Chapter 2

The online attacks started that night.

My social media was a sewer of hate.

Comments calling me a thief, a liar.

Fake profiles posted doctored photos of me looking cruel, of Brittany looking like a saint.

At school, it was worse.

Whispers followed me like shadows.

People I'd known for years looked through me, or at me with contempt.

My art project, weeks of work for my college applications, was smashed.

Paint smeared, canvas slashed.

Brittany and her crew just smirked when I found it.

"Oops," Maya said, not even trying to sound sorry.

Then Brenda showed up at school.

She rushed to me, all fake tears and concern.

"Oh, Ashley, you poor thing," she cooed, loud enough for everyone to hear. "Don't you worry, I'll talk to Katherine. We'll sort this out. You're still my... well, you know."

She was playing the grieving mother, the wronged woman.

Later, I saw her grab Brittany's arm in the parking lot, her face a mask of fury.

"Don't mess this up, you little brat," she hissed, her fingers digging in. "This is our only chance."

Brittany winced, pulling away.

Those were the bruises Brittany would later show Mr. Henderson, the Vice Principal.

"Ashley did this," she'd sobbed to him. "She's always been cruel to me because she knew."

Mr. Henderson, swayed by the public drama and Brittany's crocodile tears, called me into his office.

"Ashley, this behavior is unacceptable," he said, his face stern. "Bullying, violence... and now this scandal. We have to consider suspension."

"But I didn't do anything!" I protested. "She's lying! That video is a lie!"

He just shook his head. "The evidence is compelling, Ashley. Brittany's bruises, the public outcry."

I was punished with detention and a warning that any further "incidents" would mean expulsion.

My college applications felt like a distant dream.

Everything was spiraling.

I just wanted Mom to come home.