Secrets and Lies

“Justine, this is… This is really mean.”

“I’m just trying to teach her a lesson,” she said.

“Couldn’t you have just talked to her?” I asked. “Told her she was being a snob or something? I really don’t like this, Justine.”

She sighed. “Wow. I thought you were cooler than this, Bailey.”

“W-what?”

“I’ve been hanging out with you this week because you seemed cool,” she said. “But maybe I was wrong.”

“I just—”

“Whatever,” she interrupted. “Look, you can feel sorry for that bitch if you want. But you can’t say anything. No one will want to talk to you, because you’ll be a narc. Not even Elsie James, since you’re the whole reason I knew about her locker room peep show.”

I wanted to cry.

“Besides, no one will ever suspect me.” Her voice was chipper again. “Would you believe I’ve never even had detention? Not once.” She laughed. “Flawless record.”

“Justine…”

“You can’t tell,” she repeated. “Gotta go. My mom’s calling for me. See you at school.”

Click.

***

By Monday morning, everyone had watched the video. And Elsie was nowhere to be found.

“She’s probably too embarrassed to show her face,” I heard one girl saying in the hallway before geometry.

“I bet she moves,” her friend said. “I would die. Seriously. I’d die.”

“Hey.”

I turned and saw Brody walking up behind me. I felt myself blushing as I pushed my hair behind my ears. “Hi, Brody.”

“Heading to geometry?”

“Uh-huh.”

“Can I walk with you?”

“Of course—I mean, if you want to.”

He smiled and fell into place beside me as we headed down the hallway.

“So,” he said. “Elsie James, huh?”

“Yeah it’s… It’s crazy. That video.”

“It’s horrible,” he said. “It takes a sick person to do something like that.”

I glanced at him, sort of turned off that he’d be so harsh toward Elsie. “Really? I mean, sure, it’s weird, but people do weird things when they think they’re alone—”

“No, not Elsie.” We turned the corner into the classroom, and he followed me to my desk. “The person who posted the video. It’s just cruel. Who would do something like that?”

“I-I don’t know,” I stammered.

“You don’t?”

“No. Of course not. Why would I?”

He shrugged. “I don’t know. My sister seemed to know who did it and since—never mind. I don’t even know what I’m saying.” He sighed. “I just feel bad for Elsie. I don’t know her very well or anything, but she must be really humiliated.”

“Yeah,” I murmured. “I’m sure she is.”

“Take your seats. Take your seats,” Mr. Daud said. “We’ve got a lot of work to get done this week before your test on Wednesday, so let’s get started. Please.”

“See you later, Bailey,” Brody said.

“’Bye,” I murmured.

I watched him walk across the room and settle into his desk. And I sort of kept watching after that. Brody was the first person I’d heard condemn whoever posted the video—and that made me like him even more. What would happen if he found out it was his sister? If he found out I’d been part of it? Because I had, whether I meant to or not.

My heart sank even deeper into my stomach.

“Psst.”

I turned around, and the girl behind me handed me a folded piece of paper. I took it quickly and tried to be discreet about unfolding and reading it so that Mr. Daud wouldn’t confiscate it.

I already knew it was from Justine. DON’T TELL. YOU’LL GET THE SAME AS ELSIE. SEE YOU AT LUNCH! YOUR JEANS ARE SUPER CUTE, BY THE WAY. XOXO, JUSTINE.

I folded the note back up and slipped it into my purse. I tried to stay focused on what Mr. Daud was saying about obtuse triangles. I was worried that if I didn’t, if I let myself think about everything else, I’d end up throwing up. Or crying. They would be equally embarrassing.

I hated what Justine had done. I hated what was happening to Elsie. But in the few days I’d been friends with Justine, I’d gotten everything I wanted. Brody Frasier was talking to me. Some of the most popular people in the school knew my name. I ate at the best table in the cafeteria. I was finally making close friends. I didn’t want to give that up for Elsie—someone I barely knew.

And Justine was right. No one would believe me if I told on her. They’d think I was lying, and I’d lose everything for nothing. So it was better to just keep my mouth shut.

But I couldn’t help feeling guilty. Really guilty.

And I only felt worse when I saw Elsie and her parents walking into the school just before art class, last period. I was drinking from the water fountain near the front entrance when they passed me. Elsie had her head down, but I could tell her eyes were red. Like she’d been crying. A lot.

“Rumor has it her parents want to press charges,” Wendy whispered once they were out of earshot. We were in the same class and had decided to walk there together.

“What kind of charges?” I asked.

Wendy took a sip from the fountain and wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. “Child pornography, maybe. That’s what Ryan heard.”

“Really? But she wasn’t naked.”

Wendy shrugged. “I don’t know what the rules on that stuff are. But her parents are pissed. If anyone ever found out it was Justine, she’d be in serious trouble. And me, too, since I’m the one who set her phone to record. But it was her phone and she uploaded it… There’s a chance she’d be expelled.”

“W-what do you think the chances are of her getting caught?”

“Not likely.” We started walking toward our class. “She set up a fake e-mail for the YouTube account and sent the links through it before shutting down the e-mail—she’s really freaking smart. That’s why no one ever found out what she did to Gretchen.”

“Who’s Gretchen?” I asked.

“Oh, right. You didn’t go to middle school with us.” She lowered her voice. “She was this girl in Justine’s class two years ago. This girl was obsessed with Justine and her friends. Total stalker. Justine got sick of it, so she pretended to be friends with the girl and managed to get hold of her diary. Then she totally started a blog—posting all the embarrassing entries. I read the blog. It was awful. So hilarious. The girl totally moved away after that.”

“Wow,” I murmured.

“Yeah, but, like, good riddance. She was a creepy stalker. Anyway, I’m just hoping this gets Elsie to quit the cheerleading squad. I figure moving away is a little too much to hope for,” Wendy said. “I’m sick of her bossing us around and acting like she’s so great. Maybe this will teach her to get over herself.”

“Maybe,” I mumbled.

But on my way out to the bus that afternoon, I saw Principal Roth walking Elsie and her parents out of the building. And Elsie didn’t look like a girl who needed to get over herself. She looked like a girl who needed to be put back together.

Chapter Four

Principal Roth made an a

“Our school has a zero-tolerance policy when it comes to bullying,” he said over the intercom. It was first period, and I could feel Justine looking at me from across the room in geometry class. “This is bullying of the worst kind. The persons who filmed and posted this video will face serious consequences.”

But I kept my mouth shut all week.

I was glad when the weekend came. Because it meant I had a couple days away from all of it. But also because on Saturday, my brother and stepsister started their spring breaks and got to come home from college for a week. The only problem was that if anyone could tell I was keeping a secret, it was my brother.

“What’s up with you?” Nathan asked while we were hanging out in his room, watching The Dark Knight on his laptop.

“Nothing. What are you talking about?”