Sally Singletary's Curiosity (The Sally Singletary Book 1) (8 page)

“If they start hacking the server, there’s nothing I can do without Daniel’s help,” Yasif added.

“Server?” Jake asked.

Yasif clarified, “The Hi-Li server. It runs everything about our school news site. Daniel was the one who programmed it. I’m nowhere near as good as he is.”

“I think I can help you with that.” Jake’s gaze flicked back and forth between them.

Sally turned to Yasif. He shrugged. “You’d be willing to help?”

“It’s the least I can do,” Jake stated. “After what I did to…” He trailed off.

“We need to get back to the school. Yaz, when’s the next bus?”

“Morning.”

Sally sighed. “That’s too late. We can’t wait that long.”

“What other choice do we have?” Yasif asked.

“I can take you.” Jake seemed to have stopped breathing as if his entire life hinged on their next response.

“You have a car?” Sally asked, not certain if it was a good idea even if he did.

“Don’t sound so surprised.” Jake crossed his arms.

“I just didn’t expect…” She stopped herself. “We’d be grateful if you could give us a lift.”

“It’s not the prettiest thing in the world, but it’ll get us where you need to go.”

Yasif turned to Sally. “Can I talk to you for a sec?” He motioned toward the bathroom for privacy.

Sally followed him. “I know what you’re going to say. I’m sorry about what I said earlier. I feel really bad.”

“It’s not that.” Yasif looked directly into her eyes. “I just wanted you to know something. What I said earlier…”

Tension rose as she realized what he was about to say. He was going to do this now?

“It’s just that…” Yasif grabbed nervously at the sides of his pants, his gaze shifting around the bathroom. “Is there something going on between us?” He said the words quickly.

Boom! There it was. Her instincts were spot on. She just wished he could have picked a better time. “Yaz…” she started, but her voice caught in her throat.

She should just tell him they were friends, that with graduation approaching they should keep things professional. It made so much sense, but she couldn’t bring herself to let him down.

A reddish hue fell over Yasif’s face as words started spilling from his mouth. “I’ve just always wondered, and I’ve kept my feelings to myself for so long because I was too afraid to ever say anything to you before because you’ve always seemed distant toward me when it came to anything more than friendship so I figured that you weren’t interested and I felt like if I didn’t tell you now that I never would and I just needed…”

“Yaz!” she snapped, probably a bit more harshly than she had meant. “Calm down. What exactly are you saying?” She didn’t really need the clarification, but she needed time to think, time to put her words together into something he’d understand.

Their gazes met for a moment. “I really like you, Sal, and I want us to be more than friends.”

She took a deep breath, but still the words didn’t come. Why was this so difficult? Usually, she had no trouble speaking her mind. Every time a sentence formed, though, it seemed to evaporate on the way to her mouth.

“Yaz.” Sally sighed. But again, no words came.

His body seemed to deflate before her. “It’s cool. I understand.” He turned to leave.

“Wait, Yaz.” She grabbed his arm.

“It’s okay, Sal.” He looked down at the floor and cleared his throat. “I know what you’re going to say and you’re right. We shouldn’t jeopardize our friendship.”

She watched him go, unsure how to respond. He’d said exactly what she’d been thinking, but hearing the words come from him, now she wasn’t sure she agreed.

Something awful sat inside her, writhing around her stomach. Was it really such a bad idea?

She choked back tears and cleared her throat, forcing the rising emotions back down. There was no reason for her to be upset. Things were as they should be. When she came out of the bathroom, Yasif was already packing.

“I’d better go get the car.” Jake motioned awkwardly toward the door, obviously sensing the tension in the room.

“You don’t have it here?” Sally asked, her voice a bit shaky.

“No, I didn’t drive. I took the bus to the restaurant,” Jake said. “Strictly speaking, I’m not technically supposed to be driving.”

“You have a license, right?” Yasif blurted. He looked agitated. Sally fought back another wave of emotion.

Jake looked away. “I have several, actually.”

Sally crossed her arms.

Jake held his hands out. “It’s okay, I promise. It’s not like they can do anything to you even if I got caught. I’d just go back to jail.” His gaze fell to the floor. “I really don’t want to do that.”

“You don’t have to do this,” Sally said. “We can get by on our own.”

He took a breath. “Yeah. I think I do.”

“Okay then.” She nodded. “Let’s do this. We’ve still got a lot of questions that need answers.”

LANI WAS ON
her third cup of coffee. She didn’t seem to mind now that it was being served in a high school cafeteria. The idea of a bunch of hyped-up teens needing more caffeine was a joke. But as she sipped the hot beverage, she was thankful for its presence.

She’d pulled out her tablet and was searching through the Hi-Li website. Impressive. The feeds were fantastically organized, displaying stories from various sources and media types. Everything was grouped as though someone was managing it all on the backend. How did these kids pull something like this off? Lani knew enough about computers to know it was impossible; that person would have to be filtering the material and sorting it nonstop, twenty-four seven. So how exactly did they manage it?

She pulled up a particular post of interest as she speculated on the inner-workings of the site. The article itself took center stage at the top. On each side were social and media feeds, showing information streaming in from various sources as people added comments, pictures, and videos from their phones or computers. Not all of the responses were from students at the school. The story had grown since the disappearance; people were taking notice.

Thumbnails and snippets scrolled down each side until it reached the bottom of the column where it joined a timeline that ran below the article. A quick mouse-over showed her it was interactive, thumbnails and snippets zooming to the forefront as the cursor moved over them. She could also drag it and move the whole article back in time, showing additions, feeds, and posts at the exact moment she chose.

This was amazing! It was an incredible experience for the reader. She watched as a video feed from her own newscast became part of the stream, kids commenting negatively on her reporting skills. Ignorant brats! What did they know? Despite the off-putting comments, the stories themselves were extremely well written and insightful. Lani hadn’t seen reporting this good since her college days.

The article was being updated that very moment, an indicator at the bottom.

[Sally Singletary is Updating Live…]

Something is amiss at Hidden Lakes, and I intend to find out what it is. Two men claiming to be a part of the government interrogated me today. Why are these men investigating a student disappearance? I know that’s what you want to know, and it’s my job to find out. If you’ve seen these men, share your story. Vigilance.

Vigilance? The word stuck out from the rest, leaving a bitter taste in Lani’s mouth. What were these kids up to? She closed the lid of her laptop and sat back in her chair, straightening her gray skirt as she crossed her legs. Government men? This was turning into a three-ring circus. For a moment, Lani submitted to the notion that perhaps the Hi-Li wasn’t immune to sensationalistic news. Maybe Sally was just drumming up the story to increase interest—it certainly had gotten her attention.

The thought would have sufficed, except for one small problem in logic—it didn’t explain the two men in suits she saw walking through the commons area next to the cafeteria.

“You’ve got to be kidding me.” She slid her tablet into her bag. The men were headed straight to the boys’ dorm, not accompanied by any school personnel. “Vigilance, eh?”

A quick decision. Follow them? Or tell the administration? There was no time! They’d already moved out of sight. She tiptoed after them, peering around the corner through the open doors, watching as they barged into a student’s room. Moving past the slamming door, she opened the next one and slipped inside.

“Excuse me! Who are you?” A familiar voice. She looked down to see the young boy she’d talked to earlier, covering his naked body with a blanket.

“I’m sorry. I just need to check something out, okay?” The room was dark, but she could see light coming from a small iPad lying next to him on the floor. He straightened the blanket to cover what had been on the screen, but Lani had already caught sight of blond hair and bare skin.

“What are you doing?” She held up a hand. “Never mind, I don’t want to know. I promise I just need to listen to what’s going on next door and then I’ll get out of your hair.”

“Mrs. Padilla isn’t going to like that you’re in here,” the boy pointed out.

Lani shot back, giving him a knowing look, “I’m pretty sure she wouldn’t like what you’re doing either, but I won’t tell if you won’t.”

He sighed. “Okay, fine.” Leaning over, he reached for a shirt and a pair of shorts, checking that the screen on his device had gone off before pulling it out. He dressed beneath the blanket while Lani leaned against the wall and listened to the muffled voices next door.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” a muffled adolescent male voice said. “I don’t even know Sally that well.”

One of the men spoke, but she couldn’t make out the words. Damn it!

“Look, I don’t want any trouble, okay?” the teen said. “If I hear anything, I’ll call.”

That was the end of the conversation.

She stepped away from the wall. The curly-haired kid was now dressed in wrinkled clothes and had just shoved the small iPad into a drawer in his desk. “What’s your name, kid?”

“Idric,” he said quietly.

“Idric, my name is Lani and I’m a reporter. Have you been questioned by any men in suits?”

The boy gave her a confused look. “Men in suits? What are you talking about?”

“Here.” She handed him a card. He glanced, but didn’t take it. Lani placed it on the desk next to him. “If they talk to you, I want to know.”

Idris folded his arms. “You barge into my room, and now you want my help? Screw you!”

Lani smiled. “You’ll help me or I’ll tell the headmistress about your extra-curricular activities.” She pointed at the drawer where he’d stowed his tablet. “How’d you pull that stuff up on a school network, anyway?”

The boy went bright red. “A friend showed me how.”

She gave him a stern look. “They come to you; I want to know.”

He nodded.

Lani turned and waved with a smile. “Toodle-loo!”

SALLY TRIED HER BEST
to touch as little as possible in the old beat-up Honda as they bounced down a country road leading back to Atlanta. The car reeked. Cans, bottles, wrappers, and other bits of trash were piled in the back next to Yasif. He kept glancing at it, as though expecting it all to topple over on him with each curve in the road. Sally couldn’t take it any longer. “You know what? Pull off over there.”

“What?” Jake gave her a puzzled look. Apparently, he was oblivious to the state of his car.

“Just pull into that gas station, okay?” Sally pointed toward the approaching business, the only one she’d seen for miles.

Jake gave a slight frown but complied.

She was out of the car before he’d even set the brake. After collecting the few things she could find in the small store, she approached the register. “Can I have a trash bag?”

The clerk gave her an odd look.

“You don’t have any on the shelf and I really need a trash bag… Please?” He regarded her a moment, then handed her one from behind the counter. “Thank you.”

It took thirty minutes with the boys’ help, but she managed to make the car livable. After forcing them away for a few minutes, she emptied half a bottle of odor absorbent inside, holding her nose the entire time.

“Is that really necessary?” Jake asked.

She answered with a raised eyebrow.

“Dude, don’t you ever clean your car?” Yasif crossed his arms, leaning against the building as they waited for the vehicle to air out.

Jake sighed. “I don’t get out much.” He walked around and stood on the other side in the sun.

Sally watched him. He looked better. The guy was still pale, but after a couple meals, his face was fuller, healthier. With a little self-care, he could actually be attractive. He was a bit slim, but had some definition. Too bad he was into boys. When Sally looked away, she found Yasif staring at her, his brows low. Immediately, the guilt of what had happened at the hotel returned.

Once Sally was satisfied that the car was once again habitable, they got back in and resumed their journey and Sally filled Jake in on what they’d seen so far.

“So let me get this straight. You saw a cat turn into a guy?”

Sally nodded.

“And you saw another creature you couldn’t identify?” He cast a quick glance back to Yasif.

“Uh-huh.”

“And four people disappeared from the school, without a trace?”

“Yep,” they responded together.

“And now there are government men nosing around?” He paused. “What the hell?”

One side of Sally’s mouth turned upward into a slight smile. “Now you see our predicament.”

“I just don’t get it,” he replied. “I mean, why come after you?”

“The Hi-Li,” Yasif offered, appearing as though he would rather not be having this conversation.

Jake glanced at him through the rearview mirror. “But you guys aren’t famous or anything. I mean the Hi-Li is just a school paper, right? Why would they be coming after you? As strange as this all is, it still doesn’t make logical sense.”

“Strange things rarely do,” Sally said absently.

Jake scoffed. “Yeah, but come on! What would the government even want with all this weird stuff? This isn’t something they’d usually be into, is it?”