Chapter Eight: Careful What You Wish For
March 6, 2011
Some school days were harder than others, but Taylor felt like this Monday might be the worst one she'd face since leaving the hospital. All morning, as she showered, ran, and ate breakfast, she was trying to bargain herself into going to school. If she could make it through the day, she promised herself that she'd skip homework and spend the entire afternoon exploring her bugs, but she knew she'd never make it past lunch and that made it hard to force herself to go at all.
Finally, Taylor decided that she would go to first period and leave directly afterward. She would take the test scheduled for today, she would see Ms. Knott smile at her, and she wouldn't have to deal with Sophia or Emma or Madison. If she did that, if she just made it through that one class, she would take a bus to the library and spend the rest of the school day browsing through Parahumans Online. That was enough to get her out the door and onto the bus. There, she ignored Julia, who sat behind her and kicked her seat in a relentless, even rhythm all the way to school.
She took the long route from the bus unloading zone to her first class, so that Ms. Knott was already there when she arrived and she could go straight to her seat. Ms. Knott emailed the test to their inboxes, and then the classroom was silent. Taylor reveled in it as she breezed through the work. The quiet clicking was soothing, and so was the sharp eye of the teacher. Ms. Knott was looking for cheaters, but the scrutiny worked against bullying too.
Taylor had less than five minutes of work left when Ms. Knott received a call on her in-class phone.
"Gladys Knott." Without any explanation of why, Taylor felt her stomach drop. "Yes, she is." Somehow, she knew it was about her. "Right away? We are the middle of a test." Ms. Knott's face looked unhappy for a minute and she looked over at Taylor, meeting her eye. "I understand. Very well." Ms. Knott hung up the phone. No one was working on their test anymore.
"Taylor, please save and submit your work. I'll grade it with the understanding that you were interrupted after less than half the allotted time. You are needed in Principal Blackwell's office. Take your things."
Taylor felt herself standing up, numb, and slowly walking out of the room while the whispers grew and Ms. Knott tried to regain control of her class. She stood in the hallway, out of sight of the classroom, for a long moment. She could leave school, but it wouldn't change whatever situation her tormentors had cooked up. Likely, it would only make it worse. She couldn't imagine what they had told Blackwell, but it couldn't be good. Even after deciding that she wasn't going to back down and run away, it took a few minutes to convince herself to walk toward Blackwell's office.
When she arrived, she found the space around the secretary's desk crowded. Sophia, Madison, and Julia were present, and surprisingly none of them looked happy. There was a police officer, and a man in a suit who might have been a detective, a PRT agent, or some other official. The secretary waved her out of the walk way, and she ended up standing by the suit in order to put as much space as possible between herself and the other girls. The secretary was on the phone, and everyone else was quiet.
"Is Emma Barnes in your class this morning? Good. Have her report to the principal's office immediately. Yes, that's what I said, right away." She hung up the phone and glanced at the police officer nervously. Before anyone could say anything, one of the school counselors walked in and approached Taylor.
"Taylor Hebert?"
"Yes."
The counselor nodded, and held out a hand. "I'm Miss Bird." The name was rather unfortunate, because the woman actually looked bit like a bird; she was thin and walked with a bit of a bob in her step, but the stress kept Taylor from smiling as she shook her hand.
Sophia, who was closest out of all the girls, stuck her hand out immediately. "I'm Sophia Hess." She smiled charmingly, and Taylor bit her tongue to keep from giving any outward reaction. Sophia could turn on the charm nearly as well as Emma, when there was cause to do so.
"Yes, I know." Miss Bird said as she shook her hand. Surprisingly, she didn't move any closer to Sophia or seem to pay her any mind. She turned back to Taylor, just as Emma came in the door. Emma gave the room a look, then shot a poisonous glare at Taylor. Taylor did her best to focus on Miss Bird and not flinch. "How are you doing today, Taylor?" Taylor shrugged, not really paying attention and not sure how to respond to the question. She knew her cheek still had the shadow of the bruise that Sophia had given her Friday at lunch, but it wasn't nearly as noticeable as it had been on Saturday when she'd run into Fi.
Taylor wasn't really sure what to make of Fi. Two weeks ago, Fi had shown up in her biology class and had been introduced as a transfer student who'd just moved to Brockton Bay. She had watched Madison trip Taylor on her way to hand in her homework, and Fi had given Madison a look so dirty that she left Taylor alone for the rest of the class. The next day, she'd noticed when Madison didn't hand a worksheet to Taylor, and had taken two off the stack when it came to her, passing one to Taylor, while glaring at Madison in a way that seemed to invite her to protest if she dared. Madison hadn't. On that first Wednesday, Taylor had tracked her down outside where she was hiding during lunch, brought her up to the third floor where it was warm, but no one bothered them. She'd asked about the bullying and had told Taylor that she wanted to help.
Taylor hadn't believed her. Fi had claimed to be a cape, and Taylor had told her she didn't believe that either. But that night, Taylor had gotten a PM from Contract, a verified cape, on PHO that had a picture of Fi in civilian clothes attached. She'd replied cautiously, basically boiling down to "why me." Fi had replied that she just wanted to help. Somehow, that had made Taylor more nervous. Despite that, she decided to bring her notes to school on Friday. Maybe Fi could help.
That had been over a week ago, and since then she'd had no contact with Fi, or her friend Jason. She'd assumed that they'd gotten bored, given up, or maybe even been a plant from Emma all along.
It suddenly occurred to Taylor that she might have given up on hope too soon. Maybe, this scene hadn't been orchestrated by Emma and her friends. Certainly, they didn't look too happy at the moment. Before she could consider it any further, Blackwell stepped out of her office and looked at the crowded anteroom. "Everyone here? Good. Follow me." Blackwell opened the door just beside her office and held it while they slowly filed in. Inside was an oval conference table. Miss Bird walked down to the farthest end and took a seat, giving a smile to Taylor as she did so. Cautiously, Taylor chose the seat next to her. The police officer took the seat on Bird's other side while Blackwell and the man in the suit sat opposite each other near the middle of the table. The four girls took the end of the table closest to the door, and Blackwell's secretary shut the door.
"We are here to discuss allegations of severe bullying, including the criminal actions taken against Miss Hebert on January 3rd." Blackwell started off immediately. She turned toward Taylor, who was trying to be sure she'd heard correctly, but the police officer spoke before she could continue. He addressed the girls sitting at other end of the table.
"None of you are under arrest at this time. However, depending on your behavior and the evidence presented here today, I have been authorized to make arrests as necessary."
"I want to call my father." Emma said, immediately. The police officer nodded as though he expected this.
"That is your right. You can tell him to meet you at the station. Anyone else?" Emma gasped and pulled back like she'd been slapped, suddenly very pale, but he was looking at the other girls, who were frozen and silent.
"You can't arrest me for asking for my rights!" Emma spat at him.
"I won't arrest you. But if you're going to call in your father, a lawyer, then we will simply move your portion of the questioning to the station." She sputtered, but he was looking at the other girls. Madison and Julia were stock still, like they were scared to breath, but Sophia had regained her composure.
"I'd like to make a phone call." The policeman nodded.
"Very well. You may both step into the office and use the school phone. Wait there until we are finished in here. You are not to speak to each other."
The two girls sat still for a moment, shocked, then both stood up and slowly left the room. Once they were gone, the man in the suit turned to Taylor. "You are Taylor Hebert?"
"Yes." She said, still feeling lost by the rapid pace of events.
"I am Officer Willis. This is Sargent Doyle. We'd like to hear about the bullying you've been facing. I understand that it can be uncomfortable to talk in front of other students. If you wish to speak to us without them listening, you may. However, we have reason to believe that these girls may be able to collaborate your testimony and we'd like them to hear it as you say it, if possible."
"What's going to happen?" Taylor asked. That was really what mattered. "If I tell you one thing and they disagree, what will happen?"
"Everyone involved in the incident on January 3rd will be facing two months of in school suspension." Blackwell said, although she didn't look happy about it. "Other incidents will be taken on a case-by-case basis."
"How do you decide who was involved?" Taylor pressed. If she named Emma and her friends, and they didn't end up punished severely, Sophia would take it out of her hide. Officer Willis put his briefcase on the table. He pulled out a black box with five lights arranged in a line on top, and a cord attaching it to a metal pad.
"This is a new piece of tinker tech that the PRT is loaning to us for this case as part of its beta testing process. Simply place your hand on the pad while you speak, and the lights will indicate when you speak truth, and when you speak lies. All testimony admitted in this case will be screened by this device."
"What?" Julia interjected, standing up in shock. "Why?"
"The exact reasons are confidential." Office Willis replied calmly. Blackwell looked like she was sucking on a lemon. "But I am authorized to say that a very powerful parahuman has taken an interest in Brockton Bay and she is specifically concerned about that incident with the locker. Orders have come from very high up to get this situation resolved immediately. We are taking it very seriously."
Taylor didn't know how to react. On one hand, it seemed like justice was finally going to be served. On the other, it was only happening because an S-class cape had demanded it. If Fi had befriended Emma instead of Taylor, things would be going very differently. Numbly, she placed her hand on the offered metal plate. She hated that the system was so corrupt that it had to be pressured into doing the right thing, but Taylor wasn't dumb enough to cut off her nose to spite her face.
Officer Willis flicked a switch on the side of the device. "Please state your name."
"I'm Taylor Hebert." The bulb on the far left of the machine lit up in with a sharp green light.
"Do you know who was responsible for locking you into your locker on January 3rd?"
"Yes. It was Sophia Hess, Emma Barnes, and Madison Clements." The green light moved right, toward the center and Officer Willis frowned slightly. Before he could speak, Miss Bird jumped in.
"Why do you believe it was those girls?"
"They've been the ring leaders behind the bullying since September." The green light moved back to the left edge. "Other kids get into it, especially their friends, but those three are the main leaders." Madison was looking very uncomfortable.
Miss Bird pressed the question. "Did you see them on January 3rd?"
"Emma and Sophia were waiting by my locker. I don't remember if Madison was with them or not. I know that Sophia was the one who physically shoved me into the locker. She's always the most physical, and I was bent over throwing up so I saw her move up on me from behind." The light stayed consistently on the far right.
"But you don't know that Madison was there?"
"I didn't see her. But the locker has come up several times since then when they are bullying me, and she takes just as much credit as the other girls."
"I wasn't even in school that day!" Madison burst out.
"Wait your turn, Miss Clements." Officer Willis admonished her.
"No. This is crap. I don't have to sit here and listen to her make stuff up!"
Officer Willis sighed, but reached into his brief case and pulled out two more metal pads, which he plugged into the main box. He set one pad in front of Madison and one in front of Julia. Madison eyed it like a snake, and Julia moved both hands off the table.
"If you are going to speak, put your hand on the pad."
He gave all of us a look. "Do not speak on top of each other. The machine can only track one statement at a time. Now, Madison, either put your hand on the pad and state your name, or you may join your friends in the lobby and wait for a ride down to the police station." Carefully, Madison did as instructed and Julia followed suit. The entire time, the green light never wavered.
"Madison, were you involved in the incident on January 3rd?"
"I didn't go to school that day." The green light flickered one space to the left then returned as she spoke.
"Did you know about it before hand?"
"I heard some girls discussing it." The green light at the end went out, and the one next to it flared to life, along with the yellow light in the center.
"Did you help plan or execute the attack?"
"No." The far left light lit up an angry red. Madison snatched her hand off the pad and jerked so hard, her chair rolled back several inches. Officer Willis ignored her. He turned to Julia.
"Tell us everything you know about January 3rd."
Julia looked a bit sick, glancing between Madison and the adults, but slowly she started to talk in a quavering voice. As she did, the machine registered one or both of the green lights. "It was Emma's idea to ease off of Taylor for a while, then do something big to her. Madison mentioned the locker, and Sophia suggested that we add trash. It was a long discussion, I don't remember who said what exactly. We planned it out before break, and then on the last Friday of school, we got into the school and stuffed all the junk inside. We used trash from the dumpster mostly, but Emma and Madison had a bag they brought with them that smelled especially bad that they were going to put on top. I left before they actually opened it, so I don't know what was in it. I was in the crowd when Taylor got to the locker that Monday. I wasn't trying to stick around and watch, I was just… there. I didn't see who pushed her into the locker, but I know that Emma was the one who slammed it shut. After, she stood there holding it shut even after it was latched. She was laughing louder than anyone else."
Officer Willis nodded like he had expected this and turned back to Taylor. "There is an email on record which was forwarded to us from a cape. Did you send two PDF scans to a PRT email address on Friday, February 25th, 2011?"
"Yes."
"To the best of your knowledge, was the content of those PDFs accurate?"
"Yes."
"To the best of your knowledge, was any part of the content of those PDFs deliberately misleading?"
"No."
"To the best of your knowledge, was any part of the content of those PDFs accidentally misleading?"
"No. Some of it is sort of abbreviated, but it was never supposed to be hard to read. It was just a lot of incidents to record."
Throughout Taylor's answer the machine had shown the far right green light only. Officer Willis looked at Sargent Doyle.
"Do you have any further questions?"
"No, I think they can all be asked at the station. You girls are both facing arrest at the very least. Will you come to the station quietly?" They were too stunned to resist as he led them out of the room. Officer Willis turned to Blackwell.
"At this point I'd say it's likely that one or more of those girls is facing jail time. We will provide you a copy of all evidence and testimony reports so that you may discipline the remainder as you see fit."
"Thank you." Blackwell said, but she didn't seem any less unhappy. He turned to Taylor, and handed her a business card.
"Let me know if you think of anything not included in those PDFs."
Rather than reach out and take it, Taylor decided to see how serious he was. "Last Friday, Sophia Hess shoved me into a wall lined with lockers. That's where I got this bruise. After I fell down, she kicked me into that same wall." For the first time, he looked ruffled. She decided to keep going. "Last Monday, she made it clear that she had somehow found out about the email I sent. She knew that I had told someone, and she had seven or eight of her friends help her back me into a corner while they all told me what a rat I was. Last week was one of the most intense stretches of bullying I've seen since the locker. I hate Emma, because she betrayed me and she hurts me the deepest emotionally. But if Sophia comes back to this school, I won't. Not after these accusations. She'll put me back in the hospital."
The green light had flickered a few times, mostly where Taylor herself could admit she was unsure of the exact details. But on the last bit, it held solid in the far right spot. Officer Willis nodded, looking very thoughtful, and set the business card down on the table next to her hand.
"I understand you fear. Is there anything else you'd like to say?" Taylor was shocked to realize that he believed her, or at least was taking her seriously. Anything she might have wanted to say escaped her. She shook her head.
He nodded, and Taylor took her hand off the pad so he could pack the lie detector back into the brief case. After he left the room, Taylor slid the card into her pocket and there was an awkward silence.
"When you go back to class, don't tell anyone about this." Taylor felt like she was returning from a long way away as she tried to focus on Blackwell's words. "Until the official investigation is over, we shouldn't be too hasty." Taylor knew she was staring blankly at Blackwell, but she wasn't sure what else she could do to respond. She had too many things she wanted to say, and most of them could get her in trouble. She wanted to rub the school's nose in the facts that they had been ignoring for over a year. She wanted to dance in victory like a six year old. And she wanted to ask Blackwell if outside forces had kept her from investigating, just as outside forces were now forcing her to do the opposite.
Miss Bird spoke before she could get herself in trouble. "Considering that the other girls won't be returning to class today, I think it might be better for Taylor and I to talk for a while, and then for Taylor to take the rest of the day off. Having one girl return will only feed speculation as to the fate of the rest." Blackwell's lemon face was back, but she didn't protest.
As Taylor followed Miss Bird to her office, she tried to wrap her head around the fact that it was over. More than a year of torment was done. She could go to class tomorrow and not worry about Sophia, or Emma. Depending on the investigation, it wasn't out of the question that some of their friends would face in-school suspension for helping them. Taylor knew she ought to feel elated, and part of her did, but most of her was in shock, trying to understand what, exactly, had happened.