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Where Courage Ignites
17. Valentine's Day
February 14, 2018
I wasn't aware that there were traditions in public schools for Valentine's Day. Around a week ago, fliers and announcements went out advertising the Secret Admirer's cards. If you paid five dollars, you got to write an anonymous letter to whoever that would be delivered to that student on Valentine's Day. I did one for Taylor with the simple message, "Chicks before guys…or maybe it was something more explicit than that. Either way, I love you, bestie!"
I wasn't expecting to receive any, so I was more than surprised when Mrs. Darbus came up to my desk and handed off a thick stack of envelopes. I hid them in my backpack, and then took off for biology.
"Hey Troy," I said as I sat down next to him.
Troy turned to me and said, "Hey Gabriella."
"Happy Valentine's Day. Did you get any of those secret admirer cards?"
"Yeah, probably about fifty of them."
I laughed, "So a few?"
"You could say that," he smiled. "Did you get any?"
"Yes. I didn't count them, but I had a thick stack. I'm sure it wasn't anywhere near fifty though."
"So you haven't opened them yet, huh?"
"No," I said. "I'll look at them later."
"You definitely should. They're a great self-esteem boost. It's only a little bit of a hassle when I have to turn people down."
"Do you have to do that often?"
"Less than you'd expect, but more than I'd like."
The substitute teacher then entered and yelled his lecture over the talkative class. Later at lunch, Taylor had asked me to wait with her after school for a bit so she could tell me something. Naturally, I was intrigued. I texted my mom to pick me up later and met up with Taylor by her locker.
"Hey Tay," I said.
"Hi," She said shallowly, like she couldn't take in a full breath. When she closed her locker, I caught her big, scared eyes and immediately knew something was up.
"What's going on?" I asked. "Are you alright?"
"I'm going to do it, Gabriella."
"What are you going to do?"
"I'm going to ask Chad out."
My mouth fell open. "That's amazing! When?"
"Right now," she said, her determined eyes peering behind me.
I turned around and found Troy and Chad walking towards us. "I'll get you some privacy," I said. Approaching the duo with Taylor behind me, I grabbed Troy by the forearm and brought him towards the lockers. "Hey Troy! Could we talk about biology for a second?"
"Yeah, sure."
"Great," I looked back at Taylor and Chad standing across the hallway by the windows. "Could you tell me when the next test is, Troy?"
"I think it's not for a couple more weeks at least. Why? Is the brilliant Gabriella actually concerned about it?"
"No, I just…was wondering is all." I looked back at Taylor and saw her still talking.
"Okay," Troy laughed. "Hey, have you opened any cards yet?"
"Sorry?"
"The secret admirer cards, have you opened any?"
"No. I haven't. Have you?"
"Yeah, I got through a few. Are my eyes really that blue?"
I laughed, "Yes, they really are."
Troy was starting to say something, but I cut him off when I saw Taylor turn away from Chad. "I'll talk to you later." I ran up to join Taylor and asked, "Well? What did he say?"
"It's not good. He said no."
I pouted, "I'm so sorry, Taylor."
"Yeah, I guess things are kind of complicated with him. It's okay though."
"I have an idea," I stopped and took my book bag off of my shoulders and placed it on the floor. "How about we open up some of our secret admirer cards?"
"Did you say cards plural?"
"Yes."
"Aren't you Miss. Popular? I only got one."
"That's better than none. Open it!"
Taylor removed the card from her back pocket. "It's a shame. I was hoping it was from Chad. We know that's not the case now." She slid her finger into the flap and tore it open. She removed the little card and read aloud, "Chicks before guys…or maybe it was something more explicit than that. Either way, I love you, bestie!" She burst out in laughter, "Gabriella!"
I laughed along, "Do you like it?"
"I love it." She brought her arms around me in a hug. "God, it's so appropriate especially now. Open some of yours! I'm dying to live vicariously through you and hear those admirations."
"Alright, alright." I reached into the bundle and pulled one out. I ripped away the seal and took out the card and saw one word: Liar.
"What does it say?" Taylor asked.
"Liar."
"What?" She asked in disbelief, taking the card from me and reading it for herself.
I took out another from the bundle, tore the seal, and opened it to read: But it felt good, didn't it? I snatched back the one Taylor had and threw it and the whole stack into the nearest garbage can. Taylor kept her big eyes glued on the trashcan with her mouth agape.
I crossed my arms over my chest as I felt my eyes water, "I can't deal with that."
Taylor broke out of her frozen stance and threw her arms around me.
February 15th, 2018
It wasn't until this morning that finally I told my parents about the secret admirer cards. Mom was frying some bacon as dad tried to solve the crossword in the paper. I blurted out completely unprompted, "Something happened." I glanced around like room like I didn't realize I was the one speaking.
Dad asked, "What happened?"
"We have these secret admirer cards. People write anonymous messages to other students that we received in homeroom yesterday. I got a lot. One said 'liar'. Another asked me if it felt good."
My mother yelled, "What? That is sick! What kind of a monster-?" Her growling voice faded away as a look of complete fury crossed her features. "Get me my phone, David."
Dad obeyed, scattering from the table and running upstairs to retrieve her cell. My mother swiftly paced the length of the kitchen angrily, the smoke from the burning bacon rising behind her. I went to turn off the burner as my dad returned with her phone. She snatched it from him and quickly dialed someone.
I asked, "Who are you calling?"
She put up her hand and walked off into the other room. A few moments later, I overheard her yelling, "No! Do not put me on hold! I demand to speak with a superintendent about this issue! The other members of the administration are simply too incompetent to handle this situation!" There was a long pause. "Thank you!" She hung up the phone and stomped back into the kitchen, ripping her apron off and whipping it up against a barstool. "Get ready, Gabriella."
"What's going on?"
"We're meeting with superintendent Patricia Smith in twenty minutes about the cards."
…
The superintendent's office was just a few blocks North of the high school inside the East High Community building. Surprisingly, the superintendent herself met us at the front doors and escorted us in. She was a plump, dark skinned, middle-aged woman who exhibited an intense air of authority. Her black hair was collected into a tight bun on the crown of her head and she walked with a strong posture. Once we were situated inside of her office, all of that changed. "Gabriella, I was just reviewing your file." Her stern features softened in front of my eyes. "I could not begin to attempt to comprehend the difficulty in the situation you face. I hope that today I can offer a way to alleviate some of the pain that these cards caused." As I listened to her, I realized from her tone and cadence that her words had been carefully constructed. Not rehearsed, but taken into consideration. She cared what I thought. She genuinely cared about what happened and what would happen to me. "It will be difficult to prove who wrote the letters and hold them accountable. However, let me reassure you that the anonymous system will change in order to stop this from happening to anyone else."
"How will you do that?"
"We will begin assigning numbers to the cards and tracking whose name is associated with that number when they write their note."
My mother grumbled, "You should forget the whole tradition altogether."
I said, "Mom, I liked her idea."
"How does this change help us now? That system wasn't implemented soon enough and my daughter was hurt by your administration's negligence."
"The program was intended for students to send wholesome messages to their friends or whoever on Valentine's Day. We hadn't considered the possibility that someone would take advantage of the anonymity for malicious intent. We had misplaced faith in the character of our student body. It was a gross oversight and I take full responsibility for it."
"Your regret doesn't get me the names of the monsters who hurt my daughter!"
I attempted to diffuse her. "Mom, it was just words. I mean, I've been through worse. Mrs. Smith, you're the first person from the school I've talked to that actually makes me feel like I'm being listened to – you and Mr. Reynolds. The others have either shrugged me off or made me regret telling them."
"What others?"
"When I went to speak to a counselor about what happened, the only counselor there that day was Mrs. Brannigan. She kept insisting that I was mistaken and that Anthony would never do such a thing. She must have told her husband because the next day in class, Mr. Brannigan took me to the supply closet and started yelling at me and saying that I was a liar and a cheat. Finally I went to the dean, but she made me reschedule, and then I had to file my report in front of another student because she couldn't make time to see us separately. She asked me why I didn't come forward sooner and if I went to the hospital or the police. She was very dismissive about both of our testimonies. She talked about passing the information along like she just didn't want to be bothered by it. Martha Cox can confirm this, she was there for that one."
My mom's jaw dropped and she said, "You never told me this."
Mrs. Smith said, "Needless to say, I am incredibly disappointed in my staff for how they handled your situation. Nobody should be questioned and attacked after what you've gone through. Gabriella, let me personally promise you that they will be placed on administrative leave pending an investigation. It is my duty and obligation to ensure that students such as yourself are met with the compassion and attention expected from the administration."
I heard my mother's sharp inhale before she yelled, "I want them fired!"
"I take these allegations very seriously, Mrs. Montez. I promise you that I will get to the bottom of this."
My mother pointed to her threateningly, "If something doesn't happen soon, I will have your job. I can promise you that." With her glare still stuck in her eyes, she looked to me and ordered, "Let's go."
As I finally caught up with her quick steps in the parking lot, I asked, "Why did you do that? Mom, why did you say that to her? She's trying to help us."
"They're her employees."
"Still, I meant it when I said that she's the first person from school to actually want to help. Don't make her regret meeting with us."
"I'm sorry, Gabriella, but she needs to know that we will not back down."
"She's not the problem. She's our ally. We need someone up top who's on our side. We can't be turning away someone powerful who wants to help us."
"How are you so convinced that she's not just trying to please us to avoid a lawsuit?" Before I could respond, she turned and got into the van without another word.
A/N: Not all of the cards Gabriella received were hateful. Some of them were anonymous letters of encouragement and support for stepping forward to face Anthony from random members of the student body who had heard about her story. Unfortunately, she threw away the whole stack after opening two of the bad ones so she didn't get to open those…nor the one from Troy.
As always, please let me know what you thought of the chapter. Do you think Mrs. Montez is right to criticize and distrust Mrs. Smith? What do you think is so "complicated" in Chad's life that he can't go on a date with Taylor?
The next chapter will have a lot of answers. You can expect it on Monday, June 11th. :)
