Page 135 of The Broken Note

After hearing that recording, I doubt he’s the innocent, bumbling principal he portrays himself to be.

“Why didn’t you just play that for me from the start?” I hiss.

Sol draws near to me. “Dutch said you wouldn’t believe me unless I had evidence. He said you were stubborn. I told him you’d give me a chance.” He purses his lips, dark eyes slicing me with disappointment. “Looks like he was right.”

I don’t care about his pissing contest with Dutch right now.

Holding my hand out, I say, “Give me your phone.”

His eyes widen. “Why?”

“Just give it.”

Sol hesitates a second before tucking the cell into my palm.

I head straight for Principal Harris’s office.

“Cadence!” Sol scrambles after me.

My hand bangs against the door. It slams into the wall.

The secretary, a woman with long nails and a perpetual affinity for gum, gives me a wide-eyed stare.

I don’t bother granting her a look.

When she sees me stalking past her desk with violent intent, she shoots to her feet. “Wait just a minute! You can’t go in there!”

Her shrieks are like background noise. Right now, all I can think about is Serena’s mom. Her pale face as she tried her best to smile at me. Her eyes, red from exhaustion and stress. Her joy that Serena had a friend at Redwood.

What Sol did was insane, but there’s a part of me that understands where that wrath is coming from. A human being can only be told he’s worthless for so long before he either believes it or fights back.

And it’s time to fight back.

I’m tired of this school breaking us down and beating us into the ground. Redwood Prep has tried it’s best to take me, Sol and Serena out.

We’re not leaving.

Not until we’re good and freakingready.

I slam my fist into Harris’s door and barge in while he’s on a call. His eyes widen and he half-rises out of his seat, craning his neck to look past me as if he’s waiting for someone to walk in and give him an explanation.

“Sorry, Principal Harris,” the secretary rushes in behind me. “I couldn’t stop her.”

“I need to speak to you. Alone,” I hiss.

Sol is right behind me. I can feel his eyes as if he’s peeling my skin off.

“Young lady, you are beingverydisrespectful right now. Leave before I suspend you both for misconduct—”

I slam my fist on the desk. My hair flies in front of my face. “You’re going to want her to leave and you’re going to want her to close the door because if you don’t, I’m walking out of here and I’m not going to stop until I get to the cops.”

His eyes bugging, Harris glances at me and then at Sol.

With a quick flick of his wrist, he chases the secretary out.

She gives me the stink eye before closing the door.

“What is the meaning of this?” Harris grumbles, looking down at me behind his big circle glasses.