Chapter 10
The air in the girls’ varsity locker room was dead silent, save for the distant bouncing of basketballs echoing from the gymnasium through the heavy double doors at the end of the hall. Vice Principal Miller stood with his back turned to the crawlspace opening, his tall frame blocking Locker 312 completely as he slid the manila envelope onto the top shelf.
Clara squeezed through the access panel right behind Leo, her heart pounding against her ribs like a trapped bird.
Leo didn't hesitate. He stepped out from the shadow of the benches, his sneakers squeaking softly on the damp tile floor.
“Hey!” Leo shouted, his voice ringing sharply against the tile walls.
Miller spun around instantly, dropping the manila envelope. It hit the floor with a soft slap, spilling several folded sheets of official math exam papers across the linoleum. The bold red stamps of the state testing board glared up under the fluorescent lights.
Miller’s face twisted into an ugly sneer as he recognized the two students he had hunted through the basement.
“You two have an extraordinary talent for making catastrophic mistakes,” Miller growled, taking a slow step forward, his broad shoulders blocking the main exit aisle. “You think sneaking around the sub-levels makes you heroes? You’ve just committed felony evidence tampering in the presence of a school administrator.”
Clara stepped up beside Leo, her eyes locked on the scattered exam papers on the floor. The physical pain in her hand seemed to fade, replaced by a cold, righteous clarity.
“You planted those papers, Mr. Miller,” Clara said, her voice steady and loud enough to carry down the hall. “Just like you covered up Maya Vance’s disappearance and falsified hundreds of state scholarship records.”
Miller let out a harsh, barking laugh, shaking his head as he reached into his breast pocket for his radio.
“Who do you think is going to believe a pair of disciplined vandals over the entire administrative board?” Miller sneered, pressing the call button on his radio. “Security, Code Red in the girls' locker room. Detain Leo Reyes and Clara Miller immediately.”
Before the radio could squawk a response, Leo lunged forward with unexpected speed, kicking the scattered exam papers across the floor directly into Miller’s path. At the same time, Clara swept her foot out, catching Miller’s ankle just as he stepped back to regain his balance.
The Vice Principal tumbled backward with a heavy crash, his shoulder slamming hard against the metal bench before he hit the tile floor, dropping his radio with a clatter.
Leo snatched the manila envelope off the floor, scooping up the fraudulent exam sheets along with it.
“Run!” Leo yelled, grabbing Clara’s wrist.
May you like
They bolted past the fallen administrator, diving through the heavy double doors leading directly into the gymnasium just as the gym teacher’s whistle blew shrilly from across the basketball court.
The heavy gym doors swung shut behind them, cutting off Miller’s furious shouts as they stepped out onto the polished hardwood floor in front of four hundred staring students.
