“Apparently,” I agreed. “How about some ice cream?”
“Yes, please,” Ruby Sage said.
“Really?” I asked. “We’re just going to ignore the chemistry teacher’s name?”
“No one teases Mrs. Dubey about her last name,” she said.
“Why not?” I asked. Dubey seemed like an open target for teenagers.
“Because we have a teacher named Mrs. Kiefer.”
“Oooh,” we collectively said.
“Yep,” Ruby Sage nodded. “Kiefer the Queefer.”
18
PRESLEY
After the incident with the former detective, my hope for a few days of calm and normalcy vanished when my daughter called during her lunch period two days later. She rarely, if ever, called me during the school day, so I immediately assumed something was wrong.
“Mom,” she cried as soon as I answered. “There was a fight at school.”
A fight.Not a shooting.
“Are you okay?”
“Yes,” she sniffled. “But Ms. Manning isn’t.”
“Tell me what happened.”
“Two guys started yelling in the cafeteria and a crowd formed. Ms. Manning was trying to get the crowd to move along while other teachers broke up the fight. I couldn’t see what happened, but one of the guys fell on top of Ms. Manning. When he got up, she didn’t. Kaeli and I tried to help, but they made everyone leave the cafeteria. I don’t know how badly she’s hurt, but they took her away in an ambulance. Can you be her nurse?”
“I can try. If not, I’ll definitely check on her, but you know I won’t be able to tell you anything,” I reminded her.
“I know, but I’d feel better if you’re the one taking care of her.”
“On that note, I need to call Ink and tell him what happened before she is my patient. Are you sure you’re okay?”
“I’m fine. I’m just really worried about her. The guy who fell on her is huge, and Ms. Manning is tiny.”
“All right. Call me back if anything changes. I love you.”
“Love you, too. Thanks, Mom.”
As soon as she ended the call, I found Ink’s name and tapped the screen. When he answered, I heard the noise from the garage in the background and knew he didn’t know about the fight. If he had, he would have been on his way to the hospital.
“I don’t have a lot of time, and I don’t know any details, but Ariel just called to tell me there was a fight at the high school, and your mother got hurt. Ariel said she left in an ambulance. I assume they're bringing her here, but I don’t know that for sure.”
“Fuck,” he swore. “I’m leaving now. Can you be her nurse?”
“If that’s okay with you and her, I can ask.” Technically, she wasn’t family, and I didn’t know her. I knew her son. So, there wasn’t exactly a conflict of interest.
“It’s fine with me, and I’m sure it will be with her, too.”
“I’ll see what I can do.”
“Thanks. I’ll be there soon.”
