Concealed Hearts (Hometown Jasper #4) - Nicky James Page 0,3

Benjamin Cameron.” She indicated the boy sitting. “We haven’t got to the base of the issue yet. Basically, Mr. Hubert was midway through class when these two boys started a brawl.”

“I didn’t start anything,” Felix shouted. “He’s the one who—”

“Enough.” Nadine pinned him with a fiery glare. “I’m speaking, and you’re calming down.” She turned back to me and continued. “When it became clear Mr. Hubert couldn’t get things under control, he instructed the other kids to vacate the classroom and get help from other staff. It was for their safety. The cracked window is a result of a thrown chair. We wouldn’t ordinarily involve the police, but this isn’t the first time we’ve dealt with this level of destruction from Felix. Isn’t that right, Mr. Sauvage?”

The kid, Felix, didn’t answer.

“Felix has also made some concerning threats that we cannot simply sweep under the rug. In this day in age, we take everything seriously.”

Understandable, considering the escalating number of school shootings these days. No one felt safe anymore.

Felix muttered something under his breath, but the teacher standing guard beside him shut him down fast. “Not your turn to speak, Mr. Sauvage. You’ve been told. Shut it down.”

There seemed to be a significant amount of blame focused on one kid over the other, and that concerned me too. It was my experience that there were always three sides to a story. In this case, Felix’s, Benjamin’s, and the truth. It was easy to blame the one who lashed out, but if a person didn’t step back and look at the whole picture, they were liable to miss the root cause of the problem.

“Okay.” I scanned the faces in the room and made a quick decision. “How about you take Benjamin here to your office, and I’ll be down in a bit. Felix and I are going to have a little chat.”

The kid in the corner turned his darkened gaze on me. He was a big kid for his age. Broad-shouldered, at least six feet tall, and angry. It radiated off him, and I’d been on the job long enough to know that his anger ran deeper than this one incident. This kid had a lot going on inside his head, and he was likely lashing out because he didn’t know how else to handle everything he was feeling. Teenagers had short fuses, especially when they weren’t given the proper tools to manage their feelings.

A flicker of apprehension crossed Felix’s face, but he was quick to hide it, choosing a spot on the ground to focus on instead. Teenagers were also proud to a fault. They didn’t think adults understood them, but we’d all been there at one time. We’d all struggled with the overwhelming hormones and the perilous journey to adulthood.

Felix was no different.

The teachers gathered Benjamin and headed out the door. Nadine lingered.

“We’re gonna have a bit of a chat, then I’ll bring him down to the office, and we can discuss what will happen moving forward. Sound okay?” I directed my question at Nadine but spoke loud enough Felix would hear.

“I’ll be waiting.”

Once the room was empty, I closed the door, giving us privacy. Felix huddled in the corner, tension still making his body taut. He crossed his arms and glared at a spot on the ground.

“Wanna talk about what happened?”

For a minute, I didn’t think he was going to speak. I had enough of an authoritative edge to intimidate most people, so the fact that this kid held his ground was a surprise—and a concern.

“People just won’t mind their own business.” Felix scuffed his shoe against the tiled flooring before glancing up. Mistrust was evident all over his face. “I didn’t mean to break the window. I was angry, and throwing the chair was better than throwing a punch.”

“I agree. Good choice. Come have a seat. Tell me about what’s going on.”

He hesitated then chose a desk a handful away from the one where I perched. For a long time, he didn’t speak, but I waited him out.

“Ben likes picking on people. Especially guys who are smaller or weaker than him. Or … different.”

I cocked a brow. “I wouldn’t exactly classify you as smaller or weaker than Benjamin.”

Fury ignited behind Felix’s eyes before he exploded, his anger ripe and raw. “I’m not talking about me! I’m not afraid of him. I’ll fuck him up, and he knows it. That asshole can dish it out, but he can’t take it.”

Felix popped his knuckles and took a few deep breaths,