“I have my truck,” Dustin said. “If I had a ramp, we could get them in.”
The principal pulled out her phone from her suit pocket. “I’ll check with the janitor.”
I peeked into a classroom. “This one is empty right now. Let’s get them in here.”
Celia wrangled Godfrey. Dustin had Lola, and I got Beast. Tessa bit her nail as she watched.
Once inside, I sighed. “My dad is going to have a cow, literally.”
Celia brushed her palms on her shorts. “My money is on Sloane. She’s probably getting back at you for punching her.”
That made sense, and she had lived on a farm. Therefore, she knew how to wrangle animals. But I didn’t understand how stealing my pigs and dumping them in a hallway at school would be any type of revenge. The whole charade of a senior prank was just that—a senior prank. Unless she thought I would get expelled or suspended.
At the moment, it didn’t matter who was responsible. I needed to call Daddy, and he wasn’t going to be happy.
Dustin and I managed to get the pigs back to the farm and return to school just in time for our last two classes. I’d probed him all the way to the farm, but he hadn’t seen anyone dropping pigs off at school or lighting off fireworks. I tried to remember if I’d seen anyone in the hall, but I hadn’t.
On the way back to school, I called Momma and Daddy to fill them in. Daddy was grunting and growling as Momma informed me they would be cutting their trip short. I told her not to since the pigs were okay, but I knew Daddy wouldn’t listen. The farm and the animals were our livelihood, and Daddy didn’t take kindly to anyone messing with his property.
I didn’t either. The pigs could’ve gotten hurt or killed. I adored my animals. Momma had always said not to name them. “Once you do, honey, you’re attached, and with pigs, you can’t let that happen, since we use them for food or sell them.”
She was right, although Godfrey, Beast, and Lola had been with us for a couple of years. Daddy knew I was attached. I think he spared them just for me.
Now as I sat in class, I tapped my foot on the floor at my desk, waiting impatiently for the bell to ring. The first day of school was a complete success. Not! I’d been wracking my brain on who would have pulled such a prank.
Celia was certain Sloane had a hand in it. My theory was that anyone could’ve done it. Dustin agreed with me. And Tessa? Well, her money was on me. I’d wanted to stuff a sock in her mouth. The girl wouldn’t shut up about how disgusting the pigs were. She’d almost tagged along with Dustin and me earlier, but she’d had some cheerleading thing at lunch. Thank God.
The intercom crackled in English class before a sweet lady’s voice came through. “Quinn Thompson, please report to the admin office.”
I doubted Principal Sanders was going to be that sweet. Sometimes I wondered how she put up with a school full of teenagers.
Kids peered over their shoulders at me, snickering. They probably thought I was in trouble. I didn’t see how I could be. But stranger things had happened. If anything, Daddy would give me the stink eye and then grumble about how teens had no respect for their elders or other people’s property. Plus, I could hear him say, “If we didn’t have that darn party, we might not have kids stealing pigs for their own enjoyment.”
Guilt burned like acid in my throat. I should’ve taken the hint that parties were a bad omen for me. After all, every one I’d attended so far had ended in some type of disaster. At Tessa’s holiday bash two years ago, I’d ended up in the pool during the dead of winter. Homecoming last year had resulted in Maiken getting hit by a car.
I scurried out before the throng of kids packed the halls. I was anxious to find out who I needed to yell at. Oh, I was going to rain down on someone’s parade.
As mad as I was, the others in school seemed to be enjoying the video that had gone viral of Beast pushing out his snout and holding the blond girl hostage.
I’d heard one boy in passing say, “This year is going to be wild.”
Not in my book. I just prayed tomorrow would be better than today. Then again, without Maiken at school or living in town, my life sucked.
I wound my way down three halls before opening the glass door into the admin office.
Ms. Hobbs, the principal’s new assistant, lifted her head from her computer. “Have a seat, Ms. Thompson. Principal Sanders is in with someone at the moment.” Then she set her glasses on her long nose and went back to her computer screen.
I slid my backpack off my shoulder and sat down in one of four wooden chairs. “She’s not in with my parents by any chance?”
Ms. Hobbs peeked around her computer, her blue gaze landing on me. “No. Students.”
The clock on the wall read three thirty. Momma and Daddy should be home by now. I took my phone out of the back pocket of my shorts and sent Momma a text.
Me: Are you and Daddy back yet?
Momma: We are. The pigs are fine. All the animals are good.
Me: Great. I’m waiting to talk to the principal to find out who did this.
Momma: I hope she tells you. Your father is furious. He’s talking about pressing charges.
I wasn’t surprised. I took in a deep breath just the same. I was all for making sure whoever was responsible paid for his actions, yet I couldn’t help but feel a pang of pity for that person.
The door opened to Principal Sanders’s office.
Me: Gotta go. Celia is giving me a ride home.
Oh crap. I forgot to remind Celia to wait for me. I quickly sent her a text, and just as I hit send, Sloane Price’s voice filtered out before she did.
I lifted my head as my phone fell to the floor. I had yet to see her in school. I’d thought maybe Celia had her rumor all wrong.
Sloane’s white-blond hair had grown out and down to her shoulders, and her silver-studded nose ring shined beneath the overhead light. She was glancing over her shoulder. “Yes, ma’am.” Her voice was light, sweet, and anything but snippy and condescending, which was her usual MO. “Trevor, come on. We’re late.” Then she pivoted on her heel and locked eyes with me.
If she had any bruises from where I’d punched her over a month ago, they were long gone.
I snagged my phone before I rose, leaving my bag on the floor. “Are you responsible for the senior prank with my pigs?”
One side of her red lips ticked up as a boy two heads taller than Sloane came up behind her. His emerald eyes and shaggy hair told me he was the boy Celia had described to me that morning. He looked at me as though he’d found a new puppy.
My intuition was telling me to stay as far away from him as possible. He had one of those grins that was downright evil. I swallowed thickly, wishing upon a star that Maiken was at my side. I wasn’t a coward, but the boy gave me the creeps. Sure, he was off-the-charts gorgeous, but that didn’t mean squat.
He pushed past his sister, practically throwing her to the side, and strutted the short distance over to me. “You must be Quinn Thompson. I barely remember seeing you at your party. Shame. I would have danced the night away with you.”
I giggled for nothing more than to do something with my nervous energy. I knew if I opened my mouth, I would stutter, and no way was I about to do that. That boy was a bully, or as Granny would say, a piece of work.