Catching Fireflies(101)

“I don’t know J.C. all that well, but I know a little bit about men who feel guilty about a tragedy, even when that guilt isn’t justified,” Helen said. “They’re terrified that the people they love will think less of them.”

“That’s ridiculous!” Laura said.

“That’s male pride,” Helen countered. “Give him a little time, Laura. He’ll come around. At least, that’s my advice. You’re free to ignore it. Until Erik, my track record with men wasn’t exactly a shining example of what healthy relationships were meant to be.”

Laura chuckled at the honest statement. “I’ll take that into consideration.”

“J.C.’s a good guy,” Helen said. “That much I do know. I wasn’t always sure of it, but now I am.”

“I know,” Laura said softly. She’d already recognized that he was one of the best. And he’d come along when she’d almost given up hope of finding real love, the kind that would weather any storm.



On Monday morning, Laura didn’t have a second to spare for thoughts about J.C. The halls were erupting with angry chatter as the news leaked out that a number of the football players had been suspended from playing for the remainder of the season, including Greg Bennett. To her regret, the blame for that was being placed not where it belonged—on the young men themselves—but on Misty.

She debated with herself, then decided to address the situation in her first class. Maybe she could diffuse the situation at least a little.

“I’ve heard a lot of talk this morning about what happened on Saturday and about the fallout,” she began, only to draw hostile stares from many of her students. “Let’s talk about it.” She looked into each grim face. “And let’s do it politely.”

“It’s all because Misty Dawson is not only a little slut, but a crybaby,” one of the girls said snidely.

Laura held her gaze. “Which part of politely didn’t you understand? Students in my classes don’t call each other sluts or crybabies or anything else that’s intended to deliberately hurt them. That’s bullying. Have you learned nothing from what’s been going on recently? Words can wound people. Actions can wound people. And yet I look at you and some of you clearly still think it’s one big joke. Annabelle Litchfield is being transferred to another school because of this. Greg Bennett is likely to lose his college scholarship because he can’t play ball the rest of the season. What about any of that strikes you as funny?”

“It’s not funny,” Jeb Hightower said. “It’s wrong. I hope Misty can’t sleep because of what she’s done to them.”

Laura regarded him with shock. “Hold on. Misty was the victim, not Annabelle or Greg. She was targeted online and right here at school with vicious rumors and lies designed to humiliate and embarrass her.”

“What makes you think they were lies?” Jeb said, looking around with a smirk. “A picture’s better than a thousand words, right?”

“And a fake picture says more about the person who created it than it does about the person supposedly in it,” Laura corrected, though she could see that she wasn’t getting through to them. They were intent on defending their friends and demonizing Misty. How on earth was she supposed to turn this around? Could it even be done?

“Does anyone here have a different perspective?” she asked hopefully.

Sally Washington, a shy girl who rarely spoke unless called on, raised her hand tentatively. “I think maybe they don’t get it,” she said, nodding toward Jeb and Hailey who’d spoken out first, “because nobody’s ever picked on them.”

“Or because they were born bullies, too,” Tim Rogers dared to say, shooting a defiant look at Jeb. “You started stealing lunch money from the littler kids back in first grade. You did it just because you were bigger and you could.”

“And, Hailey, you never speak to anyone who isn’t pretty or popular,” Sally added, apparently gaining strength from Tim’s accusations. “It’s like the rest of us don’t even exist. At most we’re an annoyance in your perfect little world. I’m tired of it. If you don’t like me, fine. I don’t need to be your friend, but I’m a person and you should at least be polite to me and the other kids who aren’t as popular as you.”

Sally’s declaration stirred a few others to echo the same thoughts, and suddenly the tide turned ever-so-slightly. Hailey, Jeb and a few others were on the defensive and had perhaps their first taste of feeling what it was like to be disparaged and ridiculed publicly.