Honor Among Friends (NaNoWriMo14)

Chapter 12-B

Carson refused to look at her, much less talk to her. The entire period she tried to catch his eye, but he either averted his gaze or looked through her like she wasn’t even there. When class ended, she stayed behind, slowly packing up her things. Once they were the last two people in the room, she approached his desk.

“I’m not ready to talk, Madison,” he said evenly, not looking up from the computer screen. Tiny clicks of the keyboard filled the air.

She ignored his request and gingerly sat down. Her tone was imploring as she said, “Please let me explain.” She hated the flat tone of his voice. Hated the way he called her Madison, instead of Maddy. “Please, Carson.”

She waited with bated breath, every second a painful reminder of the growing distance between them. Finally, his fingers stopped typing. Slowly, he turned. His face blank, his eyes guarded.

“Alright, explain.” He leaned back in his chair acting like he wanted as much space between them as possible.

 Now that he was giving her the chance, she wasn’t sure where to start. She hemmed and hawed, stumbling over herself as she tried to explain. “Well you see—I, uh…..well umm. The thing is….”

“How about I tell you what I know,” Carson cut in. He positioned his elbows on the armrest and templed his fingers beneath his chin. “I know you are in possession of a stack of FEC coins. I know the thefts started around November of last year. I know you moved here in June. Therefore, you are not solely responsible. However, what you have stolen since then is up for debate.”

“I—”

“Furthermore,” he continued, talking over her, “I’ve done a little research in the past hour and I know your group of friends have been at quite a few of the houses where items have been stolen. What I don’t know is if this was a collaborative effort or if only a few of them are involved.” He cocked his head to the side and gave her inscrutable look. “Care to expand?”

She squirmed in her chair. Madison didn’t like this cold, hardened Carson. Without his warmth or vibrancy, he was…intimidating. If she couldn’t even manage a single sentence in his presence, how was she going to ask him what his intentions were?

“I guess not.” Disappointment flickered in his eyes. He dropped his hands and sighed. “I have one question for you though.”

“Just one?” she managed to say. In all honesty, she thought there would hundreds.

“I understand why you were so against us writing the article now. It makes sense. But why the change of heart? Why did you say yes and go with me to investigate?”

“Honestly?”

“That would be nice for a change,” he replied dryly.

His sarcasm pricked her temper. She lifted her chin and said, “I agreed to the article because I wanted to keep track of your progress.”

“That’s what I thought,” he muttered.