Susan L Markloff
Torn Out Pages | Part II
After the Assembly
As Jen walked off to find her friends, Tyron watched her go, taking note of which door she walked out of so he could follow after her once the principal was done giving them instructions.
“For now, I’ll ask you to use the library. And please, don’t interact with the students or the staff,” Jon said to the group.
Absently, Tyron nodded and muttered, “Yeah, golden.”
With a small breath, the principal said, “Alright then. Please respect the same time limit I gave to the students to get to the library. I can’t have any of you wandering around either.”
Tyron refocused his attention on the human before them. “We’ll respect your rules and your authority so long as you respect ours.”
“Done,” Jon said with a nod. “I trust I can leave you to it?”
Once he left them and was out of earshot, Tyron turned to say something to the team when Ar’on snatched his arm and harshly whispered, “We need a beat.”
Begrudgingly, Tyron allowed his mentor to drag him several steps away, leaving the remainder of the team standing idly behind.
“What was that?”
Tyron remained motionless for a moment before his brow pinched and he shrugged. “What was what?”
Ar’on pointed rigidly at the front of the stage. “That. Coming to her rescue like she couldn’t figure it out on her own.”
“C’mon Ar’on, she was terrified on her own. I couldn’t just leave her there.”
“Don’t you think this isn’t a good time for you to be soft?”
Tyron barely veiled his rolled eyes.
“Thirty minutes ago, she was defiant that she could handle this. That was part of handling this. If she’s gonna be so flippant as to demand we throw her into a thrall, then she’d better be strong enough to stand in front of some humans and show what she can do.”
“You think the right thing to do would’ve been to abandon her?” Tyron snapped, his face scrunching in judgement.
“She questioned you Tyron.” Ar’on poked an accusing finger at his leader. “Not me, not Blaze, you. Worse is she didn’t just question, she fought against your command. And then she changed your mind! You’re acting like this isn’t a problem!”
“The points she raised were valid!” Tyron flung his arm backwards as if to indicate the cafeteria. “Are you really gonna say you weren’t swayed by what she countered with?”
“Me being persuaded isn’t the issue here Ty. I’m not Team Leader.”
“No, you aren’t.” Tyron bit, a hard edge to his jaw. “And maybe you’re right. Maybe just sitting back and watching her struggle is the right call if you were in charge. But I couldn’t stand there and let her feel alone.”
Ar’on opened his mouth to retort.
“No. No more discussion. We have a job to do. This is wasting time.”
Snapping his mouth shut, Ar’on clenched his jaw. Slowly, he looked back to Tyron and said, “You’re sharp shot on that point. This is wasting time.”
Tyron turned to leave, intending to follow after Jen.
“But it’s still a discussion worth having after the dust clears.”
The Team Leader stilled his retreat and took in a long breath. He glanced over his shoulder to his elder and said, “Get Blaze and Archer to the library. We’ll meet you there.”
“Where are we going?” Kaldok asked with a quirk of his head.
“To find Jen and make sure she’s okay.”
“Don’t’cha think Ar—” Krelien started.
“Probably best if you just follow orders Krelien,” Ar’on interjected. Annoyance radiated in his stance as he continued to give Tyron a disappointed look.