Chapter 16: Assembly

Tuesday assembly was in the Great Hall, under the portraits, with six hundred students in rows.

I sat on the aisle in the back, alone.

Cassie was up in the booth running the screens, and she had not told me why she looked so pale.

The headmaster read announcements about homecoming and the winter food drive.

Teagan sat in the third row with her friends, her hair perfect.

She had not been called to any office. She turned once to look at me, and smiled.

Then the headmaster said, "Is there anything else before we break?"

A chair scraped near the front.

Drake walked up the center aisle in a plain white shirt with no blazer. His hair was still damp.

He did not look at me. He climbed the steps to the stage.

"Mr. Hargrove," the headmaster said, "this is not the time."

"It is, sir. I'll be short."

He took the microphone off its stand. His hand was shaking, and the speaker caught the tremor.

"My name is Drake Hargrove," he said.

Six hundred people laughed, nervously. Everyone knew his name.

"Since February I have been cruel to Maisy Rafferty. I'm going to tell you exactly how, because I don't think you know all of it."

The hall went silent.

"Some of you watched it happen. Some of you are in the group chat I started."

A boy near me looked at his shoes.

"I had Teagan film what I did and I told her to post it."

Teagan's head came up.

"In the hall two weeks ago I said I never told her that. It was a lie."

He swallowed.

"I did not ask for the post about Maisy's mother."

"But I let her post for eight months and never said stop. That makes it mine too."

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