Marta.

oOo

Okay, so maybe Summer and I weren't the best of friends. Sure, we talked and hung out after band practice, but we were only "at-school friends" if you catch my drift. I think a few times Katie invited her to come to the mall with us, I didn't mind really. Summer was fun to shop with, even if she was obsessed with finding really cheap prices and staying in dress code. Then again, someone had to. I can admit it, I can get a little crazy on our freedom Fridays, when the boys upstairs let us wear something other than our uniforms.

Sometimes, at lunch, we'd try and get her to tell us who she liked. Being the studious girl she was, Summer would roll her eyes, put down her book (with her finger saving her place) and calmly lecture us about why boys were immature and why we should focus more on schoolwork.

Sometimes, despite her little Miss. I-study-all-the-time demeanor, I catch her staring at Freddy. They would be cute together, opposites and all. But, not anymore, right?

They say that, after being raped, you can't kiss boys and you can't ever have sex again without bad flashbacks. I don't want Summer to have to face that. She hasn't even had her first kiss yet. She hasn't even lost her virginity!

Rape doesn't count as a first time.

I guess what I'm trying to say is, it could've been any girl. Any girl in the whole wide world, but it was Summer. This was the girl who never let anyone copy her work, this was the girl who was never late to class without a note, this was the girl who'd rather die than miss a minute of school. And, now, she was the girl who got raped.

It feels so weird to say that.

Mr. Dewey wouldn't say anything about how it happened, or when it happened. He said it was up to her to tell us. Really? I don't think he honestly knows himself. We could all see how nervous he looked when he got up there. I remember how I was worried that he was going to tell us that we didn't get into that music festival. I feel kinda selfish now.

I wonder what Summer's doing. I hope she isn't hurting herself or locking herself in her room. You hear about people doing that all the time when they get raped. It's always on the news and stuff. I wonder if anyone will write stories about Summer.

If they do, will they mention her clean record, and straight-A grades? Will they mention that she could go anywhere and do anything in life? Will they mention her being the manager of a blooming rock band? No, probably not. They'll just give the facts, the straight facts.

She'd be a little blurb before the glorification of sunny Florida and snowy New York. "Summer Hathaway, age 14, was raped. Nothing has been released besides that. We'll keep you updated. Now, on to weather!" Supposedly, most rapes don't get reported. That's what they taught us in Sex. Ed. Or, sexual education, as Freddy called it. We laughed about it back then... I don't think anyone's laughing now.

It scares me. They tell us that most of the time, rapists don't only do it once. They get more than one person. If Summer was the first, who will be next? It could be Katie, or Tomika, or Alicia... or me. That's a hard thought to handle.

I could be the next one. God, now I feel really mean, and stupid. I know that what happened was really, really bad, but I can't help thinking: "Thank God it wasn't me." Does that make me selfish? Does it make me selfish that I'm glad it wasn't me? I'm not happy that Summer got raped, I'd rather no one get raped... but...

God, what's going to happen to us, to the band? If it wasn't for Summer, we never would've gotten into Battle of the Bands. If it wasn't for Summer, we never would've made it this far. When we were about to fall on our faces, Summer helped us. Summer, gold-star loving Summer, came up with a story that was better than any lie Freddy Jones could tell, and it worked. Now, how are we going to help her?

Is there really anything we can do?

Dewey said to give her time, and just back off about it. That's easy for him to say. I have almost every class with her; I do have every class with her! What am I supposed to say?

"Hi, Summer, I'm sorry you got raped. Here, I saved a seat for you."

I still can't get over it. It could've been any one of us. But, it had to happen to her. Someone just decided to screw up Summer Hathaway's life. God, someone most be really messed up to screw around with little girls. I almost think it's a good thing we don't know who did it.

That twisted pervert can rest easy, knowing that some poor little middle school girl can't sleep at night without horrible dreams. That twisted pervert had better pray that we never find out who he is and where he lives...

I can bet you, the very second we get a name; his house is going up in flames. If Freddy isn't the one holding the lighter, than I will be.

oOo