Whispers in the Dark by Chase J. Jackson Page A

Isabelle asked, noticing how upset Raven was.
    â€œDorian was being a jackass,” Raven explained, angrily. Robin didn’t say anything,
but I could see the indignation in her expression.
    â€œIt’s going to be okay,” Raven told Robin. “Mr. Ramirez said he’s going to handle
it. Okay? It’s going to be okay.”
    Robin looked at me with frustration as she listened to her sister.
    â€œYeah, I’m about to get to the bottom of this right now,” I said to the three of
them. “You guys go ahead and get ready for class.”
    The twins and Isabelle walked off, and I gestured at Dorian to come out of the cafeteria.
“Dorian!” I called out to him. “Let me speak to you outside.”
    â€œWhat now?” Dorian asked, irritated.
    â€œYou’re in trouble now, buddy,” one of his friends said, laughing.
    Dorian and I headed outside. As we exited the building, I asked, “What’s going on,
man?”
    â€œNothing is going on,” Dorian responded, reluctantly.
    â€œYou’re going to have to stop with all of this, Dorian!” I warned him. “Now, I don’t
know what your problem is with the twins, but it’s going to stop now. I will have
you suspended because what you’re doing is harassment, and it will not be tolerated
as long as I am here!”
    Dorian looked away as if he didn’t care about what I was saying. “All I’m doing is
speaking my mind, Mr. Ramirez. I was always told to speak my mind, even if the truth
hurts.”
    â€œBut you’re not speaking your mind in a constructive manner, Dorian,” I explained.
“It’s one thing to have an opinion, and it’s another thing to say things just to
hurt or embarrass someone. Those girls haven’t done anything to you.”
    â€œThey’re dangerous, Mr. Ramirez!” Dorian proclaimed. “Everything was fine at this
school until they got here. They’re creepy, I don’t like them, and I don’t trust
them. They did something to my friends, Jason and Ashley, and everyone walks around
like nothing happened. Well, I’m not going to just walk around like that! I keep
telling the teachers to look at the surveillance cameras to see what happened, but
no one wants to look at them. I know something happened. I’m telling you, Mr. Ramirez,
something is going on, and if I don’t speak up about it then it’s going to get worse!”
    I could tell Dorian passionately believed something was going on with the twins,
but I wasn’t going to have any bullying. “Dorian, I’m going to tell you one last
time. If I hear anything about you bothering those girls, I’m going to have a meeting
with your parents and the principal. Do you understand me?”
    â€œSee, nobody believes me,” Dorian said irritably, looking away. “I was hoping you
would be the one person who would see it my way.”
    â€œGet to class, Dorian, and don’t let me hear you saying anything else about them.”
    Dorian walked away, clearly upset.
    Good job, Adrian, I thought to myself. Good job. You handled that well.

Chapter 5
    I stayed late that day at school to go over my lesson plans. I couldn’t help but
think about what Dorian was saying. Denise obviously knew something, too.
    Should I ask her about the surveillance cameras? Should I go to Mrs. Ramsey? Should
I question these things, or just focus on the work for the students?
    I sat in the empty classroom and just thought to myself. Maybe I should start asking
more questions.
    The sound of kids running up and down the hallway, right outside my classroom, interrupted
my thoughts. It sounded like a soccer ball was being kicked, hitting the lockers
and bouncing off the walls. There had to be at least two or three kids playing.
    They were so loud! Why hadn’t any of the other teachers said anything to them? I
guessed I had to be the bad guy. I got up from my