by SM Olivier
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I was so tired of the looks. Everyone either stared at me with laughter, pity, or hate. Overnight, I became the new girl that slept around, was pregnant, and lost her half-sister. So many speculations and rumors circulated about me, that the thought of asking Grandpa to get me a tutor for the rest of the year enticed me more and more.
Then I would remind myself that I didn’t hide. I didn’t allow others to drag me down. Eventually, it would all blow over. I was just hoping it would be sooner than later.
I knew Crew had called Grandpa. A lawyer was now serving the school a subpoena for the recordings. Grandpa didn’t care if it would implicate Leah or not. He just wanted the hostility towards me to stop once and for all.
I was sitting in English Literature class when the intercom buzzed.
“Mrs. Baker,” an unrecognizable male voice spoke. “Can you send Peyton Delaney down to my office? She can have one of her escorts accompany her.”
“Sure can,” Mrs. Baker chirped. She looked up at her clock, now knowing class was going to end in thirty minutes.
She had to be, hands down, my favorite teacher. She was quirky and had a wicked sense of humor. She made learning fun and had inspired excellence from most of her students. She also didn’t treat me like a specimen to be dissected like most of my teachers did.
“Peyton and friend.” Mrs. Baker held out a couple of packets of papers. “Complete these and return them Friday. They are questions to the last three chapters we just read. Please answer them in paragraph sentences.” She placed them on the corner of her desk with a compassionate smile. She went back to the whiteboard to complete the columns she had been writing in.
I packed up my bag and noticed that the guys were looking at each other. Crew stood up without a word. I imagined he wanted to accompany me since he had been the one to call my grandfather.
“Whore,” I heard Jana mutter as I walked past her.
“Like you have room to talk.” Crew drew up to all of his formidable height. “Let’s not forget who you are and what you did to me.”
I put a hand on Crew’s arm, hoping to avoid any further confrontations. His jaw was ticking with barely concealed anger.
I looked up and saw Mrs. Baker’s attention wasn’t as preoccupied as it appeared. Jana hadn’t been loud, but it was apparent Mrs. Baker had elephant hearing.
“Jana,” Mrs. Baker said with a stern look. “Care to repeat what you just said?”
Jana leaned forward and smiled as she twirled one of the dark strands of her hair around her finger. “No, ma’am.”
Jana was probably one of the sexiest women I’d ever seen. She had an exotic look to her with shiny long black hair, dark cat-shaped eyes, high cheekbones, a beautiful olive complexion, and a knock-out body. I felt like a little girl next to her and was still amazed Crew could go from someone like her and then to me. We couldn’t be more different in looks or personalities.
“Good, keep it that way, or you can keep me company for the next week. In fact, I think you should stay with me after school today, and we can get some presentations put together for the underclassman,” Mrs. Baker stated with her own fake smile.
“I can’t,” Jana burst out. “I have appointments this afternoon.”
By appointment, she meant a drug run. She was running low on supplies. She used her looks and position in this school to her advantage. It was well known that she was one of the largest drug distributors in town. Don’t get me wrong, she never took the stuff herself, and she never personally dealt in school. She had people working for her to carry out all her dirty work. If anyone was to dig deeper, they would be hard-pressed to pin her down with charges. She was too smart and cunning to ever allow anything to trace back to her.
“Better cancel them,” Mrs. Baker said with a careless shrug.
Crew took my hand with an appreciative nod towards Mrs. Baker. He led me out of the room and down the hall. We walked in companionable silence to the office, and I was okay with that. I needed the quiet to regroup.
We entered the office, and I immediately signed in. I wasn’t even finished putting the pen down, when a man slightly taller than me and somewhat muscular, came out of the office. He looked to be in his early thirties and was reasonably good looking. His dark hair was carefully gelled back, and his hazel eyes danced with hidden humor and intelligence.
“Peyton?” he asked with an assessing look.
I nodded.
“He gave me a friendly smile. “Hi, I’m your new Principal, Mr. Fanning.”
Well, that was fast. Hopefully, he was better than the previous principal and had the backbone that Mrs. Reynolds didn’t have.
“Hello,” I accepted his proffered hand and shook it.
“Follow me.” He indicated with a nod in the direction of his office. “Your grandfather and…Leah and Mr. Delaney are back here.”
“I’ll wait for you out here,” Crew informed me softly.
I nodded and tried to give him a smile. It was during times like this where I wished there was a pause button on life or a safe little bubble I could retreat to when I wanted to escape from life.
I followed him down the hallway and saw Mr. Isaacs sitting behind his desk. He nodded at me as I passed, and I wondered how much he knew had happened. Knowing him, everything.
When we reached Mr. Fanning's office, I noticed the changes immediately. He had ripped up the carpet, and new faux-wood flooring had been laid down. The old desk was replaced with a modern-looking glass desk. There was also a considerable shelving unit that now spanned one of the walls. The questionable plaid couch was replaced with a maroon leather one.
I saw David sitting next to a red-faced Leah, both seated in leather chairs in front of the desk. Grandpa was sitting on the new couch. I could feel the tension in the room the moment I entered. David was stiff-jawed and staring straight ahead, Leah was glaring at me, and Grandpa gave me a reassuring smile.
“So it sounds like there’s an ongoing feud between you two, and we need to figure out ways to resolve it,” Mr. Fanning said. “Not that this will excuse your behavior today, Leah,” he quickly added. “I’ve heard Leah’s story, but what’s yours, Peyton? Why do you have an issue with Leah?”
I blinked in confusion for a moment. “I’m not certain what you're implying. The only feud we have is caused by Leah. I try to avoid her as much as possible. Leah attacks and I defend myself.”
“It’s just a sibling quarrel,” David insisted with his clenched jaw. “I don’t see how the school needs to be involved.”
“Siblings?” Mr. Fanning looked at him in confusion before he looked over at us. Recognition dawned in his eyes as he saw our resemblance. “Siblings or not, Leah vandalized school property and was witnessed inciting a group of students to bully Peyton. We have a zero-tolerance policy against that.”
“Look, Mr. Fanning,” David said in a condescending tone. “They’re sisters, sisters fight, can we just leave it at that? I’ll take Leah home and have a discussion with her.”
I barely contained my snort of disbelief. This selective obliviousness was getting old. He behaved as if we grew up together and fought like normal sisters did. Like she’d gone into my room without asking, or I’d taken the last bowl of her favorite cereal, or borrowed her sweater and stained it—normal, sibling disagreements.
I was out of fight, though. I didn’t feel like arguing or disputing his false claims.
“I’m afraid I can’t let you do that,” Mr. Fanning said with a sigh. “Right now, Leah’s looking at a two-week suspension. I have Mrs. White pulling up all of Leah’s school records, and if there are any past offenses similar to this one, her punishment may be extended.”
“She made me do it! She’s jealous of me. She’s trying to take my spot on the team. She lied to Grandfather, so my credit card was taken away. She stole my boyfriend. She wants everything I have!” Leah suddenly stood up, crying. “She’s mad that her boyfriend wants me back and has been sexting me. He’s
been sending me dick pics, and I asked him to stop, but he won’t. Look, see?” She pulled out her phone and showed Mr. Fanning.
From her reaction, she and I both knew her record would not reflect favorably on her.
I frowned and shook my head. “Why do you lie all the time, Leah?” I seethed. “I don’t want anything you have, and Grandpa only punished you because of your actions. He even warned you that, if you continued…bothering… me, he would have to take away your credit card. Furthermore, Zane had to get a new phone a couple of weeks ago because you and your friends wouldn’t stop sending him sexts. He asked you repeatedly to stop.”
I let out a sigh and continued. “You went out of your way to harass me from the moment I moved to town. I’m sorry if your ex-boyfriend has shown an interest in me, but he let you know he had zero interest in you, long before I showed up. You’ve spread rumors about me every chance you got. You’ve spread the lies. I’ve continued to take your crap, but I won’t allow you to tarnish Zane's name. He’s captain of the football team and carries a 4.0 average, not to mention the hours he spends teaching at his mother’s studio. He’s a good guy and doesn’t deserve to be lied about.”
Mr. Fanning leaned forward and rubbed his eyes before he looked at me. “Where is Zane right now?”
“Mrs. Baker’s class,” I informed him.
“Don’t call that boy out of the class.” Grandpa stood up with a frown. “What number were those pictures sent from and how recent? Mr. Fanning, my oldest granddaughter Leah has issues manipulating the truth. She’s been threatened by Peyton since she arrived. Leah’s accustomed to being the center of attention, and unintentionally, Peyton stole a lot of her thunder.”
“Dad,” David bit out, clearly unhappy that his father wasn’t defending Leah but protecting me. “Please stop.”
“Stop what?” Grandpa asked in exasperation. “It’s crazy what you let her get away with. Leah is more than aware that her actions were out of hand, but you continue to give her excuses. You think you’re doing her a favor, but you aren’t. If I raised you like you raise your children, do you think you’d be half as successful as you are now?”
I saw David reel his head back as if he had been physically slapped. I wondered if anything Grandpa had said even reached him. Was he so arrogant that he no longer recognized the truth?
I pulled out my phone just as there was a knock on the door. I pulled up my contacts and showed Mr. Fanning. “Is this the number she has for him? Not the contact name, but the number?”
“That’s none of your business,” Leah cried out before she launched over the desk to get her phone back.
I started to laugh mirthlessly. “Unbelievable.”
You’d think she would be smart enough by now to realize her lies would catch up to her. I’m sure she vandalized my locker, forgetting that there were cameras everywhere in our school. I’m sure she even believed that her word was enough for Mr. Fanning to have confidence in. I would also bet that had been enough for her in the past.
Mr. Fanning sighed once more, clearly torn. This had to be his first day here. I imagined the guys would have said something if he had begun yesterday. I wondered if he was regretting coming here at this moment. Did he feel like he had entered the Twilight Zone like I had when I moved here?
There was another knock, louder this time.
“Come in,” Mr. Fanning said wearily as he frowned over at Leah.
Mrs. White came in and handed over some files to Mr. Fanning. He opened the folder and immediately grimaced. “Thank you, Mrs. White,” he said, dismissing her before he turned back to us. “I find this very concerning and slightly disturbing. Before Mr. Delaney Sr. arrived, I was told that Peyton was a poor student, prone to causing trouble, and had questionable morals. Instead, what I have in front of me is a student that carries a 3.98 average in advanced classes, despite the fact she has missed a few more days of school than I would like. However, it looks like she has made up all of her assignments. She also has zero disciplinary issues from her previous school or ours.”
He tapped the desk. “Now, as I look over at Leah’s records, I find she has struggled with school for many years and has refused any additional help. She’ll be lucky to graduate this year at this rate. It’s only the third official week of school, and she hasn’t turned in any of her assignments and is noted as being a disruptive student during class.”
He paused, shaking his head. “I don’t even see how she is able to participate in cheerleading with the grades she has. And while I’m principal at this school, she will not be able to unless she has a minimum of a 2.3 grade point average. Before she is permitted to return to school, I want her to complete all the assignments she refused to do, as well as anything else the teachers assign her. I’ll talk to them today, and either you or Mrs. Delaney may pick up her work by the end of the school day, Friday.
He tapped the desk again. “As far as her behavior goes, well, this is disturbing. I don’t know how she has only served one detention and three days of suspension for ‘getting caught in lewd acts with a male student, vandalizing a teacher’s vehicle, sexually propositioning one of the substitute teachers, cyberbullying students on…’” He paused again, looking at the file in front of him. “….one…two…six students! The list goes on and on.” Mr. Fanning sighed heavily.
The shock on David’s face was real. I was now under the impression that Catherine had hidden these transgressions from David. It was no excuse not to know how his children behaved reprehensibly, but it was evident he was clueless.
“It’s going to be my recommendation to suspend Leah for a month,” Mr. Fanning continued. “I’m actually lenient at this point. I will draw up a contract that will need to be signed. It will entail our expectations and what will need to occur for her to return to our school.”
I heard Leah gasp.
“Daddy,” she whined as she leaned over to grasp his arm. Tears welled up in her eyes. “I can’t miss homecoming and cheerleading. This is my senior year!”
I heard David’s teeth gnash together. He clearly wasn’t pleased right now.
“I really wish you would have thought of that before you did all the things you have done, young lady,” Mr. Fanning said gently. “There have to be consequences to your actions, and if you can’t uphold the contract you and your parents will be given, you won’t be welcomed back here. And if I find out you so much as contacted another student here in a threatening manner again, you’ll be expelled for the rest of the year.”
“That’s not fair,” Leah began to sob. “My sister is missing, and I’ve not been right in the head. You can’t hold that against me. Please let me stay.”
I could almost feel bad for her. If I believed her. She’d cried more today than she had last night in front of the cameras. Her tears today came from an emotional place, whereas last night it had all been an act.
Mr. Fanning frowned, looking sympathetic but resolute in his decision.
“That’s enough, Leah,” David snapped. “Your sister has been missing for three days, and you’ve been behaving like that for far too long. Let’s go.”
Leah sobbed but reached down into her purse, she withdrew her keys, “What are you going to do Daddy? I need to stay in school. My friends are here!”
David reached over and pulled the keys out of her hand and gave them to his father. “Think you can drive the car home?” he asked, looking anywhere but at Grandpa.
“Benji and Jon rode with Dylan and Leah today, on Catherine’s insistence,” Grandpa informed David. “I’ll have Jon drive the car home.”
I had a feeling Grandpa knew more about David’s children then Dear Old Dad did.
“Daddy, why can’t I take my car home? Daddy, no… daddy!” Leah howled.
“Enough,” David finally barked out. “We will discuss this at home, but know this, things will be changing around our house.”
David threw open the door. “I’ll be back on Friday to collect her things,” David said stilte
dly.
Mr. Fanning nodded a bit dazedly. He sat there for a few moments before he looked over at Grandpa and me, and then back to grandpa. I could see his mind churning as Leah’s cries followed her down the hallway.
“Welcome to town,” Grandpa said with a bit of mischief and extended his hand.
Mr. Fanning shook it before he cleared his throat. “Thank you for coming in, Mr. Delaney Sr., and Peyton, you may return to class.”
The bell rang just as he spoke the words. Guess it was time for me to go to my last class of the day, Cheerleading!
Yay! Insert sarcasm here.
11
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Changes
Somehow I wasn’t surprised to find not just Crew outside the office door, but Paxton, Golden, and Zane as well. Grandpa gave us quick goodbyes and told me he would talk to me later. He didn’t seem upset when I informed him I wouldn’t be able to see him until Sunday since my days continued to fill up.
As we headed to cheer class, I gave the guys a brief synopsis of what just occurred in the office. They all seemed rather pleased with the news of Leah’s suspension for the next four weeks. I wanted to feel relief, but I knew better than to get too excited too soon.
I was still trying to process it all, and I really hoped David finally saw that his children were out of control. The guys seemed just as surprised by his reaction as I was.
Zane confirmed that Catherine had run the household and kept a lot of things from David. He believed David was so absorbed in his career that he had distanced himself from his family. It sounded like history repeating itself, as far as Grandpa went. Would it take David as long as it took Grandpa to wisen up to his surroundings?
Zane seemed to believe that things would change. I wasn’t going to hold my breath.
The guys all went to their classes, leaving Zane to walk with me to cheerleading. He was the teacher’s aid for a class of freshman in gym. The moment we entered the gymnasium, he was swarmed by a group of freshman girls. I laughed, and he gave me an embarrassed smile. He was a cute guy, and the young ladies didn’t fail to notice.
