Dying to Teach Read Free Page B

key rattled in the lock. Kiana shot to her feet trying to jam the thing into her pocket. But it wouldn’t go!
    The door opened. Someone came in. She dropped into the chair she’d been standing on. The object stuck part way out but there was nothing to do about it now except hope it didn’t drop out on the floor.
    Kiana drew the wad of tissues from the other pocket then leaned forward and buried her face in her hands. Someone shut the door. And spotted her. Man, was she in trouble. She kept her head down and faked a sob. A pair of shiny loafers and the bottoms of a pair of gray slacks appeared next to her new Charlotte Russe flats. Fingers touched her shoulder. Kiana’s heart thrummed out a battery of irregular beats. For a second it sounded like the Johnny Cash tune A Boy Named Sue. If she’d been with Evan instead of trapped in this room she would’ve laughed.
    “I guess you heard the news.”
    She didn’t recognize the low voice though she probably should. Kiana nodded and sniffled, bunching the tissue under her nose.
    The hand flattened on her shoulder. “Awful thing. Bad enough to be one of our own. Ms. Forest will be missed. Unfortunately all this will bring undue attention to the school.”
    Kiana burst into tears. Real ones. The person knelt beside the chair. Oh man. Surely he’d recognize her now. And he did. “Kiana Smith! What are you doing here?”
    She swiped the tissue back and forth a few times, gaining time to think. She looked up to see an angry Mr. Philmore. “I was w-walking down the hall and saw the door open.”
    “The door wasn’t open.”
    “Yes it was. H-halfway. My n-nose was running something awful. I figured the janitor was in here and I could ask for a tissue. I couldn’t go to class like this. And I couldn’t use that brown stuff in the bathroom. It r-rubs your nose all raw.”
    “Where’s the janitor?”
    “I don’t know. There was nobody here.”
    “No one was here,” he corrected.
    “Right.”
    Out in the corridor came the shushing sounds of shoes on the freshly polished floor. Kiana rose from the chair, her right hand bracing the thing in her pocket. “I guess I’ll be headed to class.”
    Mr. Philmore stood also. His hand dropped from her shoulder. “I think we’d better go see Mr. Reynolds and let him know how lax the janitorial staff has been.”
    She lumped the tissue in her other fist. “I was going there anyway, t-to see if I could go home. I should’ve listened to my parents and not come here today. I could let Mr. Reynolds know about the door for you.”
    “Good.”
    The relief in his voice said he really hadn’t wanted to veer from his original objective. Kiana stepped into the hallway, dodging two boys she didn’t know, in Goth clothing. She waited till the teacher’s lounge door closed then beelined for her locker, holding the found item in her pocket. Moments later, head inside the dark metal cubicle, she took a moment to calm her racing heart and dry two very sweaty palms. Kiana drew the object from her pocket. It looked like an eyeglass case but smaller. She popped open the hinged top. Inside was a plastic case she did recognize as a contact lens holder. She replaced the plastic container and shut the lid. During lunch break, she would take it to lost and found. She reached up to place it on the top shelf. That’s when she spotted the name on a piece of tape on the underside: Evan Harris.
    How could Evan’s lens case get in the teacher’s lounge? Two ways only. One was that, for some reason he’d been there and dropped it. The only other way was for somebody to have planted it there. Kiana smiled. The decision to investigate was only hours old and yet she’d already become cynical and suspicious.
    The hows and whys of Evan’s contact lenses would have to wait till later. Right now, talking to Mr. Reynolds was most important. Kiana stowed the case in her purse and started for Mr. Reynolds’ office—then realized she’d forgotten the most