The Other Hailey

24| the rookie burglar

One thing about me: I hate school.

I can barely survive eight hours of school, let alone more hours at night. The night brings with it a painful cold, and it blisters my nose and ears. I rub my arms, trying to heat myself up. The dress I'm wearing does a bad job in keeping me warm and covered. Dean sees this, and shrugs out of his jacket. He drapes it over me with a small smile on his face. I mutter a thanks and quickly put my hands through the sleeves, hugging myself tightly.

We fall back into silence with our gazes focussed on Brick Way High, our school.

The sight of the tall building looming over me makes me shiver. Brick Way High School looks even worse at night; like an abandoned butcher house. Well, in real sense, it is a butcher house; it has butchered people's enthusiasm and soul with it's fucked up school system, and boring lectures. Irritated by the turn of events, I avert my gaze to Dean. "Wait, what are we doing here again?"

Dean let's out a sigh. "This was one of the first parts of Brick Way ever built."

"That explains why it looks so old."

"Old, but strong." He faces me. "You know, I'm really glad you're here, Veronica."

I frown. What's he heading at?

"Let's burn this school down together."

My pulse rises. "Wait, what?"

He doesn't explain further. With a hand in his back pocket and eyes on the school door, he advances towards the school's building.

"Dean, what are we doing?" I ask, hurrying after him.

"Okay, we're not exactly burning the school down."

"Excuse me? Exactly?" I follow behind him.

He squats in front of the lock, sticks a pin into it, and tries to open it. Don't things like picking locks only work in movies? But I don't say anything.

"What I mean is, we'll be burning the school down but not literally."

"Again, what?"

His eyes are on the lock as he speaks. "It's fine, Vee." He chuckles. "I'm not prepared to set the entire school ablaze, I want to graduate. Also, the price of gas is quite expensive these days, and I don't have an allowance. So don't worry. Your beloved school won't be going poof any time soon."

"Still, what the hell is going on here? We shouldn't be breaking into the school. Are you crazy?"

He pauses to glance at me. "If you want to bring Adam to his knees m, this is how you do it."

I watch him with uncertainty.

Am I sure I want this? Isn't this a felony? Like juveniles type of shit?

"But wait, if this is about getting back at Adam, why do we need the school?"

"This school is everything to Adam. This school makes Adam Richards feel empowered; like a King. He is worshiped here, and he's invincible here." While he tries to pick the lock, determination is written in the lines of his creased forehead. "Same goes for you." He eyes me. "And if this school, especially the football locker rooms and the fields gets trashed, or destroyed, trust me," Dean chuckles lowly. "It not only affects the school, he will be affected. He'll have the worst year of his life. He already lost a scholarship by losing the game against Eastwood High. This only adds fuel to the fire."

I gasp. "You said we weren't burning the school down!"

He snaps his head to me. "You're kidding. There's no way you don't understand the phrase adding fuel to the fire."

I shrug the topic off. "So, we're getting into the act of vandalism just to get back at my boyfriend?"

"Shouldn't he be an ex by now?"

I swallow, taking the decision to ignore his question. "Should we be doing this?"

In a strained voice, he answers, "Yes."

When I see him struggling with the lock, I roll my eyes. "Geez, Dean Agrawal, you watch too many movies. There's no way you're going to open the—"

As soon as I say that, the door pops open, and Dean shoots me a cocky look. "You speak too soon Veronica Gates."

I'm supposed to chuckle at the joke, but I can't help but feel unsettled whenever he calls me with a false name. Taking in a deep breath, I say, "Whatever."

We both step into the dark hallways. With the noise of students gone, the sounds of the school croak, moan, and breathe around me. I swear it's alive, and every sound injects me with fear. The moon shines through the windows, illuminating the lockers, but Dean still pulls out a flashlight— out of nowhere. He points the light towards the stairs. "Okay, everything we need for this to work is in the boiler room."

He picks up his pace. And I follow suit.

"I stashed them there, under a black tarp, planning to make my move next week, but plans seem to have changed." Excitement blares in his grey eyes.

I, on the other hand, am not too stoked about this. "I'm sorry, but aren't you taking this a little too far?"

"Don't you want to do this?"

"Well, hell yeah, I want this, but if getting back at Adam means doing something like this, then I don't want to. There has to be another way."

"If you're worried about getting caught, we won't get caught."

I snort. "You sound so sure about that."

"That's 'cause I am."

He tries to walk again, but I pull him back. "Dean, you're not listening to me. This night could go sideways, we could get penalized under juvenile criminal law, and it'll be—"

"I'm willing to go this far just to make Adam fall to his knees."

I'm taken aback by his response. Is there something else between him and Adam?

"Damn. What did he do to you?"

He becomes quiet, staring into my soul with regret playing in his eyes. "He hurt you."

My lips part open.

I've never seen anything so sincere in the entire seventeen years of my life. His eyes. They speak volumes. They say things his mouth cannot word. There's an emotion swirling in his eyes after he says that. I remember seeing this exact same look in his grey eyes the first day of school. I still can't name what it is.

"And don't think I haven't noticed Mikey walking around with a swollen face. Yet, the school won't do anything about it because it was the fucking King's doing." He pants. "It's time this bastard stops walking free."

He turns away, and proceeds to the boiler room. I stay rooted in my spot, unable to move. He wants to take Adam down as much as I want, maybe even more. But I'm afraid he'll make a wrong move, and everything will all come crashing down, and then bury him underneath.

Something about this boy feels both safe and dangerous. And I like it.

note:

i know this chapter is a little shorter than my other ones, please bare with me :)