Chapter 7

The weekend came and went without any major events. Charley and Emily Elizabeth hung out on a rocky beach, hurling rocks out into the water, but they hadn't done anything important. They didn't really talk either, but Emily Elizabeth knew he was aware of what happened. It seemed that the entire school was talking about her and Jetta, and it seemed that everyone was on Emily Elizabeth's side. By Monday, it was clear that this was true—people Emily Elizabeth didn't even know waved at her in the hallways, and when she did catch a glimpse of Jetta up the hallway, people were letting her have it. When Emily Elizabeth got to homeroom, she found Jetta's desk was out of place from where someone had kicked it, knocking her books off, which meant she'd been there, but she wasn't anymore.

Jules returned with just her purse and smirked as she walked back towards her seat. When Collier entered and saw the evidence, he looked over to Jules with a raised eyebrow:

"Did you have something to do with this?"

"Maybe, maybe not. I watched, if that's what you mean, but no, I wasn't the one who kicked the princess's throne. She's sobbing in the bathroom like this is everyone else's fault though. That I did relish in, just in case you were wondering," Jules grinned.

A guy nearby scoffed, "You should have. The girl is a demon. I saw her push a freshman over this morning to get to her locker. That's assault, you know, full-blown assault."

"She should've known people would turn on her eventually," Vaz whispered, but his voice cut through the remaining classroom chatter so that everyone heard. He turned around to face Emily Elizabeth, "You realize it's been going on for years, don't you? She's always been like this. People are just now taking notice, but it's too late. She'll never change, and the damage is done. She's hurt a lot of people over the years, and some stupid apology means nothing unless she stops."

"Quiet kid has a point. Her apology is worthless unless she actually learns from it," Jules said fiercely as the tardy bell rang. Miss Pittman entered the room and looked over the desks. Notebooks came out without a word, but that's not what caught her eye. She noticed Jetta's books, but Jetta still hadn't returned. Even after morning announcements, she still hadn't returned.

"Has anyone seen Jetta?" Miss Pittman called, her attendance pen in hand.

Jules grinned, "She's in the girl's bathroom crying because life is just so unfair to a wench like her."

"A simple 'yes' or 'no' would suffice," Miss Pittman said flatly, but it was clear she agreed. She shook her head and made an 'x' on the paper before launching into her lesson.

Halfway through class, one of the vice-principals arrived and gathered Jetta's things. Not even a minute later, Emily Elizabeth was called to the office. The room went quiet as she gathered her things and headed towards the front.

She knew right away that this was a confrontation facilitated by the administration between the bully and her victim, but it was Emily Elizabeth who was thrown under the bus. The same vice-principal from the classroom ripped into Emily Elizabeth about how impolite she was, about how she'd been a leader in the worst sense of the word, among other things.

Emily Elizabeth was a meek, quiet girl, but her first week of school taught her one major thing: Stand for no injustice. Without a word, she regathered her things and started to leave. She made a point to go stand in front of Collier's mom's door, and it wasn't long before it flew open—the vice-principal had followed her, screaming at her so loudly that veins bulged from his now brick-red face.

"What is the meaning of this?!" another voice boomed. The principal rounded the corner at record speed and arrived just in time to corner Emily Elizabeth completely.

Before she could respond, Collier's mother began to speak, her voice overpowered completely by the bellows coming from the other vice-principal. A shrill whistle from the principal silenced everyone—he was now in full control.

"Again, what is the meaning of this, MISS?!" he hissed so the bellowing man would be quiet.

"It seems the administration has it wrong, yet again, and Emily Elizabeth is standing her ground. I submitted multiple forms about this last week only to be ignored. Jetta has bullied her relentlessly since the second day of school. She missed the first due to a death in the family, and this girl has not let her live this down—"

"Is this true?" the principal glared at Jetta, who until now had been watching with a sly smirk on her lips.

Jetta instantly put on her most innocent face, "No, no, everyone has it all wrong. I'm not the monster in this case. Emily Elizabeth is. She started everything."

"By not being here? By not speaking to you for four years because you always say mean things to me?" Emily Elizabeth asked.

The principal shifted, "Is this true? You haven't talked to her in four years?"

Emily Elizabeth nodded, "She started bullying me in sixth grade. I ignored her as best as I could, but I reached out last week because it got so bad. I think one of my teachers complained too, but no one did anything. Then she said I was bullying her, and now we're here in record time. I don't really think that's fair, Sir. Why should money run this school when it's a public place that's supposed to be for everyone?"

"I'm the victim here too—"

"Only because mob justice took over when the school did nothing," Emily Elizabeth interrupted, turning back to the principal, "It's true people have been mean to her, but that's not what I wanted. They only stepped in when the administration failed to act. They did act for me, but not under my command. What they did was entirely out of my control."

"What about Vaz?" Jetta asked.

"I've heard enough—"

"What did Vaz do?" Emily Elizabeth questioned.

"He kicked my desk and said something in Spanish. I couldn't understand him. I'm not a beaner—"

"THAT'S ENOUGH!" the principal bellowed again, "I've heard enough! This situation has gotten COMPLETELY out of hand, and I won't have it go on another minute! In my office, now! We settle this—"

"What are you going to do?" Collier's mom asked flatly, a bored expression on her face, "We submitted paperwork and complaints. She's right that Miss Pittman submitted paperwork. I saw it myself in the mailroom. It fell out of your box because it's overflowing with things you couldn't be bothered with. So, what are you going to do now? They clearly need assistance, but you obviously only have time when the problem becomes too big to ignore."

"What are you trying to say?"

"You're not qualified for this. Let me talk to them, both of them, right now," Collier's mom replied, adding that she did have the credentials.

The principal was reluctant, but too much time was being wasted. While they were arguing, both the bell for second period and its tardy bell rang through the school. The girls were now missing a second class, which was almost as bad as the other allegations. It was time to get moving, and the principal was no longer in a position to argue. He allowed it, and the girls were put on opposite sides of the tiny office. Collier's mom pulled out a yellow legal pad from her desk and clicked open a pen—

"I want to hear from Emily Elizabeth first because she came to me last week. I want you to start from the beginning, and I don't want you to leave anything out. If you think it's important, tell me. And, Jetta? You may not respond. You will have your chance to speak, but you will not use that time during hers. If you can't be civil, either of you, I'm issuing two months of Saturday detention for you to work it out with manual labor. Understood?"

Jetta's face went white as she contemplated the meaning of "manual labor," though she understood the "Saturday detention" part just fine. Emily Elizabeth remained blank. She knew how to be good and how to be nice, two things Jetta had put in jeopardy. Now it was her turn to talk, and she did as she was told. She went all the way back to when they first had classes together, when Emily Elizabeth first moved to Birdwell Island. Somehow Jetta maintained composure as Emily Elizabeth went through everything from then until now, holding back nothing as Collier's mother made copious notes.

When it was Jetta's turn, she broke down into sobs. The evidence was damning—she'd been abusing this girl from day one, and the only time she'd gone against her was now, not that she'd even been that mean. Everyone else retaliated, but not Emily Elizabeth.

Jetta knew she was in trouble. She was crying for sympathy, but Emily Elizabeth said nothing as Collier's mother produced tissues and handed the box to the crying girl.

"Whenever you're ready, Jetta, I need to hear your side of the story—"

"I'm a monster! I just wanted to be more popular, and now everyone hates me! I just wanted you to leave, to go back to New York City where you belong," Jetta cried, her body shaking with sobs as she hiccupped out the words.

Emily Elizabeth shook her head, "We came here for Clifford, but this is my home. I'm not going back to New York City just because he's gone."

"What am I going to do? Everyone hates me! Charley won't even look at me. Townies I don't even know are pushing me in the hallways. Some kids blocked my locker this morning, and they wouldn't move, so I had to push them out of the way, and now everyone things I'm a monster! I'll have to change schools. Where will I go? Where can I go?"

"You don't have to change schools," Collier's mother sighed, shaking her head, "What you're telling me is that you admit this started with your actions, but your solutions are still self-centered. You will have a part in this solution, but it won't be all about you."

"You can't fix this!" Jetta cried.

Collier's mom cocked her head, "It's not going to be easy, for sure, but it is possible to regain your popularity and reputation. I don't know if the two of you can move past your differences, but if either of you want that, we can work on it together. For now, I want to focus on apologizing. Emily Elizabeth said you apologized in front of the class, but no one believed you because it was for you, not her. You wanted your popularity back, not to apologize to the person you wronged. You need to do a real apology, to everyone. Wednesday there's going to be an assembly to celebrate our city's birthday, of sorts. I'm going to ask the principal if you can give a formal apology after the event. Are you willing?"

"But—but," Jetta sobbed.

"I'll help you. We'll start right now. Emily Elizabeth, you may return to class. Here's a hall pass," she said, handing her a slip and gesturing for the door.

Emily Elizabeth obeyed and went to her second class. It was almost over when she arrived, and she found herself more irritated about the missing time than anything else. It was clear that things were backwards at Birdwell High, but it was also clear that the students were on her side. If Jetta apologized at assembly, it would be up to her peers to decide if the apology was worthy. If it flopped, she would know right away. Either way, it was out of her hands. She had assignments to focus on, projects to start. She didn't have time for Jetta and her petty motives. She was here for an education, not her reputation.