The Agent and The School Teacher

Chapter Two: Unsub

"I think he deserved it."

Sadie and Charlotte giggled in the back seat while I talked to my Mom through my Bluetooth. 

"Regardless of if he deserved it, I shouldn't have lost my temper with a parent. It was extremely unprofessional." 

"There's nothing wrong with defending yourself, Liz. Screw professionalism, he had no right to say that. And to assume that you're single!"

"To be fair, I am single."

"That's beside the point. If your father ever profiled me like that I'd slap him silly."

"I don't doubt it."

"Hey mom?" Charlotte called.

"Just the audacity of him-"

"Mom?"

"-talk to you like that. His son's teacher-"

"Mommy."

"-if I were in your position-"

"Mom-"

"What?!" I exclaimed, looking in my mirror at Charlotte. She shrank back into her seat. I sighed. "I'm sorry, Baby. It's just, I'm on the phone with Grandma. Hold on a second, Mom. What do you need, Charlotte."

"Never mind." She hung her head before looking out the window.

"No, honey, just tell me. I'm sorry I yelled at you." She looked at me now.

"Well, I was just wondering if...since tomorrow's Saturday...if we could go get ice cream and then...go to the park?' I smiled.

"Tell you what. How about we have a picnic in the park and then we get ice cream after lunch. How does that sound?"

"Yeah!" The girls shouted together. I laughed.

"Oh, I gotta go. May is callin' on the other line. Probably to complain about the gosh dang Petunias. May, for cryin' out loud I haven't done anything to your freaking-"

"Still me, Mom."

"Stupid cell phones and their-" She hung up and I took the Bluetooth out of my ear.

"Can we make lemonade too?" Sadie asked.

"Whatever you girls want, within reason that is." Sadie clapped and Charlotte giggled.

~~~

The girls sat on the couch watching Shrek while I sat at the kitchen table going through my mail. I pushed a bill to the back of the pile to find a light blue flier.

North Valley High School

Ten Year Reunion

Victims Memorial/Candlelight Vigil will be held in memory of the students who lost their lives.

Always Remember.

I shook my head. It's next weekend, and I had no interest in going. The top ten would want me there. They'd want to call me 'their leader'. The face of the survivors that the world knows, but...I didn't deserve to be up there with them. I didn't survive...I was spared. There's a difference. Not only was I spared...I should have seen it. Dad had told me about all kinds of cases, honed my deductive skills, I should have seen the signs, but...I didn't. And 13 people died because of it. I put the mail down, feeling my headache coming back.

~~~

I was up bright and early the next morning, working on packing the picnic basket. Sadie and Charlotte were running around, gathering up things they wanted to take. Sadie had a stuffed rabbit that she never went anywhere without and Charlotte wanted to bring one of her books to read on the swing set.