Lunch was over and students were filing into the classroom. As soon as we got inside the atmosphere felt really uncomfortable. I looked to the second row of desks and saw Katrina, a long-time friend, digging through her desk, Mrs. Nakigawa, our homeroom teacher, looking over her shoulder with concern. “… but, it was here before P. E hour, I know it was. My mom reminded me to take it off before I left this morning! ” It had been a minute or so since everyone had realized something was genuinely wrong and Katrina’s voice confirmed any lingering doubts or questions about it.
She was getting more and more emotional so Mrs. Nakigawa asked a teacher’s aide to escort her outside while we were instructed to sit at our desks. Everyone was on edge and I couldn’t tell if my stomach was tingling because I ate too much or if I was that concerned. “Okay everyone, I’m sure you’ve all come to realized that something has happened to Katrina today. On her behalf I would like to ask you all to help me make her feel better. Katrina’s bracelet has gone missing. If I could get three to four volunteers to help me look for it with a teacher’s aide present, I would greatly appreciate it. Mrs. Nakigawa continued by explaining how important the bracelet was to Katrina and by the time three classmates had volunteered it was time for study hall. Those who had not volunteered were meant to go to the library for 45 minutes but I asked permission to be excused to the nurse’s office.
After explaining my symptoms to the nurse on duty, I was given nausea relief medication and ordered to rest for the duration of study hall. It wasn’t half bad being in the office, I could lie down and listen to those tranquility tapes, the ones ith the sounds of rain falling on the canopy of a rainforest, or waves crashing on the beach; whales calling each other far out into the salty distance. Being rather injury prone it wasn’t uncommon for me to end up there once a month. This time however, I may have left feeling worse than I went in. When my peaceful 40 minutes of rest was up, the nurse knocked on the door and let me know it was time to go back to class, as I walked into the hall I was confronted with the sight of Katrina’s mother, her arm draped around Katrina’s slumped shoulders, her makeup tear streaked.
She was leaving campus before the last hour of classes and all I could do was offer a weak smile as they left. After that I was back in front of the classroom mentally preparing myself to walk into our classroom. To my surprise, the hustle and bustle of the class and my classmates had more or less subsided and business seemed to resume as it normally would at the end of the day. Some students were itching for the day to be over; others were ready for the last class of the day, earth science with our teacher Mrs. Dortmund. She was a very pleasant woman with a serious love as rocks and minerals, as to be expected.
She was also known for having very little patience for distractions, which I had no doubt influenced my classmates’ current behavior. This unspoken agreement to move on with the day as nothing had happened earlier in the afternoon meant we were able to follow up on our unit about volcanoes and earthquakes with ease. Despite the image of Katrina leaving campus crying still popping into my head, by the time class had ended I was feeling well enough. The bell rang for the end of school and I had to make a quick exit to get changed in time for basketball practice but I was stopped by a hand on my shoulder just as I was about to grab my backpack.
Mrs. Nakigawa was back and curious if I would be able to stop y Katrina’s after practice to drop the homework she missed off. As our homeroom teacher, Mrs. Nakigawa felt particularly responsible for the missing bracelet and it made me so sad to see her like that, so I agreed without question. Practice was difficult and I was concerned the entire two hours but I made it through, was the first to shower and get dressed, perhaps it was a new record, 20 minutes later and I was out and to my mother’s sports utility vehicle before seven o’clock.
The air conditioner was on high and the atmosphere was a bit heavy, || knew immediately that something was up so I turned to my mom who was looking down at her phone. Our exchange went something like this: “Hey mama, what’s up? ” “Hi Alex, how was practice? I just got off the phone with Kat’s mom. ” “Oh, really, so you know about Kat’s bracelet? ” I said, hanging my backpack over my seat so I could stretch my legs out in front of me. “Yeah, I did, we discussed some plans for how to go about further investigating the incident. ”
“Well, that’s kind of perfect, Mrs. Nakigawa asked me to drop some homework off to Kat so we can stop by on the way home, right? That way you and Kat’s mom can talk about it while I do that. ” “Sounds good, I was thinking of stopping and getting them something for dinner anyway, that bracelet was given to Kat by her late grandmother, they’re both rather shaken up. ” With that we headed to the grocery store first and bought things to make salad along with one of those rotisserie chickens to piece up. One of Kat’s favorite foods was chicken Caesar salad, my mom bought a bottle of white wine for her and Kat’s mom and we were on our way.
My stomach was starting to hurt again on the drive there and I started to wish we could just pass their cross street and go the extra couple of blocks home. Without an option, we were at Kat’s house in no time and were greeted by her mom and two dogs. Leaving our mom’s in the entryway I made my way down the hall to Katrina’s room, past a sitting area and the last of three doors on the left. As expected, it was closed and I could hear the music of one of our favorite local bands coming from inside. I knocked softly at first, waiting patiently for a response before knocking a bit louder and cracking the door open.
The room was a mess. It was almost as if Katrina was in denial, all of her drawers were emptied, her purses and the pockets of her clothes all turned inside out. Even the contents of her backpack which I was sure she had search through at school were picked through on her bed. After coming home early, Katrina had searched every possible place for her bracelet though earlier she specifically remembered having it in the classroom. Nervous didn’t even begin to explain how I felt in that moment, I didn’t know what would set her off, but I had just walked into her room so I knew I had to talk at some point.
