I caught an Uber at the bottom of the hill, but I missed the beginning of my exam by five minutes, and the doors were locked. This exam was worth nearly thirty percent of my overall mark for the year, and I didn’t have the grades to miss it.
Selena and Tanyasat across from me at lunchtime and listened to me vent about the morning. They listened with wide eyes while I explained that my aunt and uncle had taken over my house and wouldn’t let me get my usual ride to work. I even told them that they had fired Jordan, which horrified them both.
“I’m so upset about everything, and missing my exam was the last straw.”
Selena pushed her tray back and stood up. “I’m going to talk to our math teacher.”
“You can do that?” Tanya asked, startled.
“Watch me!” Selena marched across the cafeteria floor.
In shock, I watched her leave. “Should I go with her?”
Tanya thought about it. “If someone pleads your case, it’s best if you’re not there.”
“I don’t think my teacher will even care.”
“So does this mean we won’t see Oleg and Anton anymore?”
“My aunt needs them to drive her around.”
She squinted at me. “Weren’t they worried about some threat?”
“Axel always insisted on that, but he works for my uncle, so it’s not up to him anymore.”
She leaned forward. “Are you in danger?”
I thought back to when someone had broken into my house in the middle of the night. “My aunt doesn’t think so.”
My phone pinged. Hoping it was Jordan, I looked at my phone.
Unknown number: You really shouldn’t be walking around without security
I looked around nervously, but I couldn’t see anything out of the ordinary.
Tanya noticed. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah, I’m fine. Just a bit off today.”
Selena strode back toward us with a huge smile on her face. “Mr. Harvey said you can rewrite your math exam after classes today. He’s not even going to deduct any marks off for missing the first exam.”
“What?” I cried in disbelief, before standing up and pulling her into a hard hug. “How did you manage that?”
She laughed as she hugged me back. “Sometimes the truth really does work.”
The halls wereempty when I got out of my exam, and for a moment I felt deep fear, knowing I was alone. But then, at the end of the hall, I saw Selena, sitting and reading her textbook. She stood up when she saw me.
“How did it go?”
“I think it went great.” I stared at her in amazement. “Did you wait here for me?”
She put her book into her bag. “I went home, and my sister lent me her car to come get you. Tanya and her mom are making pizza, so that’s where we’re heading for dinner.”
“Are you serious?” My heart sang at this news.
“I know what you’re going to say, and don’t worry because, yes, we’re going to swing by and kidnap Bandit on our way.”
No oneeven noticed when I dropped off my book bag, got changed and left the house with Bandit and a bag of his food. Besides the burly men in the kitchen, I wasn’t even sure anyone was home.
