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“Very good,” says Yasira. “Thank you.”
She looks around the office.
“Physics teacher?” she asks.
“Yes,” says the principal. “Is it that obvious?”
Instead of answering, Yasira points to this thing with five balls on strings, which is standing on the massive desk.
“Ah. The Newton’s cradle gave me away.”
“How does that thing actually work?” Yasira wants to know.
“It’s surprisingly complicated,” replies the principal and doesn’t seem to want to add anything.
Then never mind, thinks Yasira. She’s not here to chat anyway.
“Do you have any clues or leads yet?” asks the principal.
“It’s surprisingly complicated,” says Michael.
Yasira smiles.
First, they question the teachers. Most of them don’t know too much about Lena.
“In academic matters, neither particularly good nor particularly bad,” summarizes Lena’s math teacher, encapsulating his impression with the empathy typical of math teachers. “Unremarkable.”
Isabel Schubert, the nice young class teacher, is obviously deeply affected by what has happened. She reports feeling that something was troubling Lena. “First there was the death of her mother,” she says, “I’m sure you’ve heard about that.”
Yasira nods.
“And then Lena had somehow changed in the last six months. But well. They all do that during puberty. I would never have thought...” she stops. “However, she only responded to my offer to talk with a polite refusal.”
“What about unexcused absences?” asks Michael.
“Three days last term,” replies the teacher. “I’ve already checked. But that doesn’t mean much, of course. I’m trying to tame a bunch of teenagers here. Unexcused absences rank among the lesser problems.”
“Is there a clique that Lena belonged to?” asks Yasira. “A best friend?”
“Maybe even a boyfriend?” asks Michael.
“Does Lena have a romantic relationship?” Yasira clarifies. “With a boy, or maybe a girl?”
Isabel Schubert shakes her head. “Not that I know of. Lena always struck me as a loner. At least in the last few months. The best tip I can give you is the dark-haired Emily.”
Yasira makes a note.
“There’s also a blonde Emily in the class,” explains the teacher. “That’s why I said dark-haired Emily. But you couldn’t have known that. That’s why I’m explaining.”
Yasira just nods.
“Then please send us the dark-haired Emily first,” says Michael.
The tear-stained girl who appears shortly afterwards in the makeshift interview room does indeed have very black hair. Her makeup is as heavy as Yasira’s daughter’s. The tears have smudged it though, making her face even sadder. Like a crying clown. Yasira introduces herself and Michael too, fearing that his sometimes grumpy demeanor might scare the girl off. The class teacher, who remains present as a confidant during all the conversations, tries to calm Emily down with soothing words, to little avail. Perhaps because she herself is so upset.
“Is she... is she dead?” asks Emily.
“No,” says Yasira. “We have no indication that Lena is dead.” Just a reasoned suspicion, but she doesn’t add that. “We’re trying to find Lena. As quickly as possible.”
