The Thrashers(27)

Jodi didn’t feel her phone vibrate, so she needed to do something about that box herself. She could come back, maybe skip next period. She could text Julian about the box. He would definitely break in if he knew about the file—

There was a knock on the door before it opened. Jodi spun around.

“Ms. George?” Oliver Burns poked his head in. “Sorry! I forgot you had someone.”

Jodi’s heart jumped.

“Yes, I’ll be done in just a bit—”

“Sorry, it’s just that—you have a Kia, right? Tan?”

Ms. George paused, surprised. “Uh, yes.”

“I got a report that there’s broken glass around a tan Kia in the parking lot and I was going to go check it out before calling the cops.”

“Oh my god.” Ms. George jumped up, knocking over a pile. “Um, sorry. Jodi, can you wait here? You’re very important,” she threw over her shoulder as she sped out of the office. Oliver lifted a brow before leaving Jodi alone, closing the door.

Jodi’s heart was pounding as she sprang out of her chair. Her fingers pried at the top of the box, but it was taped down. After a second’s hesitation, she reached for the nearby scissors and slit across the tape in an even line, right under the lip of the top. As long as she could put everything back, no one would suspect it had been opened.

Inside she saw a mass of loose paperwork. Flying through progress reports and end-of-semester grades, Jodi found notes with the previous wellness counselor Mrs. Needlemeyer’s header at the top.

Florence Needlemeyer, Wellness Counselor

January 19, 2024

Emily Mills—Soph

NOTES:

Mrs. Huberman found Emily crying between classes, brought her in. Would not talk about why she was crying. Agreed to see me next Friday for a check-in.



January 19 meant nothing to Jodi. But then again, a lot of this would mean nothing to her. She was tempted to find the notes from the session Needlemeyer mentioned, but maybe it was more important to look for Zack’s name directly.

Her fingers fluttered over the pages, pulling back corners and roving quickly over words. She soon discovered that Emily kept Friday appointments with Needlemeyer going.

Emily has new friends. Zackary Thrasher, Lucy Reed, etc. Was excited to talk about them. Asked her about last week’s fight with dad, she quickly changed the subject.



Jodi resisted the urge to flip backward to find out about Emily’s fight with her father. She needed to find out what the police would soon know. Maureen Mills’s words about April rang between her ears, and she thumbed through until the first Friday in April.

Talked about Paige Montgomery’s spring break plans. I asked if she was joining Paige in Hawaii. Emily said she hadn’t been invited—yet.



Her brows shot upward. Why the fuck would Emily assume Paige was going to invite her to Hawaii? Jodi hadn’t even been invited. It was a family trip that only included Lucy.

At the bottom of the page, Mrs. Needlemeyer scribbled in the corner:

Follow up about Jodi Dillon



Her eyes stuttered over her name. She flipped to the following Friday. No mention of herself. What was Needlemeyer supposed to follow up on?

There was sweat under her arms. She knew she didn’t have enough time. Jodi flipped to the final Friday in April, after spring break.

Conversation focused on schoolwork. No mention of Zack Thrasher today—odd. Jodi Dillon is her best friend. I told her to try reading Jodi’s body language, look for visual cues, see if Jodi feels the same. Said Jodi was the only person who cared about her in the entire world. Wouldn’t elaborate.



Without taking a moment to think about anything, Jodi pulled up the last page of notes in May.

Emily going to prom with the Thrasher group. Paige M. invited her in the limo and Zack said he’d slow dance with her. Jodi wearing a blue-green dress like a mermaid. Very excitable. Julian H. said he’d order a corsage for her to match the girls.

Said she’s “a Thrasher now.” I asked if that was a good thing.

Obsessive. Angry when prodded about this.



Jodi’s brows jumped. None of it was true, except for Jodi’s dress color. This was damning. If the police believed this account, it would look like Jodi and her friends had set Emily up. Her fingers were shaking, and her blood was pounding in her ears as she listened carefully for footsteps.

Jodi ripped the page from the box. She scanned her eyes down it. Was this the only place Mrs. Needlemeyer called Emily obsessive and angry? Was she shooting herself in the foot if the police didn’t see that assessment?

She couldn’t care. She folded the page four times and stuffed it in her back pocket. The box lid slid over the top easily, and Jodi sat back in her chair, pulling out her phone to look casual.

A text from Oliver read: walking back from lot now.

Her eyes locked on the box. What else could she find out in the handful of seconds she had? Emily’s fight with her dad in February? More about prom? Whatever Emily had said about her that needed “following up”? Would there be an explanation of how Jodi had supposedly talked Emily out of killing herself in April?

Her knee bounced. Opening the box again would be time-consuming and tricky. Suddenly, she remembered Hannah in here just ten minutes ago. The hug she gave Jodi on the way out the door.