Page 93 of Antagonist

“Good. I’m happy for you.” She gives me a tight hug, and I get on my way home.

My phone rings as I’m pulling into my driveway.

Thinking it’s Fletcher, I don’t look at the screen before answering. “Miss me already?”

“Harrison?”

I recognize the voice straight away.

“Ellis, what’s wrong?”

“There’s a fire at the school.”

“Fuck! I’m on my way.”

I drive like a bat out of hell toward the school. When I get arrive, there’s a fire engine tackling the flames, which are thankfully not coming from the main school building, but from the adjacent building that holds most of the supplies we’ve been gathering for the fair.

“Harrison!” I see Ellis and head over to where he’s standing with a firefighter.

“What do you know?” I ask.

“Not much,” Ellis says. “Someone was walking past when they saw smoke and called the fire department straight away.”

“We caught it early enough that it hasn’t spread, but I can guarantee anything inside is either burned or will be damaged by the water,” the firefighter says. “If you’ll excuse me.”

I stare at the building in shock. “I don’t want to ask, Ellis, but do you think this is arson?”

He looks at me, running his hands through his hair. “I don’t know. It’s a one-room building only used for storage, and there’s nothing in there that could spontaneously cause a fire. Nothing electrical. Just a load of things that burn quickly, given the right conditions.”

“Are the police here?”

He nods.

Thirty minutes later, the fire is out, but we're told no one is allowed inside the building until the fire department carries out a safety assessment.

When Principal Lewis arrives, we all head to her office.

I drop Fletcher a message to keep him updated. He offers to drop by, but I tell him to stay with George. After this afternoon, I don’t want Fran to think she’s scoring points by taking George at the last minute and then using that against Fletcher.

“Thank you all for being here,” Principal Lewis says. “In over twenty years in this job, we’ve never had a fire at the school. We keep on top of regulations and go beyond what’s necessary to ensure the safety of our students.” She places her hands on her desk and looks at each one of us. “Do any of you have reason to believe this is not a random accident?”

I look at Ellis and then Pete.

“If I may, Principal. While I don’t want to make any accusations, we know there are concerns from some parents regarding the way we’re organizing the Spring Fair. I wouldn’t dare tell anyone how to do their job, but I’d suggest the fire department look for evidence of arson.”

“No need. We have a good idea already.” Everyone in the room looks to the door, where the firefighter who was with Ellis earlier is holding a gas can. “We found this in a bush behind the building. The same side of the building that has a broken window. Once the investigators go inside the building, they can verify our initial assessment and search for evidence to prove or disprove it.”

“Pete, if the fire department deems the school safe to open in the morning, do you think it’s safe to do so?” the principal asks.

“I can send someone over to patrol the area until we’re certain there’s no threat to the students.”

Ellis is shaking, so I put my hand in his. “You okay?”

He shakes his head. “No.”

“Want me to take you somewhere?”

He shakes his head again. “No. I’m just…I’ll be fine in a moment.”