White As A Lie

4: The First Article

The next day was a Friday. I did go to work, and even before the first bell, I was called into the principal's office.

"Mr. McCain, can I just start out by saying I'm very sorry about your wife." Principal Summers said.

I was almost getting tired of hearing that.

"Secondly," He holds up a paper, and suddenly his face is serious and unfriendly. "I saw this in the newspaper."

I grab it from him and gasped.

Local Counselor at Fairview High School Accused of Murdering Wife

"I-I-" I couldn't speak. They cleared me!

"I'm not saying I believe this," Principal Summers rips it out of my hands. "But it's definitely not something I want our school to be involved with."

"No. No, sir. I would never-"

"Just go to your office, McCain. Don't draw attention to it."

I hesitantly walked out of his office and into my own. How could they publish that? They saw that my blood was white!

"Mr. McCain?" A voice came from the doorway.

"What?" I snapped. "Uh, sorry. Yes?"

"I, um, heard about your wife..."

"I didn't kill her!" I yelled at the skinny kid with glasses who I swear I've never seen before.

He stared at me for the longest time. "I-I was just g-gonna say I was sorry..."

"I'm-I'm sorry. Thank you. It's been... Stressful, to say the least." I said.

He nodded, then awkwardly walked away.

I just yelled at a kid. That wasn't my job, that was Principal Summer's job.

Later, Steven came in. He wore his hat with a green shirt and regular jeans. "I'm so sorry, Mr. McCain." He said. "How did you meet your wife?"

Nobody had asked me that before. I smiled. "It was at summer camp. We were both thirteen. She was easily the prettiest girl there. She was the best at making beaded necklaces and bracelets, so I asked her to make me one, just as an excuse to talk to her and spend a little time with her. She asked me what my favorite things were, and put every charm she could find to represent that. I wore it everyday that summer. Then when school came, she was the new girl. I was just happy I didn't have to wait until next summer to see her again. We got closer and closer everyday until I asked her to marry me when we were twenty."

Steven smiled. "She sounds like she was amazing."

I nodded. "She was."

The rest of the school day was nothing but kids and other teachers coming up to my office and saying their condolences. I know that's what you do, but all it was create a glaring reminder for me all day long.

To top off the day, I saw Crystal Parkes waiting on my doorstep when I got home.

"Ms. Parkes? What are you doing here?" I asked, already annoyed.

"I just wanted to ask a few questions, then I'll be out of here."

I nodded. "Fine."

Today she wore a black top and khaki pants with the same fedora and hairdo. "First off, do you believe your blood test results?"

"Do I believe it?"

"Yes. Do you really think your blood is white? I personally find it hard to believe someone has white blood. That would mean you've done nothing criminal in your life. I don't trust anyone like that. We've all done something."

I needed to sit down, and she sat next to me. "It does seem a little...off. But I know it's not black."

"Secondly, do you have any reason to think someone murdered your wife?" She asked.

I thought about this. "No. She was so sweet. I don't think anyone would want to hurt her."

"Perhaps it wasn't someone else. Do you think it's possible it was self inflicted?"

It made my heart hurt to even think about such a possibility. "She was upset that she didn't get a promotion for the third time..."

"Was that the only reason, you think?"

I nodded. "She never thought that darkly."

"It just seems odd that you were the only one in the house when it happened. She's sweet as honey, so no one else could possibly kill her. She was unhappy about her job, but she wasn't in a dark place. That leaves you, Mr. McCain." Crystal said.

I took a deep breath. "For the last time. It wasn't me."

She looked at me for a long time, then finally got up. "Alright. If that's what you insist."

"Ms. Parkes?"

"Yes?"

"Are you seeing anybody?"

She smirked. "Are you asking me out, Mr. McCain?"

"Just answer."

"I have a boyfriend."

"If he suddenly died, how would you feel if I kept accusing you of his death?" I asked her.

She smiled a brief second. "I'd be very upset about it."

I nodded. "So you do know how it feels."

"I know, sir. But you must know that I'm not about to let another woman be killed by a man and that man get away with it." She said. "So maybe you did it, maybe you didn't. I just want justice. Just like you do."

And with that, she left.

***

The snow started around 6:00 that evening. It didn't stop for a second, and it got deeper and deeper outside.

My story was on the news, too. Everywhere I turned, there it was.

My phone rang and grabbed my attention. "Hello?" I said.

"Nolan, hi. It's James Quentin." A man on the other line said.

"Oh, Mr. Quentin. I wasn't expecting a call from you."

"No. I'm afraid I have some bad news."

I frowned and sat on the couch. "Bad news?"

"The team and I had a long discussion over lunch regarding your Teacher of the Year nomination..." He hesitated. "We've decided to disqualify you as a contender."

My heart dropped. "Disqualified?"

"Yes. We just don't think a man being accused of murdering his wife should even be considered a nomination."

I wanted to break my phone in half right then and there. "I understand, sir, but I didn't-"

"We aren't saying you did, but you understand why we had to make this decision."

I hung up after that before he could make me even more upset. Not only was this affecting me at home, but it was affecting my work, too.

The funeral was on Sunday. Hopefully everything will die down after that, and people will start talking about another topic.