"Nothing," I replied quickly. "Just guy stuff. Nothing to worry about."
She looked me up and down until her gaze settled on Oliver's phone clutched in my hands.
"It appears you were fighting over the phone, which I find completely unacceptable in my classroom. Hand it over."
"Teacher, it won't happen again. I don't think we need to take it that far."
"Hand it over. This isn't a negotiation."
I reluctantly passed the phone to her, making sure it was locked.
She practically snatched it from my hands and turned to address the class. "Everyone, sit down. We're starting today's lesson with page 158 of your textbook."
Oliver shot me one last look of pure disappointment and rage. I felt like I was having a complete meltdown.
I had to get that phone back before disaster struck.
When class ended, I remained in my seat until everyone else left. I hadn't heard a single word the teacher had said for the past two hours, my mind racing with ways to convince her to return Oliver's phone without appearing suspicious.
"I assume you're still here hoping to get the phone back," Florence said, settling at her desk and looking directly at me.
Recognizing this as my chance to talk, I stood up and walked forward, taking one of the chairs across from her desk. "You are the smartest one of us."
She laughed. "And you think you're going to get it back with that kind of flattery?"
I needed to be strategic here. Florence held all the cards, and I was running out of time before something irreversible happened. "Not with flattery, but maybe with a good explanation."
"I'm listening," she replied, clearly amused, crossing her arms.
"The phone Oliver and I were fighting over isn't mine; it's his."
"So you're telling me I should give it to him instead?"
"Actually, no. There's a recording on that phone of something no one should see, and that's why we were fighting over it."
"This is all very vague. It makes me think the phone is safer in my possession."
I had to be more direct without revealing too much. "Maybe, but if you don’t know what’s on it, how can you know what you’re protecting people from?"
"And what makes you think I don't know?"
I considered my next words carefully. She couldn't know anything concrete; this was probably her way of extracting information from me. "It doesn't matter what you know. What matters is that you understand there's something extremely sensitive on that phone."
"Such as?"
"Something that could destroy two people's lives if it gets out. And I just want to prevent that from happening."
She looked at me like I had just revealed something important to her. "And why should I trust you with it? How do I know you don't want the phone so you can be the one doing the threatening?"
That question was difficult to answer, but I managed to come up with something. "Because everyone I care about would be hurt if this comes to light. All I want is to delete it so everything can stay the same."
"Why would you want something like that?" She looked genuinely puzzled, as if my motives didn't make sense to her.
I leaned forward, trying to convey the urgency I felt. "Because some things are better kept private until the people involved are ready to share them on their own terms. And that decision doesn't belong to Oliver."
She stood up and walked over to me, then unexpectedly took my hand. The gesture caught me entirely off guard.What is she doing?
"You really have matured, Kyle. I wasn't wrong when I observed you at the hospital. I'm proud of the man you're becoming."
