The house phone rings again. Then my room phone. Then my cellphone.
I stare at them, watching each screen light up in sync.
'I am obviously not picking any of these'.
I tell myself, arms crossed as the ringing continues.
A soft knock interrupts my thoughts. It's Mrs. May.
She steps in gently, her presence calm yet unsettling.
She sits beside me on the bed, and for a moment, I just stare at her. This is new. She's never done this before.
Her face is unreadable, yet I see it in her eyes, the heaviness, the words she won't say.
'She's worked for them for years' .
Mom had told me. 'Even when they had their son. She's seen it all'.
Sometimes I wonder if she has a family of her own.
"I heard what happened at school," she finally says, looking at me like a lost puppy.
I say nothing.
I keep my eyes on my fingers, playing with them as she continues.
"She acts like she doesn't see anything."
"And from what Mrs Edwina told me, she says it's all connected to that boy" .
Mrs May leans back slightly as she says this.
'That boy?'
I can let a lot of things slide, but calling Dan that? Never.
"And how does me fighting with a girl have anything to do with Dan?".
I snap, making sure she hears his name properly.
Mrs. May's expression sharpens. "Then say something about what happened."
"What's the point?" I stand abruptly, throwing my arms out in frustration.
"I've been suspended, Talking about it won't change anything."
Mrs May watches me for a long moment, then sighs. "Yes, it would. It would mean a lot to me, to your parents, and most importantly to yourself."
"My parents?" I laugh bitterly.
"You mean the ones who agreed with the principal about my suspension?"
She doesn't flinch. "You're not saying anything, Helen. Something is eating you up. You need to speak up."
Her voice rising slightly, but it's not anger. It's urgency.
Her words hit deeper than I expect. My throat tightens. I can feel the tears coming, but I am tired of crying. Tired of wetting my pillows every night.
"But how could you say that, Mrs. May?" My voice cracks. She of all people knew what was going on in this house.
She looks away, her silence heavy. Then she spreads her arms, waiting, Like always to coil into her embrace.
"I know," she says softly.
"But it's not easy on your parents either. You don't know all of—"
"All of what?" I cut her off.
"Don't justify what they're doing. I'm also a child, for goodness sake!"
The tears finally spill.
Mrs. May rises and pulls me into a hug. I stand there, crying into her arms, my body shaking from the weight of everything I've been holding in.
"Why does everyone expect so much from me?" I whisper, my voice barely there.
She says nothing. She just holds me.
"I need my parents too,".
I snort, the words tumbling out with my tears.
"I know," she murmurs. "I'm sure you do."
After a while, I begin to feel lighter. She guides me back to bed, tucks me in, placing the pillow just right.
Memories flood in of Mom doing the same thing every night,
Dad kissing my forehead, telling me I was the best thing in their lives.
I shake my head slightly, trying to push them away.
Mrs May stays on the couch nearby. I turn my face away, and turning my back to her as I pretend to be asleep.
"I hate that she's the one parenting me. This is too much on her."
I check my phone. Nothing from Dan. Just messages from my parents and Selena.
I open Selena's text. "Heard you got suspended".
"Yeah, I got suspended,". I type back.
"That's so harsh, but Sabrina started it," she replies instantly.
I pause, I mean she knows the details, I just know that am no longer useable, so suspending me was them letting me know I am disposable.
"But how are you, though?" Selena text again,
I stare at the screen for a moment before replying.
"Honestly? I feel all over the place."
"Yeah. I'll miss you, though. Can I come check up on you one of these days?"
"Yeah." I smile slightly. It's been a while since she came over, and certainly that was my fault. I always choose to be with Dan.
Mrs. May calls out to me , saying she'll order pizza and that I should take a proper rest.
I turn my face to her and watch she disappears into her room.
I refresh my chats with Dan. Over and over.
'Didn't he hear I was suspended?'
I become Frustrated, I begin to type.
"I got suspended.". I hit send, expecting a response immediately.
I got nothing.
I refresh again, It must be a network issue.
I throw my phone onto the bed in anger. Just as I do, a ping comes in .
I grab it quickly. Thinking it was from Dan
My hopes drops, it was not him.
"I have Dom here, asking if he can get your number. He said he was assigned to tutor you at home." It's from Selena. She adds a crying emoji.
I roll my eyes. She could just have Dom if she wanted him that bad.
But something feels off.
"I need to check in with Dan about this tutoring thing. It feels like the right thing to do."
I text Dan again. Still no response.
My frustration heightens.
I text Selena. "Can you tell me if Dan is in school?"
"Yes, he is and I don't think you'd like to know what he's been doing."
I frown. What does that mean?
"What's he doing?" I type quickly.
"He's been all over Sabrina. I don't know what it is between those two, but they're up to something." Selena reaponds
My grip tightens around my phone.
"All over her?"
A fresh wave of anger washes over me.
"Since he wants to be petty, let's be petty."
I type back angrily. "Give Dom my number."
Selena sends a dancing emoji. I roll my eyes again
I feel the hunger creeping in, I haven't eaten since the suspension.
I drag myself downstairs to ask Mrs. May to order the pizza.
As I reach the bottom of the stairs, I hear her whispering.
I recognize her tone, it's urgent, very low, and she sounds worried.
I strain to listen.
"What? Are you sure Dan's parents kidnapped him?" she asks, baffled.
I freeze. 'What did I stumble into?'.
"A camera? There was one?".
She nods this time, listening to the other person.
"Dan's parents? Mr. and Mrs. Bonfire? Kidnapping? What the hell is going on?"
I inch closer, trying to hear more.
But she notices me.
Her voice shifts instantly. "Yeah, Helen is downstairs now.". She turns to me and forces a small smile.
"What did they say?" I ask suspiciously,
She picks up her phone and shrugs.
"They mentioned someone coming over to tutor you."
I narrow my eyes. "No, I mean what did they really say?"
'Ifshe has nothing to hide, she'll tell me right?'.
"I don't understand what you mean," Mrs. May says, picking up her phone from the kitchen table where she had left it. She starts typing, deliberately avoiding my gaze.
"Do you want extra cheese?" she asks casually, but I know she's trying to change the subject.
My phone vibrates in my pocket. I snatch it out quickly, hoping and praying
it's from Dan.
It's not.
"Hi Helen, it's Dom". I don't how but I think, I read the message in Dom's voice, especially the way he pronounces Helen.
I am about to respond, when I get his message,
"Mrs Edwina wanted me to tutor you , So I was wondering what course would you like us to start with?" .
His message chimes in immediately following the first one.
I stare at the message,
I am hesitating. I go back to Dan's message, I refresh, nothing yet from him.
With everything I just overheard about Dan's parents, I don't know if I even care about these lessons.
But then a thought creeps in.
'Maybe I can get answers from him'.
"Let's start with science courses," I type back, slipping my phone into my pocket.
" Which one in particular ?". Dom's message comes in again.
" Let's start with Physics". I respond back
I turn to Mrs May, my voice steady.
"Order the pizza for two and yes I would like extra cheese on mine, on the other one, just normal".
Mrs May looks at me confused, "Pizza for two?". I hear her say.
"The tutor,my parents and the principal picked for me will be coming over anytime soon". I say to her,
Without waiting for a response, I head back to my room, my mind spinning with too many questions and too few answers, that I didn't even freshen up and get prepared for the tutoring.