The teachers’ lounge is at the far end of the hallway, but the door is open, and if anyone sees me, it’s over.

“Come on,” I whisper, and I’m not only talking to Danny. I’m speaking to everyone watching.

I look through the door to Mr. Collins’s office, and it’s empty, the desk free of laptops, the signs all good. I push the handle, and it opens, because teachers trust other teachers. But I need to be quick. If any of them are watching me online, they can see exactly what I’m doing.

When Danny has followed me inside, I close the door and go straight to Mr. Collins’s desk, searching the drawers for anything suspicious. There’s a filing cabinet in the corner, but it won’t open, the metal clanging against the wall as I pull.

I turn to Danny and wonder if this is what he means about going too far, but he’s still filming me. That’s when I see Mr. Collins’s ugly green coat hanging behind the door, and when I search his pockets, I find keys and a car fob.

Danny shakes his head, then reaches into his own pocket and stares at his phone.

He holds it out to me, and when I step closer, I see it’s from Adrian, just two words: Let her.

He’s watching this. They all are. This is the excitement they wanted when they signed me up.

I smile, jangle the keys in front of Danny, then creep back into the hallway.

The voices come quickly, loud and close by, and I shove him back inside, duck below the window, and slowly push the door until it clicks shut.

Danny and I are side by side, the camera turned away from me, and he adjusts it until I’m back on-screen. There’s the slightest shake in his hand as I realize how scared he is. But he’s still doing his job.

The voices are above us, then past us, fading down the hallway and away.

I stand up, open the door, and listen. “Okay,” I whisper. “Let’s go.”

I run to my right and down the stairs, and only then do I look to see Danny three steps behind.

When we’re back in the main hallway, I think about hugging him, because we did it. I thought of a plan, and it actually worked. But it’s not over yet.

“Are you sure about this?” Danny asks, and I grip Mr. Collins’s keys.

“Absolutely.”

Chapter 122

His car is big and silver, with room for a family I can’t imagine him having.

When we get close, I press the fob, and the car beeps and unlocks, and it’s as easy as that.

“Stay here,” I tell Danny. I don’t want him getting in trouble for this.