Chapter 9 - Interviews Behind Closed Doors
District investigators converted the conference room into a temporary interview office.
Teachers entered one at a time.
Some stayed fifteen minutes.
Others remained inside for over an hour.
Questions repeated throughout the day.
"When did you first become aware of bullying involving Alex?"
"What actions were taken?"
"Were complaints documented?"
"Who received them?"
History teacher Mr. Daniels admitted he had broken up arguments before.
"I thought administration handled the rest."
Science teacher Mrs. Patel revealed she had emailed concerns multiple times.
"I never received a response."
Guidance counselor Ms. Owens looked visibly shaken.
"I requested additional support for Alex twice."
She searched through archived emails.
Both requests remained unanswered.
Investigators quietly collected copies.
Outside the conference room, students watched adults moving quickly through the hallways carrying boxes of records.
The atmosphere felt completely different.
Teachers who usually hurried between classes now paused to check on students.
Hall monitors appeared at every major intersection.
Several students who had laughed during Jason's prank avoided eye contact altogether.
Jason himself remained suspended pending investigation.
For the first time in years, the cafeteria felt strangely peaceful without his group dominating the room.
Yet Alex still chose not to eat there.
Instead, he sat inside the robotics lab.
Emma joined him.
"So..."
"So?"
She smiled.
"You still planning to enter the National Engineering Challenge?"
Alex hesitated.
"My wheelchair project?"
Emma nodded.
"You've worked on it for almost two years."
Alex looked toward the unfinished prototype resting on a workbench.
Before everything happened, it had seemed like the most important thing in his life.
Now he wasn't so sure.
"What if nobody cares anymore?"
Emma answered immediately.
"They already do."
She pointed toward the workshop window.
Several younger students were quietly watching Alex, not with pity, but with admiration.
News of his calm dignity during the hallway incident had spread throughout the school.
Without realizing it, he had become someone many students respected.
Alex wasn't comfortable with that attention.
He simply wanted to build things.
May you like
But outside the robotics room, change had already begun.
And hidden among the district's archived files, investigators had just discovered another sealed folder connected to Westbrook High—a folder containing recommendations that had never been implemented and names that had not yet appeared in the investigation.
