Fallen (47 page)

“This way! Out of the classroom
,
this way!”
Elam
was yelling over the commotion
and
weeping
.

Students began filtering out the door
and passed
me,
coughing
, trying to expel
the smoke and chemicals from their lungs.

I was the last to leave, just as
The Warden
arrived.

“What’s this?” h
e
franticly
demanded
.
“What’s happened here?”

Elam
put his arm around
The Warden
’s shoulders and directed him to a distance where no one could overhear them.

I
tried but with all the coughing it was impossible
.

Instead, I moved through the throng of students, some of which were from other classes now
gawking
in the hallway, having come out after
hearing
the explosion. A few paces down the hallway I found what I was looking for – a first aid kit.

I opened it and grabbed bandages, ointments,
and
anything I could carry back.

As
I reached the spot where the majority of my class
was
standing
, I
looked for those with the most bl
ood streaming down their faces
.
I heard someone
mumble,
“The sink…
I
t
came from the sink.” He was one of the guys from the back of the class so he would have had a better vantage point than others.

“Who was at the sink before it blew?”
asked someone standing beside him. He was
clean and uninjured, clearly
from another classroom
.

Their eyes searched the crowd until another guy called out, coughing through his words
,
“That girl…who talks to the dead…”

I
halted
with the
first aid items still stacked in my arms.

Almost in unison
the crowd turned to me.

“That’s true, isn’t it?” Bridgette asked
Liz
,
both of them
had
singed
hair
and black streaks
marring
their faces.

Liz
nodded, expressionless. “She…she washed out her beaker.”

“What was in that beaker?” A guy stepped through the crowd, demanding. I recognized him as someone who
sat near the sink.

“
It was the same thing you put in your beaker,” I said, indignant. “Didn’t any of you notice
Elam
at the sink after me?”

I watched as some of their expressions faltered. “You did, didn’t you?” I said, quietly, my voice seeming to roar in the now silent hallway.

The
Warden
, who had been talking with
Elam
during this time,
glanced in my direction and
then stood
to his full height
,
stomping
down the hall
toward
me.

“Ms. Tanner, in my office. Now!”

That was all the confirmation the other students needed. Hearing my name, furiously screamed by the principal
,
right
after they had been severely injured, gave them the scapegoat they
were looking for.
I dared
a
look in their direction and found those not coughing or choking staring at me with
unwavering contempt.
Yet, it was
Elam
’s face that lingered in my memory as The Warden marched me back to his office, because
his was the only one in a sea of repugnance that stood out in contrast
.

He was
sneering
.

Following
The Warden
,
who was obviously
upset
,
I
remained
a good three paces behind him and
struggled
to keep up
.
Thankfully
, this gave me
few minutes to think about what had just happened
.
I
thought back, step-by-step, on what had happened just prior to the explosion and I
could have sworn I saw
Elam
pouring something down the drain
just before leaving the classroom.

The Warden
screamed at
Ms.
Olsonite
to call for an ambulance – several of them – before slamming the door to his office behind me.

“Sit!” he demanded
,
and I did
.

The Warden
leaned against his desk, too furious to
sit. H
is arms
were
crossed
in front of him
and
he was
now
breathing through his cheeks like a bull
.

“Can you explain, Ms. Tanner,” he said my name with
revulsion
, “how everyone was injured in that blast but you?”

I stared back, unable to
answer
.

“Can you?” he
shrieked
.

I slowly shook my head and
innocently
replied
,
without thinking,
“Right place, right time?”

The Warden
’s face went beet red and started to pulse in places I didn’t think could pulse.

I held up my hands in defense. “Look, I don’t know. One minute I was
asking
Liz
if she needed help
and the next
minute
the lab exploded.”

“
Elam
mentioned you were at the sink prior to the explosion,” he seethed.

“Did he mention that he was
,
too?”

The Warden’s eyes shot wide open in disbelief. “You aren’t accusing a notable professor of a criminal act, are you?”

“I’m telling you the facts.”

“
Well then, let’s start with
what you
put down the drain
to ignite the explosion.”

Shocked
from
being accused of something I didn’t do
,
I reacted by standing up
, which put
The Warden
on edge. “I used the same liquids that everyone else in the class used, Mr. Warden. Despite what
Elam
told you, you’re going to be hard pressed to find evidence proving otherwise.”

I realized I was
challenging
him, meeting his argument and insinuated threats head on, but I didn’t care.

I would not be accused of harming others.

“How do you explain…
” he said
,
visibly shaking with fury. “How do you explain that you were the only one left untouched in that classroom?”

The fact was
I could explain it
,
but he would never believe me. His mind wouldn’t have been able to comprehend that my guardian, my husband from my past life, had swooped in to protect me l
ike an ethereal blast
blanket.

“I
was
lucky enough to avoid flyi
ng shards of glass, Mr. Warden. That
doesn’t make me the cause of it.”
I stared at him, daring him to continue.

The Warden
seemed to
rationally
think
through what I’d
said
because he took a moment before speaking again.

“You have been a pain in my side since you started here.
Now, you
have put these students at
risk – even if I can’t prove it –
yet.” He paused
, taking
in a deep, shaky breath. “Do not think for one second you are off the hook. The moment I find proof that you caused that damage
,
you will be expelled.”

Oddly, a few weeks ago that would have been welcomed news. I may even have
considered fabricating
evidence just to expedite the process.
But now…I had truly started to enjoy it here.
I
t took only a second to decide I
was going to fight to stay.

I opened my mouth and began to speak
,
but The Warden cut me off.

“Leave…now
!
”
he seethed through his teeth
, never taking his eyes of
f
me.

I
exited
his office and headed for my next class.
At lunch, I avoided the cafeteria entirely, finding a small alcove in the library
.
My sandwich was left untouched in the bag as I
sat, staring
out the window going
over
what had happened.
Elam
had poured something dow
n that drain. I was sure of it
,
and it ange
red me
even fu
rther knowing he managed to put
everyone else
at risk just
to get to me.