I walked over to my table. I stood over the group, with my hands in my pockets. I looked down at them. They all had different expressions now. Some were worried, some cocky. A few of the people in our group were scared of me, such as Elliot Stanley, and Sean Shields. They were the weakest of us. I don't know why we even kept them around. Billy Jade and Michael Jensen were not present at that table. I would be sitting with them instead but after this.
"Let's get to it," I said. "Why the stares? Because of Angie and Regan, right?" I asked. They all glanced at each other. Martin Le whispered something to Donald Archer and kicked Kurtis Lozano under the table. I noticed it all.
"Vincent," Announced Martin. "Just because Regan did what he did doesn't mean we're all bad here, am I right?" Agreement across the table. Typical.
"Yeah," Chester Hansen said. "Monty and Jason are assholes, but we are all good here. Come on, man." I shook my head.
"None of you can be trusted. And none of you will EARN my trust." And with that, I left the table to go to my friends.
Billy never ate lunch, and Michael never bought lunch. He brought whatever he could buy on the streets and alleys. He was odd. I also never ate lunch. Waste of money, a pointless time of day. We talked for a long time, about everything. Normal things, and then serious things. Then we started on the subject of the police and the Regan situation.
"Well I'd say they aren't looking in the right places," Said Michael. "Regan wouldn't be at home, or anywhere near the site. So they need to be looking farther. Outside of Mayland. Where they aren't willing to go." I nodded
"Yeah," I started. "Especially because the police here are so good at their job."
"No, it's not that," He said. "They just could be doing MORE." Basically repeating me.
"That's what I just said." We laughed.
"But," Said Billy. "You need someone to help. Two people, specifically." He said, smiling at us.
"That's why I'm here today," I said. "I want you two to help me look for Regan. Only we would know specific places to go. Please." They both nodded.
"Of course, we're here for you always," Michael said. They both agreed.
"I have one thing to do before we go, but at the end of the day, both of you wait for me by the back sign. Where the juniors park," I said, nodding at them. I got up and left the cafeteria early. I made sure to pass my table one more time to give them a stare. They knew not to mess with me. And they wouldn't be anymore. They all still whispered, and I could give a fuck what they were talking about. None of them would be trusted anymore. None. I made sure to look at them the whole time I was walking out. I walked to my locker to get my things for my next class. On the way there I said hello to Mark Denny again in the hallway, and we talked for about a minute before leaving. I was taking a long way to my locker, going through the back downstairs area. I looked out of the two sets of double doors to see the meeting area for later with Billy and Michael. This school looked awful. The building was run down, and everyone was in bad shape. After a few minutes, I turned and left. I got to my locker and put my current things away in exchange for my flash drive.
Fourth period was graphic design. Mr. Newman led a group of twelve students including me for his honors design program. We had made it through classes and tests to be here. Only the best of the best were in this class. But with intelligence also came danger. Much danger. The people in this class were not to be crossed. You'd regret it. I wasn't afraid though. Especially since I was ONE of them. But still.
"In your seats," began Newman. He stood up from his desk as we all sat in ours. He always did this before starting class. We all gave him attention, some more than others. He studied all of us and smirked. "All of you are here because you're smarter than everyone else. Don't let the teachers tell you that no one is smarter than anyone else. Because that isn't true." We all smiled.
"Hell yeah," said Jared Cole.
"I second that," announced Kelsey Anderson. All these kids were stuck up. I was no better here, but still. Newman raised his hands to cease the conversation, and we all gave our attention again.
"All of you are smart. Intelligence will get you far in life. Always. I'm glad to be here with you today," He said. "I mean it." We all said things and congratulated each other on our accomplishments.
"Thanks, Mr. Newman." We all said. He nodded to all of us.
"Okay now," He said. "Finish the HS-3 computer designs. Get to it." We all had designated computers assigned to our names, that were purchased for us to use for anything we needed. We all had secluded cubicle-like stations, almost as if we worked in an office. I listened to others pressing the start buttons and heard the cooling fan start on all devices. I turned my own on and signed in with the given ID. The first thing I always did was check my email. These were OUR computers, not the schools. So they were not monitored in any way by anyone. Usually, it was app updates I received, sometimes messages from others, but no matter what, I always checked it. I had a hidden message in "important". I clicked on the icon, and my heart dropped.
The email address was: rvtaylor@maylandhs.com
The email address belonged to Regan Vantse.