Julian approaches you hesitantly.
"Hey, Jess. I've got a problem." said Julian
"It it studying again?" Jess asked
"My grades have gotten better C and B with Tommy help. It's my little sister, Hope."
"I didn't know you had a little sister."
"Yeah, well, unlike me, she's smart. She goes to that fancy-schmancy, magnet school... you know, Statton School for the Humanities?"
"Yeah... I've heard of it."
"Well, she's a freshman there, and she used to really like it. She was always going on and on about the classes and her friends. But lately, she seems out of it. She's really quiet when I ask her about school. I think something's up. Can you help me talk to her?"
"Of course I can."
"Great! She gets off school soon. Let's head to my house."
After school Julian drove Jess to Julian's house.
"You have a nice house." said Jess
"Heh thanks I'll bring Autumn here sometime. Dad at work Mom this is my friend Jess, Jess this is my Mom." said Julian
"Hi Jess!" Mrs Vega shake hand with Jess. "Lovely to meet you, Julian told me so much about you. I'll go make some snack."
"Thanks I'm fine." said Jess
"Hey, Hope, this is my friend, Jess. Jess, this is my sister Hope." said Julian
"Hi, Hope."
"Hey." said Hope
"Uh... Julian says you're having some trouble at school." said Jess
"Oh, no! No trouble. Everything's fine. Julian doesn't know what he's talking about." Hope phone buzzes just them. Jess catch her biting her lip as she shoves it further into her pocket.
"Er, uh, okay, well." said Jess
"Is that all?"
Jess look at Julian over her shoulder, and he tilts his head at Hope and mouths 'Do something' at her. Jess sigh. "Well, I'm suer everything is as great as you say. But hey, uh, listen, Julian and I are going to go, uh... bowling! We're going bowling. And we really want you to come with us!"
"Oh... okay, I guess." said Hope
At the bowling alley...
"All right, Hope! Another strike!" said Jess
"That's my sis!" said Julian
"Yeah!" said Hope
"This is the happiest I've seen you in weeks." Julian smiled
"Yeah, well... you guys are pretty cool."
"So are you going to tell us what's going on at school now?"
"Geez, Julian!"
"What? I can't be worried for my little sister? If you have a problem, Hope, I can fix it for you."
"Back off. I don't want to talk about it, least of all with you!"
"But-"
"Hey, Julian, I think it's your turn... maybe you want to save this conversation for later?" Jess asked
"Fine, but only because it seems like a good idea to throw something right now!" said Julian
Jess sit next to Hope while Julian takes a bowling ball from the feeder. Hope shakes her head.
"I love Julian, but he's never met a problem he didn't want to punch... and this problem isn't going to be that easy to solve." said Hope
"Maybe you'd be more comfortable talking about it with me?" Jess asked
Hope's phone buzzes, and she glances at the incoming texts. She grimaces. "Maybe."
"Come on, the game's over. I'll buy you a milkshake at the snack bar." said Jess
At the bowling alley snack bar, you and Hope hop onto 50s-style vinyl barstools.
"Thanks for the shake. Look, I know Julian's worried about me, but he really doesn't have to be." said Hope
Hope phone buzzes again, and when she reads what's on her screen, her eyes fill with tears.
"Hope, what's really going on? You can't tell me this is 'nothing'." said Jess
"Well, some people at my school have been texting my phone and posting on my school page saying some really, um, mean things... But I swear I can handle it. Please don't tell Julian." said Hope
"Jess doesn't have to tell me anything." said Julian
"Julian! You were eavesdropping?" Hope exclaimed
"Yes! Er, no! I was getting a coincidental snack! And so what? No one gets away with hurting my sister. You just point me at the guy, and I'll take care of him."
"Well, first, it's a GIRL who's been sending them, and second, like I said before, I REALLY don't want to talk about it with you!" Hope shoves away from the counter and walks off.
"So... should we follow Hope?" Jess asked
"If I know my sister, she needs a little time to cool off." said Julian
"Okay."
"I still can't believe she's been hiding this for weeks! Why didn't she say anything? What did she tell you?"
"Well, I don't really know what's going on. She's not exactly talking. Unless you want to steal her phone-"
"Yes!"
"Which we're NOT going to do because we want Hope to realize that we're on her side."
"Fine."
"Then we need to find another way to figure out what happened to her. Do you know what she meant when she said people were posting to her school page? Have people been posting stuff to her on Facebook?"
"No... Hope's school has its own site called the Statton School Gossip Board. Every student has their own personal page, and I think you can send messages to each other publicly. But it's hard to access. You have to be a student at their school."
"Maybe we can get to the site and figure out what people are saying to Hope there?"
"Yeah, let's see if anyone in the computer lab can help us."
In the school computer lab Jess gather Tommy (nerd) and Danny (jock) for help
"Thanks, Tommy and Danny... I really appreciate you doing this." said Julian
"No worries, I like computer and we take IT." said Tommy
"I have a friend who goes to Statton, and he gave me access. " said Danny
Danny pulls up the Statton School Gossip Board site and does a search for Julian's sister. Hope's face pops up on the screen along with a wall of posts where other students have been publicly messaging her. Jess start reading the messages... and gasp.
"Julian! Look at this!" Jess gasped
Jess and Julian crowd around the computer screen where Hope's page on the Statton School Gossip Board is up. Zayn scrolls through a bunch of nasty and insulting messages students have been posting to Hope's page.
"Do the world a favor and disappear. no one wants you around." Danny read the message.
"Ugliest girl at school, hands-down." Julian read the message
"Hope, everyone knows what you did, you stupid- ...okay, I'm not finishing that sentence." Jess sighed
"Isn't anyone monitoring this stupid site? Take it down, take it all down!"
"I'm sorry, Julian. I don't know how. I don't have that kind of power." said Danny
"Julian, this is bad. Really bad." said Jess
"I know! I can't believe she was hiding this from me! No one talks about her like that! I'm going to... I'm going to... beat everyone at that school to a pulp! I'm going to... I don't know what I'm going to do! Why would anyone do this? What is wrong with these people?" Julian growled
"That's how bullies work they find a reason to bully and judge people, violence will make it worse." Jess comfort Julian
"Your right, I want to help Hope, I don't know how to help her." Julian get frustrated
"Julian, I think it's time to get the story out of Hope."
"Good. I'm coming with you."
"It might be best if you don't. She seems pretty sensitive about talking to you. I'm going to bring someone who might understand her situation a little better, okay?"
"Fine... I'll sit out. But if I can do anything, ANYTHING at all, you find me."
"Of course."
At Julian and Hope's house, Jess and Jessica find Hope sitting on the living room couch, crying. When she looks up, she sniffles and tries to wipe away her tears.
"Uh, hey, guys... what are you doing here?" Hope asked
"Hey, Hope. Listen, we saw the posts that people have been putting up on the Gossip Board." said Jess
"You... you did?!" Hope exclaimed
"Do you want to talk about it? I'm Jessica a friend were good listener." said Jessica
"We're very good at listening." said Jess
"Okay... I just... I... just need a minute." said Hope
"It's okay, Hope. Take your time."
Hope takes a shaky breath explained the whole story "It started a couple weeks ago at a beach party. I don't normally go to parties, but everyone at Statton was invited, and I knew this guy, Asher, would be there. He's so cute! I've had a crush on him for forever... He started talking to me, and I was so excited! But I knew he was dating this girl named Chelsea, so I didn't want to start anything. But when I asked about her, he told me not to worry about it, so I thought they broke up or something. We really hit it off though, and then we kissed, and everything was so magical! Well, I thought maybe he'd ask me out, and we could be together, but... Someone took a picture of the kiss and posted it on the Gossip Board. Chelsea saw it, and she was SO mad. It turns out, they are still dating. And now Chelsea hates me. She and Asher are really popular, and a bunch of her friends keep texting me and posting mean things about me on the site. It's been a couple weeks already, and the messages don't stop. I can't make it stop."
Hope starts tearing up, and Jess put an arm around her comfortingly. Jessica pats her back and hands her a tissue.
"It's okay... just let it all out." said Jessica
Hope blows her nose and sniffles.
"Hope, have you talked to your parents about this? You can enroll to my school when you get older anyone is welcome here it will be a second home." Jess asked
"That's sound tempting It already took a lot of convincing to get them to let me go to this school! And I love the program I'm in where I take drama, music and art. Despite a nightmare over there, one pathway going to Juanita College they have a great art program hopefully it blow over they forget about me. Besides, they won't understand anything that's going on... all they're going to do is take away my phone or my internet, and then what?" Hope sobbed
"But Hope, if it's gotten this bad, they can help. We'll go speak to the principal convince him to take the post down."
"No. Please, PLEASE don't say anything, the principal will call my parents. Maybe it'll blow over when I go to college. Maybe it'll be fine they forget about me as long they don't see me."
"Hope, you have to do SOMETHING. You can't let this girl and her friends do this to you. They're bullying you."
"I know... I never should've kissed Asher. I didn't even know he and Chelsea were dating at the time, but."
"Does Chelsea know that? Maybe if you told her the truth and apologized, she'd stop."
"I couldn't do that! She's... she wouldn't understand.'
"It's a misunderstanding, isn't it? Sometimes, it's good to tell people how you feel. I can go with you."
"Okay... but I don't know where she is. Chelsea dances after school, she loves dancing but she's in a specific program. I don't know where she goes."
"I think I know someone who can help us out. Grab your bag, and let's go."
Jess and Hope meet with Emily at school.
"Hey, Emily!" Jess waved
"Hey, Jess! I heard you needed help tracking down a dancer." said Emily
"Do you know Chelsea from Statton School?"
"I do, actually. I don't really talk to her much, but she takes lessons at the dance studio. I'm on my way now. Want a ride?"
"Yes, please."
A short time later, Jess, Hope, and Emily arrive at the dance studio.
"I believe Chelsea's taking the modern dance course on the second level. You can find her in room 12." Emily pointed
"Thanks for all your help, Emily. And for the ride!" said Jess
"No problem!" Emily turns to Hope and pats her shoulder.
Jess and Hope climb up to the second floor. Hope stops Jess right before she go into the classroom.
"I don't think I can do this. I don't want to make things any worse, Jess." Hope gulped
"You're not. You're just going to explain your side of the story and let her know how much she and her friends are affecting you. I'll be standing right there with you. Okay?" Jess comfort Hope
"Okay... lead the way, I guess."
Jess walk through the doors to find a lofty dance studio with shiny wood floors, bright lights, and mirrored walls. Girls in leotards and soft-soled shoes warm up at the bars on the wall. Hope points out Chelsea in the corner of the room. "There she is..."
Jess walk over.
"Hope?! What are YOU doing here?" Chelsea exclaimed
"Hey, I'm a friend of Hope's. We'd like to talk to you. Do you mind if we step outside?" Jess asked
"Make it quick."
Hope explains the events of the party to Chelsea. "I didn't even know that the two of you were dating. Asher told me not to worry about it, so I just assumed you weren't together. I wouldn't have kissed him if I'd known... I'm so sorry, Chelsea. I didn't mean to hurt you."
"Well, you did... ...but I guess I see your point." said Chelsea
"You do?"
"Yep! All this time I thought you were just a cold-hearted, two-faced, back-stabbing boyfriend-stealer when in reality, you were just MISGUIDED... I guess I didn't really stop to think about YOUR feelings because I was feeling a little betrayed that you made out with MY boyfriend! I'm SO sorry, Hope. I'll take all the mean stuff off your Gossip Board wall. Promise."
"That's great!" Jess smiled
"Yes, it really is!" said Hope
"You are SO welcome. I'll even get started right now!" Chelsea left
An hour later, you drop Hope back off at her house.
"I can't believe this nightmare is over! Thanks, Jess, for helping me face my problems head-on." said Hope
"Of course. Anytime." said Jess
"Do you think the messages are gone? I can't wait to see for myself." Hope reaches into her backpack for her laptop... and stops. "My laptop. It's gone!" Hope spends the next few minutes searching through her bedroom and every bag in the house.
"Did you take it with you to the studio?"
"Yeah, it was in my backpack. But I don't know why it would disappear! I only put my bag down for a minute while we were talking to Chelsea."
"Why don't we drive back to the studio? We'll go look for it together."
"Here we are." said Greg
Jess and Hope walk inside the dance studio.
"There's a lot of personal stuff on my laptop... I just want it back." said Hope
"Try not to worry, Hope... we'll find it." said Jess
Jess finally find Hope's laptop in a dumpster behind the studio.
"Why would it be in there?" Hope asked
"Maybe the janitor found it and threw it out?" Jess asked
"That makes no sense... whatever. I'm just glad it's safe." In the kitchen at Hope's house, Hope boots up her computer... and freezes.
"What's wrong?"
"Someone's been on my laptop!"
Jess lean over and see that the background has been changed to a picture of her and Asher kissing with a black 'X' over her face and the words 'NICE TRY' on the screen. Hope frantically clicks on her browser, opening up the school's Gossip Board.
"Oh no... no, no, no... this can't be happening" Hope gasped
"What? What's going on?" Jess lean over and glance at what she's reading.
"Chelsea lied when she told us she'd take everything down! These new posts are even worse than the others! I can't believe she would put THIS online! I can't believe she would post that"
"Oh... Hope, I'm so sorry. We'll figure out how to deal with this... I promise."