Back again
912 Words
After the days at home,school reopened briefly after the lockdown, but nothing returned to normal.
It couldn’t.. not in Palermo.
More empty seats.
More whispers.
During lunch break, I overheard two boys talking near the sinks.
“They paid him,” one said.
“For what?” the other asked.
“To watch. To listen.”
My heart pounded.
I stepped into the doorway. “Who paid who?”
They jumped, eyes wide.
“No one, Miss,” one muttered too quickly.
What was going on?
Why were kids involved?
Was this really just politics or is it actually gang related?
My mind barely remained at ease for the rest of the day.
Later that day, Luca finally returned.
He looked older somehow. Quieter.
When I asked where he’d been, he didn’t meet my eyes.
“Helping,” he said.
“Helping who?”
He shrugged. “People who help us.”
It was so unlike him, I felt like I was talking to someone else. Not Luca. Not my student.
A rush of negative emotions hit me cause once again someone was hiding something from me.
It was not the same since he was a child but I still felt those emotions.
I decided to meet the head master to talk to him about Luca.
At least he would answer me.
I entered his office.
He was facing his laptop typing away.
“Good afternoon sir” I greeted
He barely looked away from his desk to acknowledge me and responded “Miss Maria, is there anything I can do for you today?”.
“Umm..nothing really I just wanted to ask you something since you work very closely with the Orphanage matron.”
“And what would that be?” He replied still typing away.
“ it’s about a student of mine, Luca.”
A quick look of discomfort washed his face at the mention of Luca’s name.
There was silence.
“ Luca had been missing classes for some days now and he just got back and wasn’t his usual self. Also other students have been talking about some large amounts of money” I said
“It’s just been bothering me cause it seems so suspicious”
I was responded with loud sigh from the headmaster.
He suddenly looked irritated.
“Miss. Maria, is the student in class?
“Yes”
“is he okay physically?”
“Yes”
“Were or were you not told that the student was sick?”
“Yes I Was”
“So what’s the issue?”
“Are you a detective or a teacher?”
“I’m a teacher”
“Good and it should remain as such and as for the money I’ll speak to the Matron about it, I’d like you to focus on your work and only that… you may leave”
I rushed out his office in embarrassment.
I can’t believe I was getting reprimanded for worrying about my students safety.
Something was definitely off and the headmaster knew about it.
Either he didn’t care about it or he didn’t want me snooping around.
That was my first warning.
A cold spread through my chest.
I walked out of school just to see him.
Feddrico was waiting at the entrance of the school.
We shared a brief glance.
It felt like he could read me so well in that glance.
And he did.
Outside, the air felt heavier. The sky looked rather gray.
I walked into the car and sat, I looked around.
Sam wasn't in the car.
And right on cue Feddrico answered my thoughts.
“He had to do another job today”
It was just the two of us and this uncomfortable silence.
He broke the silence.
“They told you to stop”
He knew about everything. The conversation with the headmaster. How?
“They told me to pretend” I replied “ which only proves my point that something is wrong”
He didn't deny it.
“You knew”,I said quietly.
“Yes”
“And you let me go to the office anyway?”
“I couldn’t stop you,” he said. “And if I had, you would’ve gone back twice as hard.”
He turned back to look at me.
“Don’t do that,” I said.
“Don’t act like you know me better than I know myself.”
“I do,” he said without hesitation. “Because I’ve been trained to read risk. And you” His gaze sharpened. “you are becoming one.”
The word hit harder than I expected.
“I’m not dangerous,” I said.
“You ask questions in a place that survives on silence,” he replied. “That’s the dangerous thing”.
I swallowed. “What happens now?”
Federico looked down the street, scanning faces, cars, reflections in glass windows.
He hesitated.
That hesitation told me everything.
That night, I couldn’t sleep.
The headmaster’s voice replayed in my mind.
I understood they were trying to protect me from something.
Protection felt a lot like a cage.
By morning, something in me had shifted.
Fear hadn’t left but curiosity had hardened into resolve.
I paid closer attention.
To cars that lingered too long.
To conversations that ended when I entered rooms.
To children who suddenly knew when to stay quiet.
And that was when I remembered seeing an odd blue car at school several times.
- Writer
