She was practically vibrating with excitement. "Look at her! All dressed up like she's somebody, but she's nothing but a thug! Forging credentials, infiltrating a top academy, targeting our best students!"
She spun toward the crowd and screamed, "Security! Where the hell is security? Get up here and restrain this little delinquent!"
The head of security jogged up the stage steps with two guards in tow. All three stood beside me, but none of them made a move.
Probably because they'd watched me kick Delia to the ground a minute ago and weren't feeling particularly brave.
Delia sidled up to William, her voice deliberately loud enough for the microphone to catch.
"Principal, this street rat forged government credentials and snuck into our school to seduce our Ivy League candidates! Call the police! We have to call the police! She belongs in juvenile detention!"
William nodded, squaring his shoulders with a look of righteous authority as he pointed at me. "Who are you, really? Tell the truth right now, or I'm calling the police!"
I looked at him calmly and spoke every word with perfect clarity. "I already told you. I'm the Deputy Director of the City Board of Education."
Delia let out a scornful laugh. "Still keeping up the act? You're what, seventeen? Eighteen? How could you possibly be a Deputy Director? Take a look at yourself. Do you look like an adult to you?"
William joined in with a cold smirk, giving me another head-to-toe once-over. "She's right. What kind of Deputy Director shows up at a school alone? No driver. No staff. No entourage. Who do you think you're fooling?"
Delia piled on. "Call the police! We have to call the police! This little delinquent is a cancer on society. She needs to be locked up and taught a lesson!"
William pulled out his phone and, in front of all two thousand students, dialed 911.
"Hello, 911? This is William Whitney, principal of Evergreen Academy. We've apprehended an individual on campus who forged a Board of Education credential and infiltrated our school to seduce male students. She's severely disrupting our academic operations. Yes, please send officers immediately!"
He hung up, crossed his arms over his chest, and stared at me with naked satisfaction.
Delia planted her hands on her hips, chin tilted high.