Free Whispers in the Dark by Chase J. Jackson Page A

neck! He was
twisting, kicking, trying to get free!
    I ran out of the security room and down the hallway toward my classroom. I heard
Denise following me. As fast as I could, I pushed through two double doors and ran
full speed. I went down my hallway, but no one was there! Where was Dorian? I looked
frantically around the hallway and into other classes.
    He was nowhere to be found!
    The only other person in the hallway was Denise, now running toward me. “Where did
he go?”
    â€œI don’t know,” I replied, still looking through the small windows on the doors of
different classrooms. I checked the boys’ bathroom and looked through each stall.
Nothing!
    Denise and I looked for a few more minutes, then she finally said, “You go to class.
I’ll keep looking for him, and go back to the monitors.”
    â€œOkay,” I agreed. I didn’t want to stop looking, but I knew my class was wondering
where I was. I walked back down the hallway and entered my class. “Hey, everyone.
Sorry I’m late.”
    â€œMr. Ramirez, there’s a rule that if a teacher is fifteen minutes late, then we get
to leave the class,” Cali said, to which the class agreed. “So you made it back just
in time.”
    â€œThere would have been a sub here, Cali,” I told her, making my way to my desk and
glancing over at Dorian’s empty desk. “You guys won’t get off that easy. But like
I said, I do apologize. Has anyone seen Dorian? Did he come in and leave?”
    Everyone shook their head, no. I looked at Robin, who looked blankly back at me.
    â€œI saw him before class, but I don’t know where he went,” Miranda replied.
    I fumbled with my paperwork, still thinking about what I saw on the monitor. I really
hoped Dorian was okay. If only I could have gotten here faster. Hopefully, Denise
would see where he went and let me know.
    â€œOkay, well, today I want to discuss some of the themes in The Hunger Games, and
how these relate to today’s society,” I said, getting in my teacher mode. “What do
you all think are some of the themes?”
    â€œI think violence as a form of entertainment is the biggest theme,” Cali answered.
    â€œGood,” I told her, as I turned around and wrote violence on the dry-erase board.
“And how do you see that relating to today’s society?”
    â€œWell, if you look at reality TV, it’s all pretty violent,” Cali explained. “All
the best shows have some arguing or someone fighting in them. Like all the “Housewives”
shows have some type of arguing or fighting, and my dad always asks, why do they
hang around each other if they don’t like each other? And I have to explain to him
that it’s not that they don’t . . .”
    As I listened to Cali’s explanation, my mind was still stuck on what I’d seen on
the surveillance cameras. Where was Dorian? Was this place full of spirits, like
Denise said? Honestly, what had I gotten myself into?
    I looked over at Robin, who was twirling her pen while looking at Cali.
    â€œSo that’s why I don’t even watch reality TV, because to me it’s really not reality,”
Cali finished.
    â€œOkay, that’s one idea,” I said. I looked over at Robin. “Robin, what do you think
is another theme in the book?”
    Robin looked surprised that I’d called on her. Everyone turned to look at Robin.
    She didn’t say anything.
    â€œI think poverty is another theme to look at,” Raven intervened, saving her sister
from speaking.
    â€œPoverty is another theme we’re going to discuss,” I told them as I wrote poverty on the dry-erase board. “Robin, did you have one you wanted to add?”
    Robin still didn’t say anything. I wasn’t trying to embarrass her, but she had to
say something in class. Instead, she shook her head, no.
    â€œOkay, well, let’s talk about poverty in the