The Girl Missing from the Records

Lexi Montgomery sat near the windows, eating from a salad container while marking up her textbook. Her hair and clothes looked perfect, and she wore the same cool expression that made people think nothing could touch her.

I drew in a breath and crossed the room. Then I stopped beside her desk, close enough that she had to notice me.

She kept her eyes on the page for a moment. When she finally glanced up, her face shut tight with contempt. “Ava. Why are you here? This is for Student Ambassadors.”

“I need to speak with you,” I said under my breath. “Outside. Right now.”

“There’s nothing to discuss.” Lexi flicked a look toward Sterling, checking whether he was paying attention. “Go eat lunch before you make a scene.”

I planted my palms on her desk and leaned forward until we were only inches apart. My heart was thudding, but I kept my voice low.

“I know about the silver flash drive, Lexi.”

Her expression broke apart in an instant. The color drained from her cheeks, and the superior look she had practiced disappeared. For a second, she looked like a frightened kid with nowhere to go.

Her breath caught. She stared at me, then snapped her eyes toward the front of the room. Sterling was still talking easily with the students, unaware of us.

“Come on,” I told her, quietly but firmly.

She got to her feet and came after me. She didn’t even glance at the friends nearby. We left the room and entered the long, empty corridor.

The classroom door shut behind us. Lexi backed up until her shoulders hit the lockers. Her fingers shook. “How did you find out? Who told you?”

“Chloe Miller did.” I watched tears gather in Lexi’s eyes. “I know Sterling made sure she disappeared from the school’s records. I know he’s using you to do his bullying for him. He has something on you, and he’s threatening you with it.”

“You don’t know what happened,” Lexi said, her voice catching. A tear slipped down and smudged the makeup she’d put on so carefully. “He filmed me doing something. He said he’d send it to my parents and the police if I stopped helping him keep everyone in line. My dad would never forgive me. Everything would be ruined.”

“Listen to me, Lexi.” I moved a little closer, keeping my voice controlled. “Your life isn’t finished. Sterling is the one who’s going to face consequences. My mom saw what he did to Chloe last year. She’s at the police station right now, giving them a sworn statement. They’re coming to get him today.”

Lexi shook her head hard and clapped both hands over her ears. “No. If they show up, he’ll send it. He told me it was set to go out by itself if he got caught.”

“That isn’t true.” I reached for her wrists and eased her hands down, gently. “He lies to keep you scared. The only copy is on the drive he wears around his neck. The police will take it and secure it as evidence. It won’t be posted online or sent to your parents. They’ll treat you as someone he threatened. But you need to help them find it.”

Lexi’s chest rose and fell too quickly. She looked like she was trying to remember how to breathe. For a year, she had hidden her fear behind the cruelty Sterling made her show everyone else.

“What am I supposed to do?” she asked. Her voice was so small I almost didn’t hear it.

“Go back in,” I said. “Sit down like nothing happened. When the police come through the door, point at Sterling’s chest.”

She studied my face, still frightened, but something else had begun to show through. Then she gave one small nod. “Okay. I’ll do it.”

We returned to Room 204 together. Sterling glanced up from the permission slips in his hand. His smile faltered when he saw me. Then he noticed Lexi’s pale face and red eyes.

The friendly look vanished from his eyes. He dropped the papers and rose from the desk.

“Ava,” he said, his voice smooth, pitched for everyone in the room to hear. “I warned you yesterday about getting into trouble you can’t get out of. Leave my classroom.”

He started toward us down the aisle. His right hand lifted, almost casually, and moved toward his chest, where the lanyard vanished beneath his shirt.

I froze. He was close enough to the drive that I knew we couldn’t wait much longer. Before I could react, or Sterling could take another step, the heavy classroom door swung open.

Vice Principal Davis entered first, his face gray and damp, as if he might be sick. Two uniformed officers came in behind him, followed by a detective in plain clothes.

My mother stood just beyond them in the doorway, straight-backed and steady. The room went silent. The seventh-graders stopped eating. Sterling halted with his hand near his chest, and I watched him understand why the police had come.