The following days, Samantha and Tucker showed up in class in time, homework done and looking perfectly rested, and none the wiser about what their teacher had witnessed.
(September's end was coming closer and closer, and Lancer still hadn't a clue on what happened that day.
He had become a teacher for Hus love of teaching and his love of knowledge.
He hated not knowing.)
No matter how often Lawrence tried to corner one of them and finally get an explanation to what he had seen, he never got to actually discuss the question of that other dimension. Samantha was just too clever, always redirecting the conversation to one of the papers he assigned them or a project he was working on as the sole teacher that actually cared a little bit about the school, and Tucker was just too slippery, using clubs, classes and homework to evade any conversation Lawrence would try to have with him.
They kept their secrets well.
After two weeks, the teacher admitted they had defeated him.
The two troublemakers wouldn't talk to him, Jasmine wasn't his student anymore (and she was far too clever to let anything slip, she knew him too well after all this time) and he didn't know the slightest thing about the child from that other day.
That left only one option.
Not to say that Daniel was less clever than his sister or friends but Lancer knew how to deal with him far more than he did the others.
(Years of trying to help two siblings raising themselves did that.)
So, Lawrence asked the young Daniel to stay after class one day, both to end him out another extra-credit assignment and to finally understand what in the Victorian Era had happened.
(Yes, Daniel hadn't been there, but this boy just couldn't be lied to. Especially by his closest friends and sister.)
The young man seemed really worried when he came up in front of the class at the end of the day, fists tight around his backpack and biting his lips.
And he seemed quite aware that Lawrence had something to ask him.
Well. It couldn't go that badly. Whatever the secret, or secrets they shared was, such good (if chaotic) kids couldn't be hiding something that terrible.
(Right ?)
"Daniel, I meant to ask you something."
The boy stilled, eyeing the open door.
"Yes, Sir ?"
"Do you know if Miss Manson and Mister Foley got involved in something… strange recently ?"
"Wha-what ?"
"Something… ghost-related, perhaps ?"
Oh, he was even paler than usual.
Lawrence had probably screwed up somewhere along the line.
"Daniel, are you- "
A little stream of mist escaped from Daniel's lips.
Lawrence blinked. It was September 28th already, yes, but it wasn't that cold yet.
A second later, the young man bolted out without a word.
Oh. Maybe the suspicious little group from the other day wasn't the only one with secrets then.