“Hi … we have an appointment with the principal,” Nik says, tapping on the secretary’s glass separation.
“Oh …” Anna looks up from her phone. Her face transforms from confused to happy as soon as she recognizes Nik. “Nikhita!” she says. “So good to see you!”
“Oh … same.” Nik puts on her best polite smile. “Principal Gallagher?”
“Right … you can go ahead. She’s in her office.”
“Perfect, thanks.”
“Nik …” I say as I trail behind her. She has a laser-focused gaze as she marches toward Principal Gallagher’s door. “I just don’t know if—”
I don’t get to finish my sentence, because the next moment, Nik has opened up the door to the principal’s office. Ms. Gallagher is on the phone, in deep conversation. She glances up at our arrival, her face darkening when she spots the two of us.
“I’ll call you back. I have a meeting,” she mumbles into the phone while waving the two of us in. I take a seat, the same one that I was sitting on yesterday when my life got turned upside down. Nik stands, her arms crossed and her feet tapping loudly against the floor.
“Nikhita!” Ms. Gallagher says as soon as she’s hung up the phone. “It’s so great to see you again! How is UCL?”
Nik rolls her eyes. “Ms. Gallagher, I’m here about my sister. It seems she’s been unfairly accused of cheating. By you.”
“Not … not by me,” Ms. Gallagher recoils in feigned shock. Like she wasn’t the one who ambushed me in her office with Ammu and Abbu to tell me about Aisling’s accusation.
“By a student, whatever.” Nik waves her hand like it doesn’t matter either way. “It’s a false accusation. I know that Ishita hasn’t cheated. You know that Ishita hasn’t cheated. Prolonging this process with your ridiculous investigation while disallowing her to run for Head Girl is deeply unfair.”
“An investigation is just how the process works when a student has been accused of cheating.” Ms. Gallagher’s voice is full of sympathy, but there is none on her face. I suspect there’s even a little glee dancing behind her eyes. Like she’s beaten me and my sister down. After all, we have both been top of the class for our entire careers in this school. “There’s really nothing I can do about it. I’m sorry that you’ve come all the way here to—”
“Can I see the tests?” Nik doesn’t even seem to be listening to her words. “Both of them?”
“I’m not sure if—”
“You showed my parents,” I cut in. “Nik is a guardian.”
Ms. Gallagher heaves a sigh before walking to her desk and rifling around one of the drawers. Finally, she takes both of the tests and places them on the table. Nik is quick to swoop down and look through them, her tongue clicking as she flicks through the pages.
“And can we call the student in question to the office?” She asks, glancing up at Ms. Gallagher once more.
“She would really prefer to remain anonymous,” Ms. Gallagher says.
“Her name is right here on the test.” Nik holds it up, folding the sticky note up, so we can all see “Aisling Mahoney” scribbled onto the top.
Ms. Gallagher heaves a sigh. “Is this really necessary, Nikhita? I understand that Ishita is your sister—”
“Ms. Gallagher.” Nik’s smile is forced, like it’s really paining her. “I’m just trying to save you time here. Please.”
Ms. Gallagher presses the intercom on her desk. “Can Aisling Mahoney please come to the principal’s office? Can Aisling Mahony please come to the principal’s office?” The announcement echoes for a moment before Principal Gallagher turns back to Nik.
“You know, Aisling really is a fantastic student. Liked by all her peers and her teachers. I can’t see a single reason why she would cheat on her test. Nor why she would accuse Ishita of cheating if she hadn’t. Really, she sounded quite distressed when she came to me about the situation. Said Ishita was a friend, and she really didn’t want to make things difficult.”
Nik gives Ms. Gallagher a tight smile. “I guess we’ll see.”
There’s a knock on the door, and then it swings open. Aisling steps in gingerly, looking from me, to Nik, to Ms. Gallagher. Her eyes are wide with concern.
“Um, you asked for me, Principal Gallagher?”
“Please, take a seat.” Ms. Gallagher offers her a genuinely kind smile.