“How could you do this to us?” Ellie asked me.
“I didn’t. She saw me walking and saw I was crying. I didn’t even know I was crying, but . . .”
“You’re such a phony,” Ellie said. “I bet you made up that whole story about your mother and your sister. That whole candle thing in the bathroom was probably some kind of voodoo ceremony or something. You pretended to be such a wallflower, but you managed to steal away my boyfriend. Now you put on this act for Mrs. Hathaway and got us all expelled just before our graduation. We had to sit in there while she called our parents to tell them. Congratulations.”
They started away.
“None of that is true!” I screamed after them. They didn’t pause or turn around.
I backed up and sat on the small sofa in the lobby. I was too frightened to return to our room. Minutes later, the other girls, looking just as devastated as Ellie and Natalie, emerged from Mrs. Hingle’s office. They glanced at me and continued down the hallway.
Mrs. Hathaway came to the open office doorway and looked out at me.
“Come in here, Semantha,” she said.
As soon as I entered, she closed the door. Mr. Kasofsky was sitting on the settee, looking just as upset as she did.
“Sit,” Mrs. Hathaway ordered, nodding at one of the chairs. “I’m happy you didn’t participate in their debauchery,” she began.
“They think I turned them in,” I muttered.
“So what? They’re certainly not good friends of yours. They said some nasty things about you in here,” she revealed. I looked at Mr. Kasofsky, who nodded. “I don’t imagine you’ll ever have anything to do with any of them again, either.”
“But the rest of the student body . . .”
“Are you running for president of the student council or something?”
“No, but . . . they’ll blame me!” I cried.
“They have only themselves to blame for what’s happened. However, I don’t imagine they’ll make things pleasant for you until they leave. I have arranged for taxicabs to pick them up in less than an hour. I’d like you to go to the library and wait there until I call for you. I can’t imagine you’d want to return to that room while Ellie
Patton is still here, and I want it fumigated anyway. It reeks of marijuana. They are lucky I didn’t call the police. That has been my standard procedure for such behavior. I’m calling your father, and I want you to be present while I speak with him.”
“Why? I didn’t do anything.”
“Whenever a student has any significant changes in her living or schooling here, we inform the parents immediately.”
She picked up the phone and called my father. I sat and listened as she described the events, emphasizing how I had been made uncomfortable and placed in danger. I couldn’t help but wonder how he was really feeling and what he was really thinking about all of this. In my heart of hearts, I had always believed that he thought I would do something or something would happen that would make my graduating impossible. He had often said about other things Cassie and I had done, “I’m waiting for the second shoe to drop.”
“Your father would like to speak with you,” she said, holding out the receiver. She stood. “Mr. Kasofsky and I will see to the girls and make sure they do not do any more damage, especially to your things.”
I rose and took the phone. She and Mr. Kasofsky left the office, and I sat behind Mrs. Hingle’s desk.
“Hi, Daddy,” I said.
“Well, that does sound like quite a disaster there. I’m glad you’re on the right side of all this, Semantha.”
“I didn’t tell on them,” I said. For some reason, I felt that was important for him to know. “Mrs. Hathaway just guessed something was wrong when she saw me. I was upset and had left the room.”
“It doesn’t matter. None of that matters. What matters is your being comfortable and safe until your graduation. Perry and I will be there. Just listen to Mrs. Hathaway, and do whatever she tells you to do.”
“Okay, Daddy. I’m sorry.”
“There’s nothing for you to be sorry about, Semantha. What you can learn from this is how important it is to be careful about the friends you make, even mere acquaintances. Call me whenever you want,” he said.
After I hung up, I saw Cassie standing in the doorway.
“I didn’t tell on them,” she mimicked. “Don’t you realize how pathetic you sound, and to Daddy?”