84. The Seclusion Room

Mr. Turkle's Mistake For the monthly exams, students from all classes were mixed and

assigned seats at random. How could Aiden have asked other students to pass him the

answers if he didn't even know who was going to sit next to him? Besides, why would he

need to cheat? He's been doing very well in school for months. By now, more and more

people were huddling outside the door of junior year class, peering in.

They'd heard Mr. Turkle and Aiden arguing and were curious to know what was going on.

Isn't that the boy who played the piano at the competition? One girl asked. Yeah, it is.

Someone standing next to her confirmed. The girls in my class have been talking about

this guy all day. The girl looked a bit disappointed.

I can't believe he cheated, she said, dropping her head. He didn't just cheat, someone

else chimed in. He threatened people, too.

Leo watched gleefully as more and more students turned against Aiden. Things were looking up. At Otis High, any student found guilty of cheating was automatically

expelled.

He couldn't wait until Aiden was out of his life for good. It's not true, Viola yelled as she

looked angrily at the students around her. Her eyes started to water slightly.

Listen to me. They're lying. Aiden wouldn't do that.

He does well on tests. He doesn't need to cheat. Mr. Turkle examined the notes in his

hand.

Then he held up one in front of Aiden's face. Aiden, is this your handwriting? Viola rushed

forward to take a look. She turned pale and murmured.

But it's impossible. Viola knew Aiden's handwriting pretty well. And this definitely looked

like something he'd written.

Aiden didn't show much outward reaction as his eyes scanned the note. The similarity to

his own handwriting was undeniable. His mind was racing, trying to work out who'd done

this and why.

Do you have anything to say for yourself? Mr. Turkle asked when Aiden finished reading

the note. Surely, he had the boy backed into a corner now. The irritation that he'd been

fighting for days was already starting to lift.

Aiden sneered and shook his head. I didn't write this, he said. But I think you already

know that.

The students who were watching this scene unfold looked perplexed. What did that

mean? Was Aiden saying that the notes were forged? And that Mr. Turkle had something

to do with it? Mr. Turkle coughed nervously but stood his ground. You can deny it all you

want.

But we now have eyewitness testimony as well as material evidence. Mr. Turkle turned

to one of the school security guards who was standing in the hallway outside the

classroom. Excuse me, sir.

I'm dealing with an agitated student here. Could you please escort him to the cool-down

room while I pack up his things? The security guard promptly entered the classroom and

stood directly next to Aiden. Okay, let's go, the guard said.

Before you go, Mr. Turkle added quickly, I'm sorry to inform you that expulsion is our

only option in this case. And this offense will be put on your permanent record. All of the

students were shocked and looked at Mr. Turkle in horror.

If this got put on Aiden's permanent record and he was expelled, it would be very difficult to transfer to another school. A few students raised their eyebrows and

exchanged glances with their classmates. This was an extreme punishment.

No one had expected Mr. Turkle to take it this far. Even if Aiden had cheated on the

exam, they thought, he deserved to continue with his education. Chad smirked.

Everything was going exactly according to plan. That's what you get for messing with

me, he thought. Another security guard, having been alerted to the situation on his

walkie-talkie, now entered the classroom and approached Aiden.

Stop, Aiden yelled. Without quite knowing why, the second security guard stopped in his

tracks. Everyone froze.

It was almost as if Aiden had cast some sort of spell on them. They looked around in

panic, but didn't move. Aiden looked at Mr. Turkle quietly and said with a smile, Mr.

Turkle, are you sure you want to do this? I'm giving you a chance to change your mind.

Mr. Turkle scoffed. I didn't make the decision to cheat. You did.

And so now you have to suffer the consequences. Mr. Turkle looked at the two security

guards and nodded his head. Aiden sighed and shook his head, looking at Mr. Turkle with

pity now.

You've made a huge mistake, he said. You just don't know it yet. 297 The Seclusion

Room Mr. Turkle was momentarily taken aback by Aiden's words, but quickly regained

control of himself.

He waved his hands at the security guards. What are you two waiting for? I told you this

kid needs some time in the cool-down room. He's out of control.

Let's get moving on. The security guards were about to place their hands on Aiden's

shoulders, but Aiden snapped at them. Don't touch me! The guards were startled by the

power of his voice and dropped their hands.

I'll go willingly, Aiden said. He looked at Mr. Turkle with a meaningful smile. Principal

Turkle, I'll see you soon.

Then he turned around and walked out of the room. The security guards walked closely

behind him. In the hallway, Aiden sped up.

The guards had to almost run to keep up with him. From a distance, it looked like he was

leading them, not the other way around. After Aiden was gone, Mr. Turkle quickly

dispersed the crowd.

Okay, the show's over, folks, he said brusquely. Get out of here. Go on.

Get to class now. As the students scattered, Viola anxiously took out her phone. She

hesitated for a moment and then dialed her mother.

Mom, hi, she said. She quickly explained the situation. But he didn't cheat, Mom.

There's no way. There must be some sort of misunderstanding. Can you ask Dad to help

him? Viola's father worked at the Department of Education.

Before Miss Kane could answer, her husband grabbed the phone from her. Viola heard

her dad's voice on the other end. Viola, honey, this isn't your problem.

Don't get yourself involved. You shouldn't be hanging around Aiden anyway. Viola was

confused.

What do you mean? Why not? Her father was angry now. Aiden's gotten messed up in

some dangerous stuff. He's offended the wrong people.

Stay away from him. The color drained from Viola's face. The seclusion room at Otis

High, more commonly referred to as the cool-down room, was located in a separate

building on campus.

It was generally reserved for students with severe behavioral issues. If a student got

violent or aggressive, they would sometimes get sent to this room to calm down. The

building that housed the seclusion space had been in disrepair for quite some time.

There were leaks everywhere, and paint was peeling off the walls. The whole building

looked like it might collapse at any moment, but no one seemed to care. There were

rumors that the building was haunted by the ghosts of dead students.

Looking at it now, Aiden could see why. The cool-down room itself was fairly small, about

50 square feet. The room was empty, except for the small door.

There was nothing to look at but four gray walls. As soon as Aiden entered the room, he

started to feel claustrophobic. How is this legal, he thought to himself.

It felt like a jail cell. The security guards locked the door. Take care, one said as they

both turned to leave.

They didn't want to stay in this depressing place any longer than they had to. Aiden had

been allowed to keep his phone, but there wasn't any signal. He frowned.

He leaned against the wall and then slumped down onto the floor. Back in his office

again, Mr. Turkle took out a bottle of wine from his desk drawer and poured himself a

glass. He sat down and faced Chad, who was sitting on the other side of the desk.

We did it, Mr. Turkle said as he raised the glass to his lips and relaxed back in his chair.

Yup, Chad smiled broadly. Let's make it official.

Update his discipline record right now. He leaned forward in his chair. Mr. Turkle nodded

in agreement.

Good idea, he said and turned on his computer. He logged into the system and quickly

found Aiden's student file. He clicked on disciplinary record.