Chapter 3

After a week's suspension, I went back to school.

I sensed something was wrong the second I reached my classroom door.

I pushed it open and heard a loud crash above me. A bucket of filthy water came pouring down from the door frame. If I hadn't reacted quickly and stepped back at the last second, I would've been drenched from head to toe.

Even so, the dirty water splattered all over my pants and shoes.

There was a beat of silence, then the whole classroom erupted.

"Ha! The mad dog's back in her cage! Everyone, cover your noses before the crazy spreads!"

"Cassandra, you actually showed your face? If I were you, I would've jumped off a building by now!"

I lifted my head and looked past the laughing faces to the center of the room.

Wendy was sitting at her desk, admiring her fresh manicure without even glancing up.

Samantha was sitting in my old seat. She was laughing louder than anyone.

When our eyes met, there wasn't a trace of guilt on her face. She pointed a finger straight at me instead.

"What are you staring at, Cassandra? You trying to hit someone again?"

Her voice was sharp and loud on purpose. "I've got Wendy and the whole class on my side now. I'm not scared of you anymore. Stop playing the victim."

I didn't bother responding. I walked to the back of the room, toward the trash corner.

My desk was there, shoved against the wall by the garbage cans.

Someone had painted the words "drop dead," "freak," and "get out of this school" across the surface in red. Every book from inside had been torn apart and scattered across the floor.

On top of the pile sat a study guide, covered in dirty boot prints.

I'd spent three nights in a row last week copying out past exam questions by hand, page by page. I'd made it for Samantha. She'd cried, telling me she couldn't afford the expensive study guides and was terrified she wouldn't get into a good college.

I bent down and picked it up.

Samantha's expression shifted slightly when she saw it.

She crossed the room in a few quick steps, snatched the study guide out of my hands, and tore it in half. Then she threw it at my face.

"Who do you think you are, bringing this trash in here? Wendy already got me copies of her private tutor's notes. We're talking questions written by a professor, one from the prestigious Hartwell University. Something a failing student like you scratched together belongs in the garbage."

The torn edge of the paper caught my cheek and left a thin cut.

I looked at Samantha's smug expression. She was so emboldened by having someone powerful backing her. Any lingering attachment I still had toward our friendship vanished.

"Samantha." My voice came out calm, and somehow the laughter around us faded.

"This is the last time you'll ever get to talk to me like that. Make it count."

I turned and walked out before she could get another word in, leaving her shouting at my back.

I needed to see the principal, Samuel Miller.

I had everything. Texts from Samantha, dozens of them, begging me for help over the past two years. A recording of Wendy and her crew shaking down other students and getting physical. If I could put the truth in front of the right person, the school would have to do something.

Samuel's office door was slightly open. I was about to knock when I heard his voice through the gap, warm and full of laughter.

"Mr. Smith, you're too generous! The library wing your family donated will be finished by next week. Wendy is an outstanding student in every way. That exclusive job offer at Jones Group should absolutely go to her!"

After he hung up the call, he looked up and saw me, and his whole face went flat.

"What do you want? Did you finish that written statement? If not, get out of my office and go finish it."

I didn't answer. I walked to his desk and dropped a thick stack of printed pages and a voice recorder on the surface.

"The online interview was fabricated. These are two years of text messages from Samantha asking me for help. They prove I was protecting her, not threatening her. The recorder has Wendy on tape, collecting money by force in the girls' bathroom and assaulting other students.

"I'm asking the school to set the record straight and take disciplinary action against both Wendy and Samantha."