It wasn't Teal." I said.
"What?" Robin screamed, spinning on me now.
It was Gia's idea," I said quickly. Why it came to me to do that. I couldn't say for sure. I think it was a combination of things. First, it was truly Gia who had put the idea into our heads, and second, assigning blame to someone who was already condemned in Dr. Foreman's mind didn't seem such a terrible thing to do. It was like blaming a murderer on death row for another murder. What difference could it possibly make to him?
Dr. Foreman's eyes grew smaller. darker. '"Gia?"
"Yes," I said without hesitation.
"Then why did Teal assign blame to Robin?"
I looked at Teal. "She's more afraid of G
ia than she is of Robin. We all are."
Dr. Foreman held those scrutinizing eyes on me for a long moment. She walked to the front of the desk, folding her arms under her breasts and nodding slightly. I thought she was just going to start screaming at me for being a liar, but something kept her from it.
"Are you saying Gia accompanied the three of you as well that night?"
"Oh, no."
"Then what are you saving, Phoebe? Gia did this before or she just came up with the idea?"
Rabin and Teal were looking at me with faces of hope, both counting on me to come up with the right answers to get us out from under the hot lights of Dr. Foreman's eyes.
"I don't know. Dr. Foreman."
"You don't know?"
"I can't be sure of anything Gia tells us" This time I held my gaze and met her perceptive eves. She knew what I meant.
'Don't make me sound like a prosecutor. Phoebe."
"I'm not," I whined.
-Did Gia tell you that she spied on my girls? Yes or no?"
"Not exactly."
"What?"
"She said Posy had done it," I told her.
Teal and Robin looked even more shocked at my mention of Posy's name. They turned quickly to see what Dr. Foreman's reaction would be. She looked thoughtful, but not enraged. She turned to Teal and Robin,
"She told you two this as well?"
"Yes. Dr. Foreman." Teal said quickly. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you Phoebe's right. We were all together when she spoke about it and what she said Posy saw, We were just bored and we were told how much fun the buddies were having at their so-called parties, so--"
"I'm not interested in that." Dr. Foreman snapped, thought again, and walked back to her desk chair. "I'm disappointed." Then, after a beat of silence during which she looked as troubled as I had ever seen her look, she added. "In all of you."
After another quiet moment, she looked up sharply at us, wearing a face of utter disgust, and said. "You're dismissed. Return to your quarters until I call for you."
You mean, stay in the barn?" Rabin asked.
"Are you deaf? Yes. Now go." Dr. Foreman waved at the door.
The three of us got up slowly and walked out, each of us holding her breath.