Mother of Darkwaters: Book one of the Vessel series (36 page)

   The nurse looks at Tamara, “Even if that means missing school.”

   The woman's eyes move to Rebecca, “Or faking a doctor's excuse.”

   Ms. Davis stops Rebecca from responding, “I've been on to you since the ninth grade, Ms. Hindsworth. But this isn't about that.”

   “Ms. Stilliard,” the nurse turns her attention to the first chair on her left, “Are you okay? I heard you went through a scary ordeal trying to protect Ms. EvéMari from her attackers.”

  “Uh-yes,” Tamara tries not to give up the shock within her voice, “I'm fine. I'm just glad she's alright.”

   Ms. Davis nods. She pauses with a sigh.

   “I really wish you ladies would have called the police. But I understand why you didn't. Dragging Ms. EvéMari through any more unnecessary stress is pointless.”

   “It's a shame you didn't pull off one of their ski masks,” the nurse directs her focus onto Tamara, “They need to go to jail for this.”

   “Sorry,” Tamara answers, “I just wanted to get us away from them. I lost the element of surprise. I wasn't sure I could handle it when they expected it.”

   “No. Don't apologize, Ms. Stilliard,” the nurse counters, “I'm only glad you're both safe and that you were driving by the park when you did. God only knows what could have happened.”

   “Ms. Hammond,” Ms. Davis moves her eyes to the next chair by Tamara, “What you did for this young lady is remarkable.”

   Jennifer stares blankly – her high seriously being compromised.

   “Ms. EvéMari says you made sure Ms. Stilliard had everything she needed to help nurse her back to health. And that without you she might have died.”

   The nurse pauses for a brief moment before continuing, “Why you girls didn't take her to the hospital has me a little concerned. But I can honestly say that I wouldn't have known how to handle a situation of this magnitude at your age either. But next time – God forbid – if something like this ever occurs to any one of you again, make
sure
you contact the police and the hospital. We have them for a reason.”

   The four cheerleaders nod in agreement.

   “We're supposed to report any signs of abuse,” the nurse explains, “But under the circumstances, there's no one to point a finger at. So I'm not going to involve any of you directly. But I did call in a hotline tip concerning the attackers. The police need to be on the lookout for these horrible people.”

   “Ms. Reynolds,” the nurse looks at Caroline, “Thank you for offering to pay for counseling where your mother works. But that won't be necessary. I will set up a victim's fund for Ms. EvéMari. It's anonymous. She'll be able to pay for it. And if any of you ever just want to talk, my door is always open to you.”

   Ms. Davis glances back to Rebecca, “Ms. Hindsworth. No more fake excuses. I'm tired of signing off on them.”

   “I won't Ms. Davis,” Rebecca answers, “I'm done with that.”

   “Make sure you are,” Ms. Davis clarifies. She glances over at Mandie before returning her gaze back to the cheerleaders.

   “Ms. EvéMari has told me you girls would feel uncomfortable with a public commemoration in your honor,” the nurse explains, “But I told her she didn't understand cheerleaders.”

   “Excuse me, Ms. Davis?”, Tamara asks for permission to speak.

   “Yes, Ms. Stilliard,” the nurse gives consent.

   “You're right about the cheerleader part. But not about this. We don't want the rest of the student body to hear about it. It's none of their business.”

   “And she said you would say something like that,” Ms. Davis informs. “And when I asked Ms. EvéMari how we should thank you four ladies, she mentioned we should give you control over the senior activities this year.”

   “I have to admit,” the nurse continues, “I'm not opposed to the idea. But only if you ladies promise to take the responsibility as serious as you did with this situation. No illegal stuff. And Mr. Donovan must be willing to write off on it; since, this is his department.”

   The man looks up from his computer, “The school board won't allow me to legally hand over the reins like that. But your efforts should be rewarded. I believe you can be trusted with this kind of responsibility.”

   The man points his right index finger at the four girls sitting in front of his desk, “If you can promise me that you will not try to sanction an event with drugs and alcohol in mind, I will promise to approve every event you put on my desk without any questions.”

   Mr. Donovan folds his hands upon his desk, “Do we have a deal?”

   “Yes,” Rebecca excitedly answers.

   “You ladies need to stay clear of parks unless you're together,” Ms. Davis instructs.

   “We will,” Rebecca answers for her squad.

   “Unless you ladies have any more questions, you're free to go,” Ms. Davis dismisses them all.

    The five seniors exit Mr. Donovan's office together. They make a left and turn right down the next hall. Rebecca spins around and forcefully shoves her right index finger into Mandie's chest. The sore girl grunts.

   “Bathroom. Now,” Rebecca orders.

   Mandie nods in obedience. She follows the S.V.C. down the hall, to the left into the next hall, and into the bathroom found on the hall's left side.

   “S.V.C.,” Rebecca loudly announces, “Get out.”

   Two sophomore girls stop checking their faces in the mirror and quickly rush out of the bathroom. Jennifer posts up by the door.

   “What was that?”, Rebecca speaks through gritted teeth, “What are you doing?”

   “I'm sorry, Rebecca,” Mandie calmly answers, “I should have asked you guys first.”

   Rebecca pushes on Mandie's chest and walks the new girl backwards until her back slams against the far wall.

    “What are you trying to prove?”, Rebecca questions threateningly, “What's your gain?”

   “I have nothing to gain, but your respect,” Mandie explains.

   “Ha-ha,” Rebecca laughs mockingly, “You're a Tamara's Submissive.

   Rebecca pushes hard on Mandie's lower lip causing it to split back open. The girl winces as the blood drips down her chin, but refuses to show any fear.

   “There's no respect for you to gain,” Rebecca declares.

   “I think what she did was great,” Jennifer calls out from across the room, “It was better than what we were...”

   “Shut up!”, Rebecca orders, “Are you
trying
to get us into trouble?”

   “Jennifer's right,” Tamara sides with her bff.

   Rebecca spins around in anger. But whenever she sees Tamara's
dare you to cross this line
expression, Rebecca calms her demeanor.

   “What she did isn't right,” Rebecca proves her point, “We were blind-sided in there.”

  “You must admit, Becca,” Tamara counters, “What she did was masterful. It got the job done. And she did it without blackmail.”

   “Dammit!”, Rebecca snaps, “Why don't you all just tell her everything?”

   Tamara's left brow lifts slightly. If she understands Mandie, the girl already knows everything. She knew about Jennifer bringing the supplies so she could clean the mess up while Mandie slept. And Tamara didn't mention anything about it.

   Tamara grins devilishly at Rebecca.

   “No don't,” Rebecca sounds more desperate than demanding.

   Tamara looks over at Mandie. The girl is allowing the blood to drip freely from her chin.

   “Becca and Jenny have a video of Ms. Davis and Mr. Donovan making out. And Mr. Donovan's married. We were going to use it to frame him into giving us control over senior activities,” Tamara busts out her friends.

   “I can't believe this,” Rebecca objects.

   Tamara gives a warning look to her captain before returning her attention on Mandie.

   “Anyway, part of
that
plan meant that I would have to go on a date with a geekoid named David Snow in order to pull it off.”

   Caroline stands near Jennifer. She shifts her weight from her right foot to her left. Mandie unnerves her. But for the life of her, she can't figure out why. The girl doesn't act suspicious and isn't a threat. Overall, the girl seems to be gentle in nature. But being around her is like standing on the edge of a pool filled with snakes and scorpions. The fear welling up within Caroline is unsettling. And it seems to only happen when the new girl is around. But then again, Caroline hasn't been away from her that much this morning either. It could just be her imagination. A connection made which isn't there.

   “Rebecca's usually the one who plans these kinds of things,” Caroline forces her fear down while setting her bff out.

   “I'm sorry,” Mandie responds while looking at the angry captain, “I didn't mean to ruin your plans.”

   “You didn't ruin anything,” Tamara jumps in, “I sure didn't want to go on that ridiculous date.”

   Tamara's head retreats as her mind cycles over what she just said. She gazes into Mandie's green eyes with a new admiration.

   “Are we making her the varsity captain, too?”, Rebecca dramatizes.

   “Calm down, Becca,” Caroline coaches, “No one's trying to replace you. But there's nothing wrong with making new friends either.”

   “And since when do we make friends with a Tamara's Submissive?”, Rebecca points out an obvious fact.

   Jennifer rolls her eyes and walks across the bathroom floor. She winks at her bff, Tamara, as she walks by. The tall cheerleader closes the remaining distance between her and Mandie.  Caroline follows Jennifer's lead. But unlike her friend, her mind screams to run.  

   “Hi,” Jennifer offers her right hand, “I'm Jennifer”

   “Mandie,” the girl greets nervously. She shakes Jennifer's hand once before letting go.

  Caroline holds her hand out as Jennifer steps out of the way. It feels like she has just asked someone to cut her hand off at the wrist.

   “Hi. I'm Caroline.”

    “Nice to meet you” , Mandie nods while reaching out to take Caroline's hand.

   “Ow!”, Caroline yells out, “What was that?”

   Mandie glances at Tamara with confused eyes. She looks back to Caroline.

   “It felt like you shocked me,” Caroline explains while rubbing on her right hand.

   “I-I...”, Mandie stammers around her words.

   “She didn't touch you,” Rebecca informs.

   “Yes she did,” Caroline argues, “I felt it.”  

   “No she didn't,” Jennifer supports Rebecca's observation.

   “Certain medications can cause parts of your body to fall asleep,” Rebecca informs, “It might be that.”

   “It's not my Valium,” Caroline disagrees with her bff's assessment.

   “Valium?”, Jennifer questions, “How much do you have?” Jennifer sees Rebecca and Tamara give each other glances.

   “What are you two looking like that for?”, Jennifer defends, “I meant how much did she take?”

   “What was prescribed,” Caroline answers.

   “Side effects?”, Mandie makes an attempt to become part of their conversation.

   “Maybe,” Caroline answers before opening her purse. She reaches in and grabs her phone, “I need to call my mom.”

   Caroline walks towards the door. She pauses and turns around.

   “It was nice meeting you, Mandie,” Caroline finishes with her greeting.

   “You, too,” Mandie answers, “Sorry about your hand.”

   “Not your fault,” Caroline says before turning to face the door. She pulls on it and exits into the hallway.

   “We need to get to class,” Jennifer states the obvious. She gives a cold stare to Rebecca.

   “Whatever,” Rebecca concedes to Jennifer's threat.

   Rebecca walks over and holds out her hand to Mandie.

   “Just make sure to run your plans by us first from now on. We don't do that to each other.”

   Rebecca pauses, “But it
was
a good plan.”

   “Thanks,” Mandie is barely able to shake Rebecca's hand before the blond pulls her hand back. The captain turns and faces Tamara.

   “You know you have to release her now. Friends can't be one of your Submissives,” Rebecca orders.

   “Yes, captain,” Tamara submits to Rebecca's authority in the matter.

   Rebecca walks past Tamara and heads to the sink with the long mirror above it. She double-checks her face and hair. Jennifer watches her bff as Tamara closes the distance to Mandie.

   Tamara holds out her hand, “Hi.”

   “Hi,” Mandie greets with her offered hand. Her body heats up as her small hand slips into Tamara's familiar larger palm. Jennifer smirks when she sees Tamara's eyes agree with the contact.

   “You're no longer aloud to park in the back row. The front row's for S.V.C. only,” Tamara does her best to sound legit.

   Mandie removes her hand suddenly. Tamara turns around and sees Rebecca staring.

   “Are we good?”

   “We're good,” Tamara nods to her captain.

   Tamara follows Rebecca towards the bathroom door.

   “You need to go shopping, Mandie,” Rebecca announces while walking, “Tamara can explain it to you.”

   “Okay,” Mandie agrees while she watches the two girls disappear into the hallway.

   Jennifer walks up to Mandie with a new wet-wipe.

   “Here. For your lip.”

   “Thanks,” Mandie takes the wipe and puts it to her lip while walking closer to the mirror.

   “Don't mention it,” Jennifer turns and finds her own way out of the bathroom. Not long afterwards, Mandie exits into the busy hall full of last minute students rushing to class.

  
Can we talk?
, Tamara reads the words written on the top left corner of Jason's notepad.

She looks at her boyfriend and smiles. The boy's returning smile seems forced. Tamara writes on her notepad and slides it to the edge of her desk.

  
Problem?
, Jason reads the words meant for his eyes only. He shakes his head and then smiles. Tamara gives him a knowing stare. She can see through his fake facade. He puts pencil to paper and pushes his notepad to the desk's left edge.

  
Talk at lunch
, Tamara reads Jason's words. She agrees with a nod. Her boyfriend immediately ignores her and turns his attention towards the teacher. An action he has never done before. Tamara's brows narrow.