Gem Stone Read Free

once and once only. Did you cheat?"
    Â 
    "No, sir." She didn't need to cheat on exams. School was easy for her.
    Â 
    "Did you help anyone else cheat on their exams?"
    Â 
    At least she could answer honestly again. She looked him straight in the eye. "No, sir."
    Â 
    Silence.
    Â 
    "That's not what I'm hearing from other sources." He studied her intently as if hoping to read a different truth on her face. "I wouldn't want you involved in anything that would make me reconsider your placement here."
    Â 
    Shit. Misty was a bitch. The girl would do anything to avoid getting into trouble herself. Including throwing Gem into the mess to confuse the issue. Again.
    Â 
    "People will always talk, sir."
    Â 
    "Yes. They will, won't they? Well, we will leave it for the moment. As long as you realize, that if I receive one ounce of proof that you cheated, your permission to stay here will be rescinded. Got that?"
    Â 
    "Yes, sir." She dropped her gaze to her feet and the almost-too-short jeans. There were a lot of good things happening here. She didn't want to leave. She also didn't dare let him know how much this mattered.
    Â 
    Silence again.
    Â 
    Gemma risked a quick look at him. He was staring at a thick file open in front of him. Her file. Gemma groaned silently.
    Â 
    "I see you're still busy with that camera of yours…"
    Â 
    Was that a question? Gemma didn't know what she was supposed to say. "Yes, sir."
    Â 
    "You know better than to take pictures of people and situations that you aren't supposed to, right?" His pale gray eyes lifted from the desk, flicked to the field outside the window then back, catching hers.
    Â 
    Acid bubbled in her stomach. Did he know?
    Â 
    "We wouldn't want you ignoring other people's privacy now, would we? Even if the pictures don't turn out well, people might think you captured events you weren't entitled to see. Understand?"
    Â 
    A frisson of fear slid down her back. He couldn't know, could he? She didn't even know what she'd seen. She gulped and nodded once. "I'm very careful."
    Â 
    "Yes. Careful. That describes you very well. Careful in what you say. Careful in what you do. Careful in how you act. Always. What goes on behind those big brown eyes of yours, Gemma? You're always quiet. Deep. You've been here with the others for several months now and yet, you're still essentially a loner."
    Â 
    And what was she supposed to say to that? She remained silent.
    Â 
    "A word of warning, there will be several new girls arriving over the next few weeks, so expect to go back to sharing your room again." He studied her carefully. "And still you stand there and say nothing." He closed the file before resting his interlocked fingers on top. He stared up at her, a frown creasing his forehead. "I'm not a big fan of mixing boys and girls at your age. Unleashed hormones and troubled kids make for a nasty mess." He narrowed his gaze and added, "Make sure you don't contribute to the problem."
    Â 
    "No, sir. Are we done here, sir?" Gem stared down at her standard-issue running shoe. Like all her clothes. The home provided everything, slightly less institutionalized than at the center, but still generic. Soon she'd be allowed to get a job, then she could buy her own clothes.
    Â 
    He studied her bent head.
    Â 
    "Never an ounce of give in you, is there?"
    Â 
    "Sir?" She eyed him curiously.
    Â 
    "Never mind." He picked up her file and added it to the stack on the right. "Yes, we're done."
    Â 
    She took that as a dismissal. "Thank you, sir." Just before escaping down the hallway, she popped her head back in and said, "I don't cheat."
    Â 
    He looked up in surprise. "I know that. You don't bother reading the textbooks either, do you? But not everyone here has your IQ. Make sure you aren't helping the others cheat. It won't do either of you any good in the long run."
    Â 
    She nodded. She had no intention of helping anyone cheat, but that didn't stop them from cheating off her.