Chapter 19 - The Microphone
Grace nearly refused.
She hated stages.
She hated being watched.
She especially hated people deciding what she should represent.
But Maya called that night.
“If you don’t speak, Crane’s replacement will.”
“That sounds great.”
“No. He’ll talk about healing and moving forward and everybody being kind.”
Grace groaned.
Maya continued, “Nobody will say what actually happened.”
The next day, Grace stood behind a microphone in the gym.
Students filled the bleachers.
Parents lined the back wall.
Teachers stood along the court.
Grace had written a speech.
She folded it in half and put it in her pocket.
“I’m not here because I won a fight,” she began.
The gym went quiet.
“I’m here because everybody saw the same thing and too many people thought silence was safer.”
She looked toward the student section.
“I understand that. I was quiet too.”
Maya sat in the front row.
Jordan sat beside her.
Brittany was not allowed on campus, but her written statement had been submitted to investigators.
Grace continued.
“The problem wasn’t two girls who thought they could humiliate people. The problem was that they were right for a long time.”
A murmur moved through the gym.
“They thought complaints could disappear. They thought cameras could disappear. They thought people could disappear.”
Grace looked at Ms. Crane’s empty seat near the administration section.
“They were wrong.”
She stepped away from the microphone.
The applause started slowly.
Grace did not smile until she saw her father standing near the exit.
He raised one thumb.
Then Officer Reed approached the stage.
“Grace.”
Something in his face stopped her.
“What?”
“We found out who sent you the threat messages.”
She felt cold again.
“Charles?”
Officer Reed shook his head.
“No.”
May you like
He looked toward the faculty section.
“It came from inside the school.”
