“Way to go, Grimes!”
“I think it’s time we went outside,” Claire said, her eyes downcast in shame. Everyone followed her to the closest emergency exit and down the steps to a side door that led outside. The bright sunlight touching the students’ faces seemed to burn away the weary fog that had previously overtaken them.
Mina felt her unease slightly diminish once she was a good distance away from the building, but it didn’t leave entirely.
They took the long way and walked around the side of the bakery until they came to the front entrance and the bus. Mr. West was there, along with Mr. Brimwell. For an irresponsible chaperone, Mr. West was quick to see that there was a problem. He read the agitation on Claire’s face and instantly became alert.
“What happened? What’s wrong?” he asked.
Claire spoke up, her face red with embarrassment. “There was an unfortunate accident on the catwalk.”
Mr. West’s eyes went wide in fear. His bald head looked like a pendulum as he began swinging it back and forth, trying to take a head count of his pack of unruly students.
“Yeah, Brody almost died!” Steven blurted out. Savannah let out a high-pitched squeak of alarm.
“He fell backward off the catwalk, but Grimes…I mean, Mina, saved him!” Frank yelled.
Nothing else could be heard over the roar of voices as everyone spoke up at once, trying to relay their own version of the death-defying story. Mina was uncomfortable with all the staring, so she tried to maneuver to the outside of the crowd and duck behind Nan, who was no longer preoccupied with her phone.
Mr. Brimwell paled and looked to Claire. “Is this true? How could you have let this happen?”
Claire pinched her lips together angrily. “It wasn’t my fault. They were messing around on the catwalk, and a support cinch failed.”
Mina’s stomach dropped, and she felt sick. None of them knew the real reason. None of this would have happened if she hadn’t dropped her chewed-up number-two pencil. This whole mess started because of how clumsy she was and her inherent bad luck. It was another epic disaster to add to the list in her sock drawer at home. She felt so disheartened.
“You let these kids on the catwalk?” Mr. Brimwell accused her. His round face turned red tomato-red with anger, but that didn’t dissuade Claire.
“Why wouldn’t I? I’ve been taking people on the catwalk for years, and it’s never bothered you before. I’ve always ended tours there.”
They drew closer together, and the heated argument became indecipherable amongst the growing babble of Mina’s classmates. Mr. West’s head seemed to be shaking in disbelief, and he kept looking over at Mina skeptically. She didn’t blame him. She could hardly believe her own actions.
Mina blushed as he looked past Savannah and over the heads of the students, searching for something or someone. She saw Brody spot her among the crowd and start to move in her direction. She tensed. She couldn’t imagine him thanking her for such an embarrassing stunt, especially in front of twenty students with cell phones. She was likely to say something dumb and make a fool of herself.
Mina couldn’t look away as he maneuvered around the sympathetic girls to reach her. He was only feet away when Savannah cried his name and caught his attention. Brody and Mina both turned to find her running toward him, impossibly blonde hair swinging behind her as she ran into his arms. “Are you okay?” she asked hesitantly, unsure of her reception. Mina hoped he’d blow her off, but to her surprise he cradled her in an enormous hug.
“Brody, I’m so sorry!” Savannah said when they’d pulled apart. Could she really be so oblivious to the audience around them? “I’m sorry about how I acted in the factory. You’re right—I do need to grow up, and I promise to never embarrass you like that again.” Her bottom lip actually trembled.
“Savannah, what are you talking about? This wasn’t your fault.”
“No, not that. Our argument. I’ve done a lot of thinking and…”
“What argument?” Brody said, sounding frustrated. Mina heard stunned whispers throughout the crowd. “Savannah, I almost died. Can we talk about this some other time?”
“Wait…You don’t remember?”
“Truthfully this whole morning is kind of a haze. I’m really not feeling well…maybe I should just go home.”
Hope filled Savannah’s face, her trembles ceasing when she realized Brody didn’t remember their breakup. “You’re right, Brody. Let’s get you home.” She clutched his arm possessively and led him toward the bus and a panicked Mr. West.