Chapter 3
The high gothic windows of the school library cast long, eerie shadows across the rows of mahogany bookshelves. Dust motes danced lazily in the late afternoon sunlight filtering through the stained glass. Maya sat at her usual secluded table in the far corner, surrounded by heavy reference volumes on local municipal law and municipal bond allocation. Her laptop screen glowed softly, illuminating her focused face and the silver cross resting against her black tank top.
Footsteps echoed softly against the linoleum floor. Maya didn't look up from her screen as a tall figure stopped beside her table. It wasn't Tyler, and it certainly wasn't Vance.
"You're playing a very dangerous game, Maya," a low, smooth voice murmured.
Maya finally raised her head, looking through her thin-rimmed glasses at Sarah Chen, the editor-in-chief of the student newspaper. Sarah looked anxious, clutching a stack of printed press releases to her chest like a shield.
"Playing implies this is a game, Sarah," Maya said softly, closing a digital file on her screen. "It isn't. It's an accounting correction."
"Vance called an emergency faculty meeting ten minutes ago," Sarah whispered, pulling out the chair opposite Maya and sitting down without being invited. "He looks like he’s about to have a heart attack. Rumors are flying everywhere about what happened in the cafeteria, and now people are saying you blackmailed the administration."
"People love drama," Maya replied, leaning back and resting her hands on the edge of the table. "They prefer to focus on a cafeteria scuffle because the truth is far too boring for high schoolers."
"The truth is that the school board is voting on a massive budget reallocation tomorrow night," Sarah said, leaning in closer, her eyes flashing with journalistic intensity. "And you have something to do with it, don't you? My sources say the athletic department is about to lose all its funding, and Tyler’s college scouting scholarships are suddenly evaporating."
Maya maintained her stoic expression, studying Sarah carefully. "And what does the student newspaper plan to do about that? Write a sympathetic editorial about how hard it is for rich kids to lose their unearned privileges?"
"No," Sarah said firmly, placing her press releases flat on the table. "We want to publish the truth. But we need proof. My faculty advisor keeps blocking my investigative pieces. Someone inside the district is censoring us, Maya. I know you have the documents."
May you like
Maya looked at the papers, then back at Sarah. A slow, cautious curiosity flickered in her eyes. "Censorship in a public school? That's illegal, Sarah. But then again, a lot of illegal things happen behind these brick walls."
Before Sarah could press further, the library doors creaked open. A heavy set of boots marched down the central aisle, moving with purposeful aggression. Both girls turned their heads toward the sound. Out of the shadows stepped Coach Henderson, his face contorted in a dark, threatening scowl, his hands clenched tightly into fists as he stalked straight toward their table.
