Kill Switch by Penelope Douglas

I checked the time on my phone, seeing that I had eight
minutes till bell. I wanted to smoke.
Sticking the phone in my back pocket, I let out a long
breath and tilted my neck to each side, hearing it crack. Every
time I got summoned, my father got the same text, keeping
him abreast of whatever was going on as if he cared. He knew
if it was important enough, they would call him directly.
Which they had done plenty in my tenure at this school.
I used to want his attention. Now I just hated it when they
reminded him that I existed. I wasn’t excited to leave town for
college next summer, but I couldn’t wait to get out of that
house, either.
So what bullshit did I do now that Kincaid needed to
hassle me?
I left the bathroom, brushing the shoulder of another
student as I crossed the hallway and entered the school office.
Swinging the door open, I walked up to the long, dark wood
counter and shot a glare to Mrs. Devasquez, the secretary.
“Have a seat,” she said, her short gray hair unmoving as
she nodded to the chairs behind me. “The dean will call you
when he’s ready.”
I simply turned around and propped my elbows up on the
counter, waiting.
Drumming my fingers as my hand dangled over the edge
of the counter, I noticed no one else was in the office, but I
perked my ears at several voices coming from Kincaid’s office
to my left. I looked over, seeing bodies rise up, as if from
sitting positions, behind the frosted glass.
“Why aren’t you in uniform?” I heard Devasquez
challenge behind me.
“Is it 7:45 yet?”
I didn’t turn around to look at her, and she didn’t open her
mouth again.
I hated this room. Most of the classrooms in this old school
had been updated over time, the fancy gray stone exterior