Chapter 2 - Why Mason Was Awake
Mason sat in the school nurse’s office with a cold pack resting over his hand.
Jamal sat three chairs away.
Neither spoke.
The nurse had asked Jamal why he was there.
He answered:
“Because I was standing next to him.”
The nurse had not understood.
Mason did.
Jamal had watched everything.
And guilt had followed him out of the classroom.
“You didn't do anything,” Mason said finally.
Jamal looked up.
“She didn't hit me.”
“That isn't your fault.”
“She should've punished both of us.”
Mason stared at him.
“That’s a weird way to make me feel better.”
Jamal almost smiled.
Then the door opened.
Principal Denise Holloway entered.
She was followed by Assistant Principal Gregory Shaw.
Principal Holloway looked concerned.
Shaw looked irritated.
“Mason,” Holloway said, “we understand there was an incident.”
Jamal muttered:
“An incident?”
Shaw looked at him.
“You can return to class.”
“No.”
“Excuse me?”
Jamal sat straighter.
“I saw it.”
Shaw’s eyes narrowed.
“We’ll speak to witnesses separately.”
“I’m staying until his dad gets here.”
Mason looked at him.
Something warm broke through the fear.
Principal Holloway did not argue.
She asked Mason:
“Did Mrs. Whitmore strike your hand?”
Mason hesitated.
“I heard the ruler.”
“That wasn't my question.”
“It hurt.”
Holloway nodded.
Shaw interrupted.
“Mrs. Whitmore says there was no physical contact.”
Jamal stared at him.
“She hit him three times.”
“Mister Brooks—”
“She didn't touch me.”
The room became quiet.
Shaw glanced at Holloway.
Mason noticed.
Why was that detail uncomfortable?
Principal Holloway asked:
“Why were you boys standing in front of the room?”
“We fell asleep.”
“Both?”
Jamal nodded.
“Both.”
“And Mrs. Whitmore disciplined only Mason?”
“Yes.”
Shaw wrote something.
Mason couldn't see what.
Principal Holloway asked him why he had fallen asleep.
Mason swallowed.
“My dad’s in the hospital.”
“Is he seriously ill?”
“He had heart surgery.”
Holloway’s expression softened.
Shaw’s did not.
“Did the school know?”
Mason looked down.
“I told Mrs. Whitmore yesterday.”
Principal Holloway turned toward Shaw.
“You knew Richard Reed was hospitalized?”
Shaw shrugged.
“I heard something.”
Holloway’s face changed.
Not dramatically.
But Mason noticed.
She knew his father.
Everyone at Westbridge did.
Richard Reed’s company had donated computers, renovated the science lab, and funded the Reed Opportunity Scholarship.
Mason hated that sometimes.
He wanted teachers to see him as Mason.
Not Richard Reed’s son.
The nurse returned with Mason’s backpack.
His phone was inside.
Three missed calls from Emma.
One message.
I sent the video to your dad.
Mason’s stomach dropped.
His father had just undergone surgery.
He didn’t need this.
Mason typed:
Why?!
Emma replied:
Because she knew exactly what she was doing.
Before Mason could ask what that meant, Principal Holloway’s phone rang.
She answered.
Her expression changed immediately.
“Yes, Mr. Reed.”
Mason froze.
His father.
“No, please stay at the hospital.”
Pause.
“We’re addressing it.”
Another pause.
“I understand.”
Principal Holloway looked toward Shaw.
Her face became tense.
“Yes. We will preserve the footage and records.”
Mason watched Shaw’s eyes sharpen.
“What records?” he whispered.
Holloway held up one finger.
Then Richard apparently said something else.
Holloway stopped walking.
“I’m sorry. What fund?”
Shaw became completely still.
That was the moment Mason knew his father's call was about more than him.
Principal Holloway ended the conversation several minutes later.
Then she looked at Shaw.
“Richard Reed says his auditors found irregularities in the Westbridge Educational Advancement Fund.”
Shaw said nothing.
“He says Patricia Whitmore’s name appears on reimbursement approvals.”
Mason stared.
Mrs. Whitmore.
Money?
“What does that have to do with me?”
Nobody answered.
Shaw finally said:
“Richard Reed is heavily medicated.”
Mason stood.
“Don't talk about my dad like that.”
“Mason.”
“He just had surgery.”
Principal Holloway touched Mason’s shoulder gently.
“Sit down.”
Mason did.
She turned toward Shaw.
“Did you know about an audit?”
“No.”
The answer came too quickly.
Holloway noticed.
So did Jamal.
Jamal whispered:
“He's lying.”
Shaw’s face hardened.
“What did you say?”
Jamal looked directly at him.
“You knew.”
“How would you know?”
Jamal’s hands began trembling.
Because Jamal knew something nobody else in that room knew.
Three days earlier, he had gone back to Mrs. Whitmore’s classroom to retrieve a forgotten notebook.
Mrs. Whitmore and Shaw had been inside.
The door was partially open.
Jamal heard Mrs. Whitmore say:
Richard Reed needs to stop digging before he makes life difficult for his own family.
At the time, Jamal didn't understand.
Now he did.
His face drained of color.
Mason saw it.
“What?”
Jamal looked toward Shaw.
Then Principal Holloway.
“I heard them talking about Mason’s dad.”
Shaw stood.
“That's enough.”
“No,” Holloway said.
The assistant principal froze.
Holloway looked at Jamal.
“What exactly did you hear?”
Jamal swallowed.
Then repeated the sentence.
The nurse stopped moving.
Mason felt cold.
His father’s hospitalization.
The audit.
Mrs. Whitmore.
And now him.
This was no longer punishment.
May you like
It was a message.
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