“You had better handle this with some tact for her sake. Mom shouldn’t have to suffer any awkward moments because of whatever happened with Martin.”
I opened my mouth to protest, but she held up her hand and silenced me.
“No, just listen. For what it’s worth, I don’t believe you did anything to Martin, but whatever the truth is doesn’t matter at this juncture. What does matter is how you handle it.”
“And I suppose you have a suggestion.”
“When you see Martin, you will walk up to him and give him a hug and make a show of concern and sympathy and distress for his well-being. You will be offended at the lies people have been posting. You will be the perfect, fawning teenage girl.”
“Are you crazy? Why would he go along with that?”
“Martin is a politician like his mother and father, and they will do whatever works best to maintain their sterling reputations. They would much rather people interpreted what happened that night as a health issue and not an accidental drug overdose or alcohol poisoning. If you and Martin look like an all American happy couple, the rumors will lose credibility. He won’t look like a victim and you won’t look like a murderer.”
“What makes you so sure that will work?”
“Because Dad said it would. Right now you and Martin can help each other. And if you’re not willing to do this for yourself, do it for our mother.”
“Martin will laugh in my face—”
“He won’t. Now get a backbone instead of a wishbone and behave your way out of this.”
A red fog of indignation filled my brain. It never failed to annoy me when Riley told me to get a backbone, as if I were nothing but a quivering, neurotic puppy. I wanted to argue, but Gail’s car was slowing as she turned into the driveway.
“And don’t tell the Vestal Virgins what you’re going to do,” Riley said as she put her hand on the doorknob. “They’ll try to talk you out of it because they’ve never needed to know how to protect themselves.”
I stepped off the porch and walked to the edge of the curved driveway. Gail stopped the car and Parisa threw open the back door. I slid onto the seat and pulled the door shut. The car smelled of expensive perfume and leather, familiar scents to me since all four of us had the same make and model of car, just in different colors. We had been inseparable since preschool, going to the same schools, vacationing together, spending nearly all our school and free time together. When we were little, people had trouble telling Gail, Cosette, and me apart since we all have blond hair. All four of us dressed fashionably since we shopped together using credit cards and our generous clothing allowances. All of us were athletic, lean and toned from playing various sports.
“Are you all right?” Parisa asked, her eyes wide with worry. She flipped her long, dark hair over her shoulder, revealing her pretty face. “We saw the postings and I could hardly sleep thinking about you.”
“Yeah, I’m all right.”
Cosette, the most sensitive of my friends, nodded. “It’s best that you don’t see those comments. They’ll only make you mad. And we’ve challenged everything those vicious trolls put up.”
“Thanks,” I said, choking up.
In the history of the world, I wondered if anyone had ever had more loyal friends than I. The four of us moved through the school like a phalanx, above and beyond the cliques the rest of the students had to navigate. Dating Martin had been the first big thing I had done without them. It had been my first tentative step outside their comforting orbit, and today I was only too happy to step back in.
We arrived in the student parking lot of our high school. The car stopped and my three friends exchanged looks. None made a move to get out. Suddenly they all seemed fascinated by their phones.
“We thought we would wait here until right before the bell rings,” Parisa said without looking at me. “There’s no need to subject ourselves to a huge crowd.”
I opened my car door. Riley’s words still rang in my ears. “No, I’m not hiding. Stay if you want.”
They exchanged shocked looks, but all of them got out of the car. The four of us hoisted our backpacks over our shoulders and walked onto campus through a gauntlet of students, some from the school that had burned down, others native. A few pointed at me, not bothering to hide it. Some boys laughed aloud and made sure I heard them call me a killer date. A couple groups of girls closed ranks to make sure that we couldn’t join their groups, as if we would.
I could sense my friends’ unease. We were used to being high profile on campus, but in a good way. We’d never had to hide from anything on campus before, and for my friends’ sake, I wouldn’t have them hiding now. With my head held high and my eyes firmly ahead, I led my friends to a concrete bench in the middle of the campus square and sat down. This place was as visible as center court at a basketball game. If the other students wanted a piece of me, I would be here for the taking. My three friends traded panicked glances, clearly unhappy at being so exposed. They took seats next to me, protective as always. I felt a wave of gratitude. High school students aren’t known for swimming too close to a drowning man.
“So, how bad has it gotten?” I said, noting all the eyes and pointed fingers that were coming my way. I thought we might as well have the same conversation everyone else seemed to be having. “And don’t hold anything back.”
Cosette exchanged glances with Parisa and Gail before she replied. “You already know that some are claiming that you drugged Martin’s Pepsi. The latest posts are saying that the police have interviewed you for attempted murder.”
My jaw dropped. “The police? That’s ridiculous!”
“They’re saying you used some kind of date rape drug and that you spilled his glass after he collapsed to keep it from being tested,” Cosette said, embarrassed.
“Martin’s the one who knocked it over when he fell out of his seat,” I said, furious. “What else?”
“Some are claiming you left the movie for a long time to lure Martin from his seat so that you could drug the Pepsi.” Gail bit her lip. “Is that true—I mean the part about you leaving the theater?”
“Yes, but not because I was trying to get him out of his seat so I could drug him.” Hot, furious blood flushed to my face. “The truth is that I was trying to get away from him.”
“Did you two have a fight?” Cosette asked gently.
“Not verbally,” I said slowly. I blinked rapidly as tears stung my eyes. I was glad my sunglasses hid them. “The reason I left is because he was either trying to put his hand down my shirt or up my leg. This went on for most of the movie. I can’t even tell you what was happening on the screen. Finally I got up and went to the restroom just to get away from him.”
I prayed the tears didn’t overflow my lashes and run down my cheeks where people could see them.
“Did you try talking to him and explaining how you feel?” Parisa asked.
“During the movie? Besides, I doubt he much cared about what I felt right then.”
As a matter of fact, my protests had only seemed to egg him on. He said how it was dark and everyone had their eyes forward and no one could see. What was my problem? I couldn’t even look at the girl sitting to my right. She had to have been aware of my drama, and I didn’t want to see either the pity or condemnation in her eyes. The couple Martin and I had double-dated with sat across the aisle watching the movie calmly. Everyone in that theater had been having a good time but me. Why couldn’t I make him understand? I was sixteen. I should have known what to do. My throat tightened at the memory.
“People are saying you were in the restroom a long time,” Parisa said in a low voice.
My eyes were burning. “I didn’t want to go back and face those groping hands.”
“Why didn’t you call your mother?” Gail asked.
“And say what? That the son of the one of the vice presidents from her college had turned into an octopus and I couldn’t figure out what to do?” My voice became high and soft. “I didn’t want her to know I had gotten into a situation that I couldn’t handle.”
“But you went back into the movie,” Cosette said, her brown eyes puzzled.
I couldn’t look at her when I answered. “I was praying that Martin could take a hint. I was praying he would act like a normal boyfriend and I wouldn’t feel so bad. I know it’s messed up.”
“What happened then? We saw the videos showing how he ended up on the floor like he was drunk out of his mind,” Gail said.
“When he came back to his seat, he was pouting and wouldn’t look at me. I was so relieved to be left alone that I pretended not to notice. Then nearly at the end of the movie, the arm came over my shoulder again and started down my shirt again. I was so mad I dug my fingernails into the back of his hand.”
I stopped talking. A lump in my throat captured and held my words.
“And?” Gail said, prompting me after a long silence.
“And he bent one of my fingers back so hard that I almost screamed. For a few seconds I wondered if I deserved it, you know, because I had hurt him and he was getting even. Before I could figure out what to do, he whispered that he was sorry. So I thought that everything would be all right, but then the hand came back on my knee like nothing had ever happened. I was scared of him hurting me again and sick of how he wouldn’t leave me alone, so I grabbed his wrist. That’s when he just seemed to sag.”
Gail raised an eyebrow at me. “He sagged?”
“Yeah, like he no longer had any bones. He swayed in his seat and knocked the glass of Pepsi out of the cup holder. Then he fell forward into the aisle, you know, like he had fainted or something.”
“Had he fainted?” Cosette asked.
“No, he just lay there like he was drowsy. Just then the movie ended and people were stopping to see what was wrong. An usher got security and they accused him of being on drugs. They threatened to call the cops and everything. The other couple and I got him home and his dad screamed in my face and his mother got all cold and vicious and said that if I was responsible for hurting her son, that this would end badly for me.”
“So that’s when you walked off into the dark?” Gail said.
“I couldn’t stand another attack. They scared me.”
“We’re asking because Martin’s friends are saying you went off by yourself so you could hide the evidence of the drugs you had given him,” Cosette said apologetically.
“There weren’t any drugs,” I said through clenched teeth. “There was nothing to hide. Martin’s mother called my mom to say the doctors in the emergency room couldn’t find any reason why he had collapsed except for low blood pressure and blood sugar. He didn’t have any drugs in his system. Dad doubts she would have called except that she didn’t want to face any suspicion of creating a hostile workplace. He said it was all political.”
“Those videos look bad,” Cosette said apologetically. “That has to be embarrassing for him.”
“Martin should be embarrassed,” Parisa cried. “That pig assaulted Darcy all through the movie.”
Gail nodded. “We could make sure everyone hears about that.”
“No, no, don’t do that,” I said. “People will say I’m blaming the victim.” And I still felt stupid for not being able to stop him on my own.
“For one thing, why would you give him a date rape drug at the movies while on a double date?” Parisa asked, always the most sensible one. “That’s ridiculous all on its own. And how could you have caused the low blood sugar?”
I had been wondering that same thing since Martin fell into the aisle. Could I have caused that? I couldn’t deny having felt that jolt of electricity and life.
“And who’s to say what he was doing when he was out of his seat?” Gail added. “Has anyone thought of that?”
Cosette grinned. “I did, and I posted that question yesterday.”
“Good for you,” Gail said. “And once the news of Martin’s low blood sugar gets out, people will quit blaming you for his collapse. I mean, really, it’s kind of sad that someone can’t have a medical episode without being accused of being on drugs.”
“In the meantime, you’ll hold your head high,” Cossette said.
I thought that if I held my head any higher, it would get chopped off. “Why would anyone listen to me when the drug version is so much sexier?”
“Because even good drama can’t last,” Cosette said thoughtfully. “This is cold comfort, but you can be sure that by lunchtime there will be another scandal and people will forget this one. Now smile at me and I mean a big smile.”
“Yes, smile, and now everyone laugh really loud, as if Cosette just said something really funny,” Gail said with a wide grin.
Maybe it was the tension and the nervous energy, but Cosette, Parisa, and Gail all broke out in laughter so forced and yet so hilarious that I had no choice but to follow. After a few seconds, the laughter became sincere. The anxiety melted from my shoulders and I felt something like normal for the first time in all day. I even allowed myself to see the students around me. Suddenly it didn’t seem as if everyone was looking at me now. Those who were seemed puzzled.
“Okay, that felt strange and geeky,” I said.
Parisa dug into her backpack to fish out a pencil. “Don’t knock geeks. Mom says geeks and nerds are the ones who run the world once they hit middle age.”
“Yes, but that doesn’t mean we have to date them now,” Cosette shot back.
I started to agree, but the words died in my mouth.
Gail turned in the direction of my stare. “No way,” she said with a sneer. “So Martin and his posse are making a grand entrance. You know, I could feel sorry for him and his public humiliation if he had bothered to defend you. He knows you’re innocent, but he’s letting you take the fall.”
Martin had come into the courtyard with five of his friends, including the one who had been on the double date with us. Clearly Martin was the center of attention, giving and receiving many one-armed man hugs and fist bumps to those who greeted him. Now was my chance, while I still had the element of surprise. I got up and started toward him, ignoring the gasps of my friends. The closer I got to Martin, the more my courage pulled away, drawing back like the tide from a beach.
My legs seemed to be moving in slow motion and my feet seemed to be hitting the ground very hard. Still I kept walking. Riley wouldn’t be able to say I failed our mother. Martin’s friends saw me first. Their eyes widened and some leered and grinned. The guy Martin was talking to gaped and pointed to me. Martin turned around, and before he had a chance to react, I threw myself into his arms.