Disclaimer: I don't claim any ownership of Higher Ground or its characters. The only character I made up is Janey.

Almost a week later, a week of Janey refusing to talk to everyone, of Scott becoming increasingly sullen, of the tension between Janey and Shelby mounting, and of Juliette getting more and more fed up with Janey rejecting her constantly, the Cliffhangers met for a class discussion on The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne.

Sophie repeatedly slapped her copy of the famous novel lightly against her palm, pacing back and forth in front of the kids. They sat on the grass of the field by the gazebo, facing her expectantly.

"So…" Sophie began. "Can anyone summarize what we've read so far? Daisy?"

"Yeah," Daisy said, straightening. "It's about Hester, a woman who commits adultery and is doomed to forever wear a scarlet letter upon her bosom."

"And her love-child is demon-spawn!" David almost yelled.

"Yes, David," Sophie said calmly. "Pearl is often referred to as an evil child, almost the living version of the scarlet letter, because why?"

"She is the child of sin," Daisy explained. "She was conceived in sin, born in a jail cell. Her true father is unknown to all but her mother, Hester."

"And who is the father?" Sophie asked.

"Reverend Dimmesdale!" Several voices called out. That was an easy one.

"How does he feel about the whole affair? Shelby?" Sophie asked.

"Guilty," was Shelby's contribution.

"That's correct," Sophie confirmed, not wanting to push. "Why was he so guilty? Hester got over it."

"He was a holy guy," Auggie said. "Real religious. And he broke some big-time rules there, having that baby with Hester."

"It hurt his conscience," Ezra added.

"Good Auggie, Ezra," Sophie complemented. "Do you think part of his guilt came from the fact that he couldn't tell anyone?"

"Heck yeah," Scott said. "He felt bad because Hester wore the red A on her clothes, but he had to keep it inside. Wasn't balanced."

"Right on," Sophie said. "He felt really guilty because he couldn't tell anyone. Now, for your homework…" There were a few groans. "I want you to think of something you feel guilty about and never told anyone. Maybe it would make you feel better to get it off your chest. Tomorrow, we're sharing. And it will stay within the group, so if that helps, great. Class dismissed."

They got off of the grass and separated. Juliette caught up with Janey as she hurried off.

"Peter said you didn't have to be my 'buddy' anymore," Janey said exasperatedly.

"I know," Juliette replied. "But I want to be your friend."

"Touching," Janey said. "But no. Not even no thanks. Just no way."

She sped up, leaving Juliette to contemplate what she had done wrong. Auggie came up behind his girlfriend. He didn't touch her, as Sophie was only a few yards behind them.

"You look like you've lost your best friend," he said. "But hey, I'm here!"

Juliette smiled slightly, not able to help herself. Auggie always made her smile.

"What are you gonna talk about tomorrow, Jules?"

"Don't know yet," she responded. "But you'll find out tomorrow, I'm sure."

The evening flew by. The Cliffhangers were constantly trying to guess what each others' guilty secrets were, but while much laughing and teasing ensued, no real 'dishing of the dirt' occurred.

The next afternoon found them sitting in the fireside room on folding chairs set into a circle. Sophie was interested to note that they sat in exactly the same arrangement as the last time.

"Who wants to start?" she asked. "The sooner your start, the sooner you finish."

Auggie raised his hand slightly and leaned forward. "Once…once I had this book from the library. You know, a school book report kinda book. And I got real frustrated with it…It was too hard for me to read or somethin'. So I tore it apart. Completely mangled it. Then, 'cause I couldn't afford to pay the fine—and didn't want to tell my folks—I burned the book and never went back to the library."

"Man, your overdue fine must be so freakin' huge!" Scott said, laughing. Auggie started laughing too.

"Scott?" Sophie said, trying not to giggle at Scott's take on Auggie's story.

"I—man, I don't wanna tell this—" He started laughing again.

"What?" Ezra asked.

"In home ec., I threw spaghetti on the ceiling. Not like a strand, like a bunch. And of course, I forget about it completely. Then, the teacher's goin' around, explaining things, and this wad of undercooked spaghetti falls on her head. With sauce and all." Scott was laughing so hard that he could barely talk. "And she couldn't figure out who did it. She kept yelling at all of us, but I never owned up. She never figured it out."

"Do you feel bad about it, Scott?" Sophie asked, wondering if Scott had taken the assignment seriously in the least.

"A bit," he admitted, calming down. "I didn't mean for her to get hit. And the whole class got detention, even though it was just me who did it."

Sophie nodded, and Shelby raised her hand. Surprised, Sophie pointed at her. It was not like Shelby to volunteer.

"In second grade, I cheated on a spelling test." She said this quietly, and Sophie felt even more surprised. "I couldn't spell elephant. So I copied. And the teacher didn't find out. Neither did my mom. I almost wished she had, because every time we had a spelling test after that, I felt sick to my stomach. Guilty."

"Thank you, Shelby." Sophie was pleased with Shelby's contribution. "Does it feel kinda good to just say it?"

"Yeah," Shelby said quietly, reflectively.

"Juliette?" Sophie smiled to see Juliette's hand raised.

"My mother entered me in a beauty contest once, when I was about nine or ten. The day before, when she was out doing last minute shopping, I ate a container of ice cream. Then, I lost the competition the next day. I thought it was because of the ice cream, because I screwed up my diet."

"It wasn't," Sophie said, standing behind Juliette and putting her hands on the thin girl's shoulders. "You know that now, Juliette?"

"Yeah, I think so," Juliette said with a sigh.

"I'll go," David volunteered. After receiving a nod of consent, he began. "One time, when I was like six, I wore the same socks for, like, seven months."

The others groaned, sickened.

"No, seriously," he insisted. "And my parents couldn't figure out what the stink was. And I never told them. But then, when they turned green, I got kinda, well, embarrassed, and hid them under my grandma's couch so my parents wouldn't find them and be mad."

He looked perfectly serious, and Sophie figured that this was the best that he could do. She gave him a weak smile, and turned to Daisy.

"I was visiting my grandpa in the hospital," she started slowly. "When I was little, ten or so, and just getting into tarot cards. He wanted me to read the cards for him. I did, and I got death. He was in there for a heart attack, and I got death. But you know what I told him? I said I got the card of life. That he would live for many years in happiness. He died three hours later. I don't regret it, I guess, but I hate lying. I just couldn't tell him the truth."

Sophie looked at her emotionless face, knowing that it took courage for Daisy to have said that.

"Daisy, I think you did the right thing," she said softly. Shelby, in another surprising gesture, caught Daisy's hand in her own, giving it a single squeeze. Daisy shot her a look of gratitude.

"I guess," Ezra said. "I guess I'd have to say when I was messing around with my best friend's dad's VCR when I was about eleven. I broke it, but when his dad found out, I didn't tell it was me. My friend got busted, and I was home free. Didn't tell anyone, not even my friend."

"And now you feel bad?" Sophie asked.

"Yeah, still. I mean, it was, like, six years ago, but I still feel bad."

Sophie nodded. "One more. Janey."

Janey looked down, then up. "Didn't do it."

"What?" Sophie asked.

"I didn't do the assignment," Janey repeated loudly.

"Janey…" Sophie caught the girl's eye, but Janey looked away.

"I don't have anything to say," she insisted.

"You can't keep running from your past," Sophie cautioned.

"I'm not," Janey said, her voice rising a little.

"Just tell me one thing," Sophie said.

"No," Janey said defiantly.

"One thing," Sophie repeated in a tone that was not to be disobeyed.

"One thing I feel bad about?" Janey asked furiously. "Okay, fine! How about a year or so ago, my mother got remarried? She marries this guy, and life seems okay. I get a new father and a brother out of the deal. But then, I'm in my bed at night, and I hear these sounds. Not right. My brother crying."

She paused to catch her breath. "My mother was raping my brother! He used to be so cool. I wanted to be like him. But then, he gets on drugs. I saw him in his room, doing coke. When he found out I saw him, he told me to take the drugs. I wouldn't. So he beat me up and made me. Over and over. And I got into them. And so I didn't tell on him. Didn't tell on him or my mother."

Janey was crying, rocking back and forth in her seat. "And I feel bad. I feel bad because my brother was getting raped, and I didn't do anything about it."

Sophie came over to her, putting a hand lightly on her shoulder. Janey pushed it off violently. Non-perturbed, Sophie spoke. "What would you say to him, Janey? If you could say something to your brother?"

"I'm sorry!" Janey said through her tears. "I'm so sorry, Scott!"

A collective gasp went through the group of students, and Scott pushed his chair back so suddenly that it fell over, and, ignoring it, he ran out. Janey got up and ran after him. Shelby started to rise, but Sophie shook her head.

"Stay put," she ordered, jogging after the two.

Outside, Scott ran to the basketball court, then hesitated, seeing other students littering the premises. Too many people when all he wanted was to be alone. Janey caught up to him, but he didn't want to look at her, see her tear-streaked face, hear her apologies.

"Scotty?"

He spun on her angrily. "I didn't ask you to bring up all that!"

"I didn't ask you to sleep with my mother!" she retorted loudly.

The entire campus turned and stared.

Scott lowered his voice, angry and embarrassed. "Shut up!" he hissed, glaring at her. "Just shut up! It's none of your business."

"What do you mean?" Janey said shrilly, tears running down her face. "None of my business? She's my mother, Scott!" She took a jagged breath, becoming mad at Scott's attitude toward her confession.

His face twisted into a display of disgust, fury, and pain, Scott turned, advancing on her. She seemed to shrink, almost afraid.

~Flashback~

"Scotty?" Janey came into his bedroom slowly, having knocked to no avail. Scott jumped up, dropping something on his desk. Something cylindrical. He wiped his nose with the back of his hand.

"Don't you know how to knock?" he asked angrily.

"I did…" She hesitated. "Are those drugs?"

Scott's face paled visibly, and his mouth tightened. "Get out of here."

"No," she whispered, wanting to deny it all. "Scott, if you're on drugs, I gotta tell Mom and your dad. They're dangerous, Scotty…"

"No they aren't," he said, his whole face tightening now. He held out the small cylinder, made of paper, and some white powder. "Try it. C'mon, Janey. Try it."

She backed away, nervous.

"Try it, Janey! NOW!" his voice rose to an almost hysterical level, and she whimpered, moving away. Dropping the drugs on his desk, he came over to her, bringing his fist up and…

~End Flashback~

Sophie grabbed Scott's offending fist before it struck Janey. She twisted it behind his back and turned him to face her.

"Scott, what do you think you're doing?" she asked. "Did Peter not make it clear that you are this close to shuns?"

Scott met her eyes silently, unabashed. Sophie looked past him. Janey had crumpled to the ground, and sat there sobbing quietly. Releasing Scott, Sophie crouched down and gathered Janey into her arms. Immediately, Janey struggled violently, shoving Sophie away. She drew her knees up to her chest and hugged them instead.

Obviously attracted by the crowd, Peter hustled over. He took one look at the situation, sizing everything up. Janey was hysterical, Sophie kneeled uneasily nearby, and Scott looked ready to break somebody in half. He knelt down, trying what Sophie had failed at not a minute earlier, and he succeeded in pulling Janey into a hug.

As Sophie looked on and Scott looked away, Peter let Janey hide her face and sob. His eyes met Sophie's curiously. She shook her head slightly and rose, grabbing Scott's arm. He tried to pull free and maintain a level of dignity, but she didn't trust him right then.

Office, she mouthed at Peter, and began tugging Scott in that direction. A small crowd had gathered, and Peter, with a quick gesture, bade them disperse.

"What happened?" he asked gently.

"I told," she whispered. "And Scott hates me. All I wanted was for him to forgive me." Her voice caught. "And now he never will. I never do anything right."

"Sometimes," Peter said. "It's a long road to forgiveness. For both parties."

Janey's eyes, glazed and bewildered, looked at him. She said nothing.

Peter slowly stood, helping Janey up too. "Come on," he said, supporting her. "I'll take you to your dorm. I want you to lie down."

"I'm okay," she said, sniffling and shivering. Peter knew that this was not from cold, but from internal pain.

"I want you to lie down," he repeated.

Nodding meekly in assent, Janey allowed herself to be led to her cabin. Inside, Peter sat her on her bed. Janey flopped down on her back, exhausted. Peter sat next to her.

"You want to talk?" he asked.

"No," she said definitely.

"Tomorrow then," Peter said, unperturbed. He stood. "You can stay here as long as you need, Janey. It might help you collect your thoughts. Get some stuff figured out. Reflect."

Janey frowned, looking at the ceiling. "Whatever."

Peter shook his head, not understanding her sudden mood swings, and left her to her own devices. Janey rolled onto her side and fell asleep, worn out by the day's events.