Within The Bonds

68: Crushy Crushy Crush

Moving to the very end of the gym, he takes a seat across from us on one side of the bench while Xavier and I prefer to remain standing. "Please," Special Agent Louis says gesturing to the bench opposite him.

"No thanks," I reply curtly. "I would prefer we get this done and over with as quickly as possible," Xavier adds earning a nod from the agent.

"So, Miss. Santos, how long did you know Mr. Lockhart for?" He enquires pulling out his notepad from his blazer and clicking his pen open ready to take down anything I tell him.

"As long as he has been our coach," I reply nonchalantly.

"And how long is that?" He enquires further, his brow quirked in intrigue.

"Since school shifted to an online mode," I say unsure of where these questions are leading to.

"And why exactly did your school shift to an online mode in the middle of the term?" His question threatens to let those daunting memories resurface.

"There was a shooting there," I answer trying to keep my wall of impassiveness up.

"Shouldn't you already have been notified about this?" Xavier states sounding it out as a question and by his tone, he doesn't sound the least bit happy.

"Oh right, my apologies Miss. Santos, it slipped my mind," he offers his unintended apology.

"Anyway, coming back to my initial question. How long did you know Mr. Lockhart for?" He repeats.

"I've already told you school closed down and shifted online," I reply trying to hide the hint of annoyance in my tone.

"Oh yes! Okay moving on," he acknowledges, but it's more than evident that he doesn't want to move from this topic. "Recently did you notice anything strange in regards to your coach's behavior?"

'Well, I do suspect him to have planted a bug on me and possibly an accomplice with my blackmailer' Since that isn't something I can say to him, I decide to opt for a nonverbal denial with a shake of my head.

"He didn't attend the last few practices, if that counts," I offer when I read the look of suspicion in his eyes.

"Actually, it does. Did he explain his absence?" He asks in keen interest, while Xavier stands in observing silence beside me.

"He is-I mean was our coach and not the other way around. We explain our absence if any to him, he doesn't report to us," I clarify.

"So, he didn't send any message to inform you why he couldn't make it to class?" He asks for confirmation.

"Not that I can remember of, no," I reply diplomatically knowing fully well that if any of our stories varied, we would be seeing a lot more of this guy. "Although, there was this one time he didn't come because he was attending some staff meeting," I add as an afterthought.

"Okay," he jots down in his notepad. "Did he seem angry or agitated the last time you saw him?" He asks looking up at me from his notepad.

"He was always angry," I mumble under my breath refraining from an eye roll.

"What was that?" He asks. "Nothing, just saying I can't really recall any such thing," I speak up clearly this time, but of course Xavier doesn't miss what I'd said the first time, he just doesn't point it out.

"Alright, that would be it then, Miss. Santos. Thank you for your cooperation," he concludes rising to his full height.

After a quick handshake between him and Xavier, we head back to our previous stop where the rest of the group now stand with their respective parents and guardians.