Catching Fireflies(104)

“I have a hunch she’s given someone else access to her account,” J.C. said. “Laura, you read papers all the time. I imagine you look to see if an essay sounds as if it was written by the student who turned it in. What do you think?”

Ms. Reed glanced at the posts and nodded. “There’s definitely something different about these.”

Misty was completely thrown by their reaction. “Are you sure? How can you tell?”

“An expert would have to compare them, but there’s a difference that seems apparent to me,” Dr. Fullerton insisted. “Laura, do you have anything more specific?”

Ms. Reed studied them with a thoughtful expression. “There’s a different vocabulary for one thing, and the grammar isn’t quite the same.”

“But who?” Misty asked, then sighed. “I guess there are plenty of kids who really hate me now. It could be any of them.”

“Or it’s not a kid at all,” Dr. Fullerton said, looking angrier than Misty had ever seen him.

Misty blinked at him. “You don’t think it could be Annabelle’s mom, do you?”

“She would have access to the computer,” Ms. Reed said, though she looked as stunned by the possibility as Misty was. “I just can’t see Mariah resorting to this, though.”

“Okay, then what about Greg Bennett?” Dr. Fullerton asked. “He’s one angry kid. He’s lost a lot. It wouldn’t surprise me a bit if he figured out a way to retaliate. And Helen says he’s the one who was behind the pictures posted right before the rally.”

Misty stared at him in shock, then stood up, practically shaking with fury. “That does it,” she said furiously. “One bully was bad enough, but I will not allow a creep like that to freak me out.” She looked at her English teacher. “I’ll be back at school tomorrow and I’ll be in class.”

Both adults seemed startled by her announcement. Misty understood their reaction. She’d been a shaky mess when they’d gotten here. In fact, for weeks now she’d acted as if the things being said about her were true and she had a reason to hide. No more. She was done with that.

Maybe it was standing on that stage on Saturday after all that had given her a different perspective. Even though things had gone horribly wrong at the rally, she’d seen a few people look at her with understanding and sympathy. Some people had gotten it, just the way Ms. Reed had said they would.

Just walking onto the stage and facing the crowd had taken more courage than she’d ever imagined she possessed. Now she would draw on that strength and face the kids who’d made her life miserable. They were the ones who should be ashamed of themselves, not her.

Ms. Reed smiled at her. “Misty, I could not be more proud of you.”

“Me, too,” Dr. Fullerton said, then grinned. “Want a ride to school?”

“Nope,” Misty said decisively. “I’ll go with my friends. I still have some, despite what’s happened. They’ll back me up.” She gave Ms. Reed a knowing look. “You know they will.”

The teacher smiled. “Yes, you have some very good friends. They’ve just been waiting for you to say you needed them.”

“And one of them took matters into her own hands. I know that, too,” she said. “I know Katie’s been feeling guilty for ratting me out to her grandmother, not that she’s admitted that she did it, but come on, who else would talk to Mrs. Vreeland? It’s about time for me to tell her she did the right thing. I haven’t been willing to admit that before.”

“I know she’ll appreciate that,” Ms. Reed said. “And if you need any extra backup at all tomorrow, you can count on me.”

“You two have been great through all of this,” Misty told them, then gave them a sly look. “So when are you going to go out on, like, a real date instead of pretending that you’re together all the time because of me?”

To her amusement, Ms. Reed blushed and even Doc Fullerton looked flustered. She laughed.

“You two are so busted,” she told them. She grinned at J.C. “There’s that silver lining thing, doc. The one you were trying to convince me is always there.”

He looked a little embarrassed, but he nodded. “No question about it, Misty. No question at all.”

Misty wondered if maybe she hadn’t found her own silver lining, as well. It turned out she just might be a whole lot stronger than she’d ever imagined. Tomorrow would tell.





21

“So, are we going to let a teenager call us on being a pair of chickens?” J.C. asked Laura as they left Misty’s.