”
    â€œAnd why not?” I asked.
    Dorian paused for a moment and looked around at the class. I noticed everyone looking
at him, expecting him to say something funny.
    â€œBecause I love my life too much, and I don’t want to end up missing,” Dorian finally
expressed.
    Most of