The House Party by Rita Cameron

Author:Rita Cameron
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: HarperCollins
Published: 2022-09-13T00:00:00+00:00

23

On Tuesday afternoon, Will picked Hunter up after school and they stopped by Wawa for cigarettes and snacks before heading into town to meet June and Rosie. On the way, Will texted Maddie, asking her to come. She hadn’t been at school again today, and she hadn’t answered his text that morning asking how she was doing.

When they showed up at the park, June and Rosie were already there, sitting on a bench and tossing stale bread over the fence to the ducks who waited expectantly along the river’s edge below. June, as always, got straight to the point.

“I heard my parents talking about what happened at the school board meeting,” June said. “I’m sorry about what my mom said to your mom. You know how she is.”

“Your mom kind of threw Trip under the bus,” Will said.

June shrugged. “She only said what’s true. Trip was arrested for dealing pot.”

“You know he wasn’t dealing it,” Will said, surprised at how annoyed he felt. “Besides, you’re always the first person to volunteer me or Trip to buy the booze when you want it. Just tell your mom to leave him out of it, okay?”

“I said I was sorry,” June said.

“What did the police say to you on Friday?” Will asked. “I heard they talked to a couple of kids.”

“They were just fishing for information,” June said, “but they didn’t get anything out of me. I don’t know how they got my name, but I heard that Olivia was sobbing her eyes out in Dr. Johnson’s office, so I’m guessing she must have said something. I knew I shouldn’t have told her about the party. She’s a hysterical drama queen. I just felt bad for her.”

“Did you ask her what she said?” Hunter asked.

“Are you kidding? I’m not saying another word to her. She can’t keep her mouth shut.”

“She was upset about Maddie,” Rosie said quietly.

“That’s no excuse,” June snapped. “It’s none of her business. Anyway, I told my dad, and he was seriously pissed, but he told the police to back off.”

“You told your dad?” Will asked June, incredulous. “I thought we agreed not to tell anyone what happened.”

“I didn’t tell him everything, obviously. I said that we were hanging out at the rope swing, that there was a rumor that there was a party nearby, and we just stopped in for a minute. I told him that the cops were asking people about it at school. He didn’t like that—the cops talking to students without parents present. He gave me a lecture about drinking and swimming in the river and all that, and then he spoke with the police chief.”

Hunter looked worried. “Rosie, no one talked to you, right?”

“Nope. But I recognized one of the men who came to school. He eats at my dad’s restaurant a few times a week. I thought that he was a cop, but he said he’s a district attorney.”

“That doesn’t sound good,” Will said.

Hunter frowned. “If the DA is involved, that means they’re getting ready to press charges.

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