The Honors Class Experiment

"That's 40 kids, Simon. Kids! Your own daughter, Holly, was one of them. Look at me and tell me why you did this! You're a teacher. How could you do something like this?"

Officer Dylan Campbell planted both hands on the table and leaned in, staring me down. He was barely holding himself back. His eyes were red, his jaw tight.

I leaned back in my chair and let my eyes close for a second.

It had taken more out of me than I expected, lifting 40 teenagers.

"If you want to know why I killed them," I said, my voice flat, "ask their homeroom teacher, Natalie Martin. She knows."

Dylan's fist hit the table hard enough to make it ring.

"Natalie. Always Natalie!

"We've already checked. Over the past year, you filed ten lawsuits against her. Every single one claimed she wasn't qualified to teach, and every single one got thrown out!

"She's this year's model teacher for the entire province. She's done everything for her students! Right now, she's in the hospital, nearly collapsed from grief over your daughter and the rest of those kids, and you're still trying to drag her into this?

"Talk! Why did you do it?"

The last question came out through clenched teeth. If the officer next to him hadn't held him back, he would've taken a swing at me.

I rubbed at my ear, annoyed by the noise, then spread my hands again. "If you want the answer, bring her here. Once she's here, I'll tell you."

The room went still.

After a few minutes, Dylan pushed back from the table and snapped at the younger officer. "Call the hospital and check Ms. Martin's condition. If the doctor clears it, bring her in."

Then he looked back at me, his expression cold. "You'd better not be wasting our time."

About an hour later, the door opened.

A female officer helped Natalie inside. She looked like she might collapse, her face drained of color. The moment she saw me, her face betrayed a mix of fear and confusion.

"Ms. Martin, you're safe," Dylan said, his voice noticeably softer. "Simon claims his motive has something to do with you. We need to understand what's going on. Is there anything between you and him we don't know about?"

Tears welled up immediately. She covered her mouth, shoulders shaking as she tried to steady herself.

"Officer Campbell, I-I don't know. I really don't know why Mr. Rivera would do something like this…to so many children…"

Her voice broke.

"I know I didn't have much experience when I took over the honors class. Some of the senior teachers weren't happy about it. Mr. Rivera filed complaints…and even sued me ten times.

"If there was something I wasn't doing right, he could've told me. Why do this? Those kids… They were just getting started…"