A series of photos appeared in rapid succession of various groupings of her family, starting with her when she was just a baby, up until the beginning of the evening when they’d all lined up for a group shot.
Meg’s stomach dropped. This wasn’t going to end well.
“As some of you may have suspected, the truth is that Megan isn’t an Anderson at all. That story about how my father was killed trying to help Meg’s mother after her car went over the edge of the road was all made up by the mayor’s brother, who many of you know was the sheriff at the time. The truth is, Megan’s mother and my father were leaving town with their illegitimate offspring, Megan, when the accident occurred and they were both killed.”
A collective gasp filled the air. Followed by low murmuring.
“Megan just recently found out her family has lied to her about it her whole life. And to all of us as well. But hang tight, people, it gets better. It’ll be my pleasure to show you all who my half sister truly is.”
Meg’s heart beat triple time as she fought back the anger and tears rising in her throat. She wanted to crawl under the table but wouldn’t give Amber the satisfaction. Worse, Eric still sat in the stands seeing all of Meg’s dirty laundry revealed on the wall, twenty feet high.
Amber added, “And remember when the mayor’s office window got busted out? Yep. You guessed it. Megan again.”
Yeah, but it was a snowball, for God’s sake. Meg hadn’t known Amber had filled them with rocks before she’d encouraged Meg to launch one at her dad’s window.
As Amber told them about Meg’s secret crush on Jake the—obvious to everyone but Meg and Pam—gay mailman, laughter rose from the crowd.
Now she felt bad for Jake too. Hopefully he’d already left so he wouldn’t have to endure the laughs because of her. Would he ever talk to her again after this?
Each new image on the wall made Meg look worse and worse, reminding her of things she deeply regretted.
The old, familiar urge to run crept slowly up her spine. It was dark; she might be able to slip out a side door. But that wouldn’t solve anything. No. She’d stay and take her medicine.
Closing her eyes, she forced her reeling mind to focus. There had to be a way to end her public lynching short of forcibly taking Amber out.
But was Amber right? After all Meg had done—and it was playing out right before everyone’s eyes reminding them—maybe she didn’t deserve to be welcomed back to town. She couldn’t even claim a family connection earned her the right because she wasn’t an Anderson and now everyone knew it.
When she opened her eyes, an image appeared on the screen of Mrs. Jenkins with whipped cream dripping down her face.
The crowd roared with laughter as Meg’s stomach clenched with deep remorse.
It was the time she’d tricked Mrs. Jenkins into manning a booth at a swim team fund-raiser called “Stump the Principal.”
She hadn’t told Mrs. Jenkins what would happen if she couldn’t answer a question correctly.
Meg had found obscure facts on the Internet that no one could possibly know. Mrs. Jenkins had four whipped cream pies to the face that day but had been a good sport about it—until afterward. Meg spent a month in after-school detention for that one.
She turned to find her former principal in the crowd. Mrs. Jenkins had forgiven Meg just hours before, but probably wanted to take it back after being made the butt of that cruel joke all over again.
When she locked gazes with the older woman, Mrs. Jenkins mouthed, “Apologize.”
A wave of hope rose through Meg as she remembered Mrs. Jenkins’s earlier words—that it would make a difference, even after so much time had passed. She’d said only if Meg really meant it. She did. She was truly sorry for her bad behavior.
Unable to stomach any more, Meg stood and walked toward the podium. Amber was so engrossed in the next picture on the wall, she didn’t notice when Meg slipped beside her and punched the power button on the laptop. When the wall went dark, Amber turned around and Meg yanked the mic from her half sister’s clutches.
“Could someone hit the lights please? I have something to say.”
When the lights came back up, Amber stood with her arms crossed. “Ready to leave town now, Meg? I think after seeing this, everyone agrees you’re not welcome here.”
Amber stood close enough so the mic picked up her words. When a few called out their agreement, it warred with Meg’s newfound courage. Maybe she should just leave before it got any worse?
As quiet murmuring came from the bleachers, she looked for the answer in Mrs. Jenkins’s eyes. She nodded, urging Meg to do what she got up there to do.