Wind whizzes past my cheeks, cold, refreshing. I’m flying, zipping past everyone else, breaking the sound barrier. I’m one with the track. No one can deny that I was so clearly made for this.
Why am I not at the finish yet? My legs aren’t pushing me as fast as I’m used to. I will myself to go faster. Run harder. Then, from my peripheral vision, I see something that’s never once happened to me, not ever. A girl’s catching up. And another, on my left. Eating into my high, poisoning my victory. My chest squeezes tight. They can’t do this, they’re not allowed. This is my moment. Go faster!
But I can’t stop glancing over, and then I see something else, at the bench. A flash of black. The cops. They’re looking straight at me—
The world tips sideways. I don’t understand what’s happening—
Everything is knocked out of me. My thoughts. The air in my lungs. Time crashes to a stop and I don’t. I—
What. Just. Happened.
I blink, and it’s like I’ve plunged underwater, everything unfolding in slow motion. I see my competitors running ahead, their movements so slow, their footsteps dull. Someone gets through the finish, and noise floods everything.
Hands shake my shoulders. I’m rolled over, yanked up, a rag doll. Coach on one side, the team doctor on the other. They’re both talking, but their voices sound weird and hollow, and it doesn’t matter anyway, I need to know what the cops want. I push them aside, look around, and there they are, heading straight toward me, their faces steel. Mendez reaches into her pocket and comes out with—my world ends—a pair of handcuffs.
I can’t speak. Can’t breathe. Can’t do anything but watch as my fate claims me.
Coach follows my gaze and turns around. Her mouth drops open, her expression morphing into angry mama bear mode, and then she spots the cuffs, and that catches her off guard. She falters. “Detectives—”
They push past her. To me.
I hang my head, lift my hands, and—
They walk past.
Straight to Mandy Kim, who’s grinning and waving to the crowds. She frowns when they get to her, and then her frown melts into confusion.
“Mandy Kim, you’re under arrest for possession and assault with class one narcotics. You have the right to remain silent,” Detective Jackson says, while Detective Mendez puts the cuffs on Mandy.
Mandy’s so confused, she doesn’t even protest at first. Then it hits her, and she snaps, “Get your hands off me! What the hell is going on? This isn’t funny! Coach, help me. Stop them. Coach!”
Coach takes one step, but the look on Detective Mendez’s face stops her, and we stand there, rooted, and watch as Mandy is hauled away by the cops.
Chapter 31
The school is on fire. Not a literal fire, but everyone’s running about like ants that just sensed rain, and nothing makes any sense. Mandy’s arrested, which should make me happy, but only adds to the sense of WTF-ness of everything. The problem is it feels wrong. Sure, Mandy’s a big ole asshole, but she’s never been overtly mean to Stacey. Plus, Stacey said they’d been close before, and Mandy tried to “tolerate” her or whatever. Something’s not adding up. I go back to Mather, my thoughts going a hundred miles an hour, and have a good cry in the shower for the millionth time—honestly, do I do anything BUT cry while I shower?
But it’s impossible to try to stop the tears, because in addition to everything—Stacey, and Mandy’s arrest, and the general mess the entire school’s swept into—there’s also the tiny matter of my athletics scholarship.
Gone, just like that.
And it feels awful to care so much about it, but god, I do. And the realization that everything I had worked so hard to achieve had been for nothing is a lot to bear. Coach had told me it’s fine, that I’ll have other chances, but it feels like my career is over before it even began, and it’s too much.
The cry does me good, at least. By the time I’m done, I’m all cried out, all my insides scooped out, leaving me with just one thing—a burning need to find out what the hell happened out there on the track. And the only person who’s got any hope of knowing anything is Mrs. Henderson. As soon as I’m dressed, I march straight to Castor.
Her receptionist tells me she’s on a call, so I wait outside her office. Her door’s cracked open, and snatches of Mrs. Henderson’s voice float out. I inch closer, keeping one eye on the receptionist so she doesn’t notice me practically pressed up against the wall right next to Mrs. Henderson’s doorway.
“—very helpful, thank you, sir.” Wow, I’ve never heard Mrs. Henderson grovel before. “And ma’am. Such wonderful news. Thank you, yes. The board will be so grateful to hear this. We’re all so relieved those police officers won’t be—yes, oh god, especially that awful Detective Mendez, good grief, like a dog with a bone—oh, yes, thank you.” She gives the world’s fakest polite laugh. “You too. What time is it in Jakarta? Goodness, so late. I won’t take any more of your time. Good night, and thank you again.”
The door swings open, and we both startle as I come face-to-face with her. She frowns when she sees me. “How long have you been skulking there, Lia?”
“I wasn’t skulking,” I say and try my best to look less skulky.
“Mm-hmm. Why are you here? If it’s not urgent, it’ll have to wait. There are about a million fires for me to put out—”
“Mandy Kim was arrested today.”
She doesn’t even pause. “Yes, I’m fully aware of that. Margot, how many times has Mrs. Kim called today?”
The receptionist consults her notes. “Seven.”
Mrs. Henderson sighs. “If you’ll excuse me, Lia…” She goes back inside her office and looks surprised when I follow. “What do you want?” Her tone is a lot less friendly.
Something is bothering me, calling to me for attention, but I can’t quite put my finger on it. I shake it off and get to why I’m here. “I need to know why Mandy was arrested. The cops said something about possession of narcotics—”
“The cops have evidence of Mandy being in possession of drugs, yes. Anything else?”
“What evidence?”
“Really, Lia, it’s none of your business.”
“Please! I need to know.” I don’t know why I need to know, but something’s taken hold and it’s like a rabid dog, refusing to let go. “If you tell me, I’ll—uh, I promise I won’t breathe a word about Mr. Werner’s cheating ring to anyone.”
Mrs. Henderson sighs again. She sighs a lot when she’s around me. “And I’m supposed to just take your word on this?”
“No,” I say, hurriedly. “I’ll sign a contract or whatever.”
“A nondisclosure agreement? I’m quite sure any hastily drawn up makeshift agreement won’t be recognized in a court of law.” She shakes her head and shrugs a little. “But there’s no reason for me not to tell you. It’ll get out sooner or later.”
I lean forward, mouth slightly open.
“The cops did a swab of the girls’ changing room at the gym and found traces of narcotics in Mandy’s locker.”
I blink. Oh. Shit. So that’s why. They must’ve done another search after the incident at Sam’s party, and this time, they did swabs, and…