When a new position for Guidance Counselor at Barker High was listed online, Reyna Presley put aside her reservations and applied. Sure, it was not the Ritz of Brensville, Washington, but it promised to pay surprisingly well for a public institution. At 27, just married to a wonderful man, and fresh out of her master's program, the petite brunette was already feeling the full weight of adulthood bearing down. Having settled in a nice little community close to her parent's house, money was tight, and the mortgage was high, but as an investment for their future, it felt like a smart decision. After all, where better to start a new family?
Her first month at Barker High went without a hitch. She gained a solid grasp of the student body and looked forward to helping some very talented young adults get into their schools of choice. Like most teachers, she was private about her personal life, but her cheerful and friendly demeanor still made her popular with both students and staff. If Reyna had one fault it was that she was a perfectionist, and her obsessive attention to details led her to notice a concerning trend.
*****
"Are you drunk, Katie?" Reyna recognized the look. Though maintaining a high GPA, her first few years in college were somewhat of a blur. She had jumped into the deep end of party life. It was a miracle she found time to study. All those late nights getting trashed and going clubbing. That was before she decided on a career path, before she met her husband, and before she grew the fuck up.
Katie rolled her bloodshot eyes while biting down on her bottom lip ring. The snarky goth senior wanted nothing more than an excuse to go home. Her outfit was about as school appropriate as a Hooters uniform. Her tight-fitting, low-cut black top didn't even make it past her bellybutton, and her matching skirt barely covered her thighs. She was also wearing much too much makeup and her hair was a jet-black mussed disaster.
Reyna looked at the innocent, straight A, Ivy League bound, girl with the flowing blonde hair and happy-go-lucky grin on the top left corner of her computer screen. She had rechecked the name twice. Sliding grades and getting distracted were common problems for adolescent students. But as a newly trained professional, Reyna recognized the outliers. Something wasn't right. Katie was the third girl this semester to go from a sweet, promising member of society to failing courses, and overall horrible behavior. The two others were lost causes. One of them was rumored pregnant, the other had been delinquent for weeks.
Reyna suspected drugs. Primarily from a boy that they all seemed to bear connection with based on teacher gossip. After dismissing Katie for the third time that week with another P.E. uniform, she decided it was time to intervene. Reyna paged Derek Lorren to her office on the school intercom, then pulled up his file on her desktop.
"Mr. Lorren," she peered at the smug 18-year-old, "I need to discuss something very important with you."
He shrugged. "If this is about Spanish, Mrs. Gonzalez has it out for me."
"Your grades are not the issue," Reyna interrupted tersely. Though she had never met the boy, it was clear he was a narcissist by the flippancy of his attitude toward her. "Do you know what my job is?"
He shrugged again.
"My job is to make sure students excel to their highest ability so that they may go on and have successful rewarding careers. So, it troubles me when I see cases like Ms. Piper, Ms. Rumenor, and Ms. Allen."
Derek sneered, slouching back in his seat.
"It might not mean much to you now, but when these women grow up and remember who ruined their lives, I don't think you'll feel too good about who they blame."
Reyna knew she was off script and felt uncertain going against her training. Counselors were mediators, not aggressors. But it was not so long ago that she herself was in high school. She knew Derek. She had dealt with a thousand iterations of him. And while he was a student in her school, she was going to make it clear that he was NOT going to-
A loud buzz spliced through the intercom.
"There has been an incident outside campus grounds. There is no cause for concern, but for safety precaution we are instituting a lockdown. No one is to leave their classrooms for any reason. ANY reason. Do not answer the doors or respond to any sounds outside the room. We will let you know when class can resume. Thank you."
*****
Reyna clenched her fists under her desk. Of all the days to get stuck in a room, it would have to be with a prick like Derek Lorren.
"You look sorta young to be a counselor."
The audacity of this... child. To call him a man would be an insult to men. Reyna crossed her legs and looked up at the transcript on her desktop.
"Class of 2024?" Derek read the framed certificate behind her desk. "So, you graduated? You're only like 4 years older-"
"That's not a bachelor's, that's a master's degree," Reyna cut him off.
"Whatever. I bet you still get carded."
"No. I don't drink." She pretended to be absorbed with her screen. It was a tenuous situation. She did not feel comfortable returning to their previous conversation with a lockdown in effect, yet neither could she dismiss the arrogant boy from her office.
"You graduated from a state uni and you don't drink?" Derek scoffed.
"Not anymore," Mrs. Presley responded out of reflex. Though she wasn't technically an addict, she had embraced a teetotaler lifestyle, not indulging in a sip of alcohol since before she met her husband seven years ago.
Derek manspread in his seat and began casually scratching the crotch of his cargo shorts while his ice blue eyes leered at the conservative Anna Kendrick look-a-like. Reyna bit her cheek, knowing his antics were meant to provoke a response. His intense gaze made her uneasy, but she was not stupid. She chalked off the minutes in her mind. The room was silent but for the hands of the wall clock, the whirring of her desk fan, the click of her mouse, and the rustle of the unfazed teens fingers brushing against the shorts fabric.
Reyna stewed. She read through Derek's transcript. A C student with no extracurricular accolades. Why were girls like Katie Piper even wasting their breath around such an average delinquent? She turned toward the boy, her patience exhausted.
"I'll say this once, Mr. Lorren. You knock that off this instant or you'll be spending next week in ISS (In School Suspension)."
Derek smirked, removing his hand from his lap and placing it on the armrest. "You're pretty uptight for a millennial."
"Excuse me?" Reyna knew he was pushing her buttons, but she couldn't stop the blood from rushing to her face.
"I was expecting some free-spirited, liberal chick. Not some straight edge Karen."
Reyna's eyes narrowed. "I warn you Mr. Lorren. You make one more comment like that and I will have you expelled."
The arrogant punk threw up his hands in mock surrender. "Alright, Reyna. Sorry to trigger you."
Reyna could feel every muscle in her body pulsing with tension as she remained tight jawed. What a cocky piece of shit. What a giant asshole. He had absolutely no respect for her. She forced a saccharine smile.
"I do think after this lockdown is over, I will be reaching out to your parents. It's clear their son is acting out disruptively in a cry for attention." Her knuckles were pale from clenching her fists under the desk, but she had delivered the line as professionally as any counselor could.
"Are you threatening me, Reyna?" Derek leaned forward over her desk. His tone was unnervingly soft but the expression on his face morphed into something maniacal, nostrils dilating like a bull ready to charge.
Reyna stood up on shaky legs. This was no longer a petty squabble. Derek was dangerous. As she made a move to squeeze past the teen, his arm stretched out across the desk and caught her by the wrist. She let out a yelp as he tightened his grip. He leaned close to her, close enough that she could see a tiny scar underneath his right temple, his arm now blocked her exit and her free arm from pushing off.
"You are nothing," he snarled.
Fear gripped Mrs. Presley. She didn't care that there might be a maniac outside, when there was an even bigger threat next to her. She kicked Derek's shin and lunged at the door, pulling away for the briefest of moments and managing to grip the doorknob before he was on her.