by Andy Coltart
‘Hi Riley.’ It wasn’t the phone though. It was Casey standing in front of her on the yard. Riley jumped up and threw her arms round Casey and burst into tears. Casey, having no idea what had happened just held her until she was ready to let go and sit down.
‘Where have you been?’ said Riley, wiping tears from her eyes.
‘I had a hospital appointment,’ said Casey. ‘I’d forgotten all about it until Mum reminded me this morning. What’s happened? Why are you so upset, and shaking?’ asked Casey.
Riley told Casey how she’d waited for her before school and then gone looking for her at break time. She told her about the mean girls in the bathroom. About the words they’d said and the things they’d done; As she finished, she started to cry again. Casey put her arm around her. Inside Casey was fuming. She’d never felt so angry. Why do people have to be so nasty? she thought to herself.
Looking down at Riley’s hand she noticed it was shimmering.
‘Are you invisible?’ she asked.
‘Yeah. Managed to do it in a cubicle like Alex asked me to,’ replied Riley, still sobbing.
‘Wow, well done,’ said Casey. ‘Do you want to stay invisible and just come around with me this afternoon?’ Casey asked.
‘Yeah, that sounds good,’ said Riley.
‘Come on then,’ said Casey. ‘I’d better let the school office know I’m back from the hospital.’
‘How come you were there?’ asked Riley as they got up from the bench and walked towards the school doors.
‘I had to have some tests,’ said Casey.
‘What for?’ asked Riley.
‘Cancer,’ said Casey. Riley stopped in the corridor pulling Casey’s arm to face her.
‘What!’ she said.
‘Cancer,’ repeated Casey. Riley flung her arms round Casey and hugged her.
‘I’m sorry, I didn’t know,’ she said.
‘It’s okay,’ said Casey. ‘No one knows. I’ve not told anyone until now.’
As Riley let go they started to walk towards the office again.
‘Are you gonna be okay?’ asked Riley.
‘I hope so, I get my results next week,’ said Casey.
‘It kinda puts what’s happened to me into perspective,’ said Riley.
‘No, it doesn’t,’ said Casey. ‘What happened to you today is horrific and wrong and we will get justice for you.’ Riley liked the sound of that. It was good to have someone on her side.
‘Hi, miss,’ said Casey through the hatch at the admin office.
‘Oh, hi Casey, you on your own?’
‘Yeah, Mom dropped me at the gate,’ said Casey.
‘No problem,’ said the administrator. ‘You can go straight to your Physics class in the lab.’
‘Thanks, miss,’ said Casey as she turned and walked back down the corridor with Riley.
Casey opened the lab door and walked in with Riley behind her.
‘Oh good, you’ve made it,’ said the teacher. ‘We are just starting the experiment on page 14.’ Casey said down and took out her books. There was an empty chair near her so Riley sat down on that. Riley looked around her to see which pupils were in Casey’s physics class. She was physically shaking when she saw the three means girls who had attacked her sat on the other side of the room.
‘You okay?’ whispered Casey.
‘No, those are the girls who attacked me,’ she said pointing across the room. Casey looked, her face full of anger.
‘I wanna get out of here,’ said Riley.
‘Don’t forget, only I can see you,’ said Casey.
‘I know but I still feel uncomfortable,’ said Riley. Casey put her hand up.
‘What is it, Casey?’ asked the teacher.
‘Miss I’ve left my book in my locker.’
‘Go on, go and get it and be quick please, you’ve missed enough of this lesson,’ said the teacher.
Casey handed her book to Riley so that it vanished and the two left the room.
Out in the corridor Riley gave her back the book so she had something to walk back in with.
‘Listen,’ said Casey, ‘why don’t you go to the canteen and have a drink. There’s only a half hour left before the lunch break and I think we need to decide what to do about these girls then.’
‘Okay,’ said Riley.
Casey went back into class as Riley headed to the canteen. She passed a couple of teachers on the way who had no idea she was even there.
When the lunch bell rang the canteen quickly started to fill up. Riley put herself on a table out of the way of everyone else, something she was used to doing anyway. Casey soon found her and they headed for the school library which was often empty in the lunch hour.
‘How you doing?’ asked Casey.
‘Okay, less shaky now I’m away from those three,’ said Riley.
‘What do you want to do about them?’ said Casey. ‘This needs reporting. If it had happened on the street the police would be arresting them for assault. Just because it’s happened here doesn’t mean they should get away with it.’
‘I know,’ said Riley. ‘I’m just scared it’ll make it worse.’
Casey thought for a moment.
‘You could use your energy pulse and push them off a cliff,’ she said. Riley smiled
‘I appreciate the thought but I think I should use these powers for good,’ she said.
‘Using them for good doesn’t rule out using them for justice,’ said Casey.
‘What are you thinking?’ asked Riley.
‘Well, they poured water on you, why not pour water on them. I’m not talking toilet water, just a plain old bucket’s worth!’
‘That sounds like revenge,’ said Riley.
‘No, it sounds like justice,’ said Casey, ‘and with your invisibility they won’t see it coming!’
Chapter 28
The End of an Era
‘Let me sleep on it,’ said Riley. ‘I always find you make better choices about things if you don’t act too quickly.’
‘Okay,’ said Casey reluctantly. ‘Are you going to make yourself visible and come to lessons this afternoon? You don’t want to be marked absent for the whole day or the school will be onto your mom,’ said Casey.
‘Yeah, you’re right. Can you come with me to the loos?’ said Riley.
‘Yes, of course,’ said Casey as they left the library.
‘We’ll get some food once you’re visible,’ she added.
After lunch the girls spent the afternoon in lessons together. Fortunately for Riley the three mean girls were not in any of her classes. At the end of the day they headed to the cafe at the city library, where Casey had messaged Alex to meet them.
‘Hi you two,’ he said walking into the cafe and giving Riley, then Casey a hug.
‘Do you want a drink?’ said Casey.
‘Oh yes please, a coffee would be great. Thanks, Casey,’ he replied.
‘No problem,’ said Casey, ‘I’ll leave you two to talk.’ Alex looked at Riley.
‘Talk about what?’ he said. Riley shared what had happened that morning in the toilets. Alex looked horrified.
‘That’s awful,’ he said. ‘I’m so sorry you had to go through that. Why didn’t you call me?’ he said.
‘I tried, and I tried Casey but no-one answered,’ said Riley.
‘I’m sorry, I must have silenced my phone in a lecture,’ he said.
‘Here’s your drink,’ said Casey. ‘Has Riley filled you in?’ she asked.
‘Yes, and I’m shocked. I hope you’ve reported them.’
‘Not yet,’ said Riley. ‘Casey thinks I should use my powers to inflict my own justice on them – like a bucket of water over their heads.’
Alex always had some wisdom to share on things like this, which is why Casey had contacted him.
‘What do you think, Alex?’ asked Riley.
‘To be honest, as tempting as the bucket of water sounds it doesn’t make you any better than them if you do it. I wo
uld report this to the school and I’d tell your mom. If she goes into school about it and threatens to involve the police, trust me the school will be swift to deal with these girls properly. It’ll give you more satisfaction than a bucket of water will.’
Although Casey was disappointed at the lack of action they would take against the mean girls, she did accept Alex’s approach was right.
‘Are we all set for tomorrow?’ asked Alex.
‘I think so,’ said Riley, taking another gulp of her coffee.
‘Shall we meet you at the train station?’ asked Casey.
‘Yeah, that’s fine with me,’ said Alex.
‘Don’t forget your I.D.’ said Riley.
‘I won’t and I’ll have the tickets for the train and tour too,’ said Alex. Riley finished up her coffee.
‘I’m gonna head home,’ she said. ‘Mom and I need to have a talk.’
‘I hope that goes well,’ said Casey.
‘Thanks,’ said Riley as she got up to leave.
Later at home Riley was helping her mum clear away after dinner. The twins had gone to watch television.
‘Mom, can we talk,’ asked Riley, putting the kettle on.
‘Of course,’ said her mum. They sat down at the island in the kitchen together. Riley brought over two coffees and gave one to her mum.
‘What did you want to tell me?’ asked her mum. Riley took a deep breath. She knew this would be hard for her mum to hear. It wasn’t easy for her to say as she relived it every time.
‘Well,’ said Riley, ‘I’ve not been enjoying school for several years.’
‘I had noticed that,’ said her mum.
‘Yeah, that’s no secret,’ said Riley, ‘but the reason why is.’
‘Go on,’ said her mum, looking anxious.
‘Well, I’ve been bullied,’ said Riley.
‘Oh no,’ said her mum, reaching across the table and taking hold on her hands. ‘What’s been going on?’
‘I’ve been called Crazy Curls for years by hundreds of kids because of my epilepsy and my hair,’ she said. ‘That I can live with, but I’ve had girls making comments about how unattractive my body is when I’m getting changed for sports.’ Her mum looked shocked.
‘It gets worse,’ said Riley, seeing the look on her mum’s face.
‘Go on,’ said her mum, not wanting to interrupt.
Riley took another deep breath and told her mum about the assault that morning. How she’d gone looking for Casey in the bathroom and how the girls had pulled her to the ground, sat on her then poured toilet water on her face and hair. She told her mum that the girl sitting on her had called her a bitch and slapped her across the face.
‘Then they just left me there lying on the floor in the wet from the toilet,’ she said.
Her mum could feel Riley’s hands shaking, even with her still holding them. Mrs Bennet got up and went and hugged her daughter.
‘You are so brave for sharing this, Riley,’ she said. ‘Who else knows?’
‘Just Casey and Alex,’ she said.
‘Do you know the names of these three girls?’ asked her mum.
‘No, but they’re in Casey’s Physics class, so she will.’
‘You understand I’m going to need to report this,’ said her mum. ‘If this had happened on the street the police would treat it as an assault.’
‘Yeah, I know and that’s what Casey said,’ replied Riley.
‘Well your friend is right,’ said her mum. ‘I’ll come into school with you in the morning. Why don’t you go and have a shower, it’ll make you feel better.’
‘Okay, Mom,’ said Riley getting up from the table.
Mrs Bennett stayed at her kitchen island. She just sat there in the silence. She felt a mixture of anger towards these mean girls and a sense of guilt and failure at not being able to protect her child from all this. Her only consolation was she could now do something about it. Mrs Bennett was one of those people who hated bullying. She was not going to let this be her daughter’s experience of high school any longer.
Riley went into the bathroom and started to take off her clothes. As she took off her top in front of the mirror she noticed some marks on her ribs.
‘Oh my God,’ she said. ‘Mom!’ Mrs Bennett came running up the stairs.
‘Are you okay?’ she called through the closed bathroom door.
‘No,’ said Riley, ‘come in.’ Her mum opened the door to see her standing there in her underwear.
‘What is it, sweetheart?’ asked her mum.
‘Look,’ said Riley, pointing at the red, blue and black marks around her lower ribs.
‘Oh my God,’ said her mum, ‘is that bruising from that girl sitting on you?’
‘It has to be. I’ve done nothing else that would cause it,’ said Riley.
‘Stay put,’ said her mum, ‘I need to get my phone.’ Mrs Bennett left Riley standing there and ran back downstairs.
When she returned Riley asked, ‘What’s the phone for?’
‘Photographs,’ said her mum. ‘We need a picture of this as evidence.’ Riley reluctantly agreed as she knew her mum was right. She just didn’t want this to escalate the way it seemed to be doing.
‘Change of plan,’ said her mum after she’d taken the pictures. ‘Have a bath. The hot soak will help those ribs.’ Mrs Bennet gave Riley a hug and left her to have a bath in peace. Later on, Riley appeared in the lounge in her pyjamas.
‘How are you feeling?’ asked her mum.
‘I’m okay,’ she said cuddling up next to her mum on the sofa.
‘Well I’ll take you to school in the morning and come in to see the head,’ said her mum. Riley didn’t reply, she was dreading it but knew it had to be done.
Riley didn’t sleep well that night worrying about the day ahead. Partly due to the morning with her mum but also the evening and a secret trip to Washington DC. Her alarm went off and she got up feeling shattered from the lack of sleep. The twins were shouting at each other in the bathroom as usual, which Riley couldn’t face today. So she got ready in her room and went straight downstairs, taking with her everything she needed for after school that day.
After dropping the twins off Riley and her mum headed to Samson County High School. Unbeknown to Riley, her mum had called the police the night before and they were met by a female officer at the entrance to the school.
‘What’s she doing here?’ asked Riley as they got out of the car.
‘She has to be here for this,’ said Mrs Bennett. ‘What happened yesterday is very serious indeed.’ Riley’s heart sank as kids watched her, her mum and the police officer make their way to the Head’s office.
They passed Casey in the corridor. Riley grabbed her hand. ‘Come with us,’ she said. Casey started to walk with them. Mrs Bennett looked at Riley as if to say no, but realised that without her friend for support Riley might not go through with this.
‘The Head will see you now,’ said the administrator as they arrived at the office. The four of them made their way in and sat in a semi-circle in front of the Head’s desk.
The Head asked Riley to go through everything that had happened. She struggled but managed to tell him everything. Her mum then showed the photograph of her bruises to the Head and the police officer.
‘Do you still have those bruises?’ asked the police officer.
‘Yes,’ replied Riley.
‘In that case I’d like you to come to the police station to see our doctor,’ said the officer. ‘Presuming you want to prosecute for assault,’ she added, looking at Mrs Bennett.
‘That depends on what the school are going to do about this,’ said Mrs Bennett, looking at the Head.
‘We will of course speak to the girls and their parents,’ said the Head.
‘You’ll have to do better than that,’ said Mrs Bennett. ‘An assault happened in your school yesterday. My child still has injuries from that.’ Riley’s mum sounded angry. Riley had never seen her mum like this. It was amazing a
nd terrifying at the same time.
‘Riley,’ said the female police officer, ‘what do you want to happen?’
Riley wasn’t expecting the question. She’d kind of assumed the adults would make the choices, which of course they still would. But she was being asked and that made her feel significant in all this. She thought for a moment and then said,
‘I’ve had some conversations with friends just recently about justice as opposed to revenge,’ she said. ‘My main concern is that it doesn’t happen again. These girls have been doing this to me and other kids for years and a simple talking to isn’t going to stop it.’
She listened to herself as she spoke and found her mind heading in a particular direction.
‘So,’ she said, ‘I want to see those girls suspended from school while a police investigation is carried out. I want you as the Head to make it clear that pupils can come forward if they’ve been bullied and they will be taken seriously.’ She stopped speaking. Her heart was pounding in her chest, her hands were shaking, but she felt good. Better than a bucket of water would have left her feeling!
‘Okay,’ said the Head Teacher. ‘I’ll call the parents to come immediately.’
‘Sir,’ said Casey, ‘can I have permission to go with Riley to the police station? If that’s okay with you, Mrs Bennett.’
‘Yes, that’s fine with me,’ said Riley’s mum. ‘You’ve been an amazing friend to Riley.’ On hearing Mrs Bennett’s positive comment the Head granted permission and the four of them left his office and the school to head to the police station.
Chapter 29
The Rest of Friday
Mrs Bennett followed the squad car into the car park at the police station. Casey, Riley and her mum got out and went inside with the female officer.
‘This way please,’ she said. She took Riley and the others round to the doctor’s examination room.
‘Hi Jen, this is the girl I called in about. Her name is Riley.’
‘Hi Riley, my name is Jen and I’m the doctor here at the station. I need to examine you for a crime report if that’s okay.’ Riley looked anxiously at her mum.
‘It’s okay,’ said her mum, ‘I’m staying with you.’
