Free These Starcrossed Lives of Ours by Megan Linski Page A

doctors.” I then let myself fall asleep.
     
    The flu turned out to be a one day thing and I was back to work on Monday like usual. Winter Break was nearing at what seemed like a crazy speed. I was washing pans and the rest of the team was putting the cafeteria back together for the next day when it happened.
    When one of my superiors came flying into the kitchen at a speed no woman her age should go, I turned to ask what was wrong.
    “Lock all the doors and windows,” she told me sharply, securing one herself. “And keep them shut! Don’t let anybody in!”
    This woman I worked under was unshakable. I had seen whole catastrophes run amok in the kitchen and she never so much as flinched. Something had to be up. I went to the farthest end in order to lock the hallway door before Ian rushed in.
    “Ian,” I said. “What’s going on?”
    “The school’s in lockdown,” he told me in a rush. “One of the kids has disappeared.”
    “What?” I looked at him blankly.
    “A little boy. He didn’t come in from recess this afternoon and now we can’t find him,” Ian said.
    “Weren’t the teachers supervising?” I asked, confused.
    “They went to help a girl who had fallen on the playground. When they called the kids in, they realized he was missing.”
    “He probably just wandered off. He’ll turn up,” I said, a pit of anxiety forming in my stomach.
    Ian put a hand on my shoulder. “I hope so. We’ve got the entire staff looking for him. Stay here until I get back, okay?”
    After we had secured all the doors there was nothing left to do but wait. For hours me and my coworkers sat in the lunchroom, trying to figure out what happened. I believed none of what I heard...word in Manchester got so convoluted that by the time the news reached you the person telling it might as well be making up an entirely new story.
    Daylight fell and our bellies rumbled. My innards clenched as I saw the lights of the cop cars outside but I reminded myself that they weren’t here for me, not this time. I just hoped that wherever the boy was, he was alright.
    Eight o clock rolled around and the cops came into the lunchroom. They took us all out one by one and questioned us about the whereabouts of the boy. One lady burst into tears, but I stayed still as stone. I knew that if I looked nervous or showed any amount of fear that they’d pin it on me, the new girl, so I forced myself to keep as cool as possible. It was obvious that by the time they had finished interviewing me that they ruled me as a stupid kid who knew nothing.
    It was about nine before we were finally set free. Parents, anxious to see their children, crowded all around the bus circle. I looked for Ian frantically in the mess. I could walk home but I really didn’t want to by myself, not with Annabelle on the loose. What if they suspected him and had taken him in for more questioning?
    I finally spotted Ian and sighed with relief. He hurried over to me, looking just as relieved that I hadn’t been taken in. “The kids are exhausted,” Ian told me. “A lot of them aren’t used to staying up this late. They’re all traumatized. They think that once they walk outside someone’s going to snatch them.”
    “Did they find the boy?” I asked, concerned.
    Ian shook his head. “No. He disappeared without a trace, no hint of a clue. They tried to make me admit that I did it.”
    “That’s awful! You could never!” I said, shaking my head.
    “Tell that to them.” Ian’s face was sour. “Everyone knows that the justice system gets abused, but I don’t blame them. I’d do the same thing if I was in their position.”
    “Do they have any leads?”
    “None. His parents are here...they’re devastated.”
    A wave of pity washed over me for the couple. I walked particularly close to Ian as we made our way to the car. “Nothing like this has ever happened before in Manchester, has it?” I said.
    “No. It’s always been the safest place in the world to live.