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I turned to see the principal staring at me from the top of the school stairs. She looked at me and then at the bike. Cayden had come out of the rink and now stood next to it, his face expressionless.
“Cayden and Lily – both of you, my office, now!”
* * *
I was bristling with anger as I sat next to Cayden in front of the principal. Cayden seemed like he might have been carved from ice. Not even a muscle ticked in his jaw, nothing.
Principal Smith blew out a long sigh. “Look, I know things can get out of hand when you’re a teenager, but destruction of property and whatever this is,” she waved a copy of my journal page, “we don’t have time for it at school.”
She turned her attention to me. “Lillian, are you aware that Cayden could press charges against you for destruction of private property?”
My face heated. “Well, then, I guess I’ll press charges against him for libel, or slander, or distribution of confidential information.”
Principal Smith gave me an exasperated look. “Or you could both decide to let things go. I’m sure Coach Eric will cover the bike repairs, considering the vast number of witnesses who saw you cause the damage, Lily.”
I shrugged. “I wouldn’t count on it, as my parents are probably never going to speak to me again.”
Cayden snorted. “Don’t be so dramatic.”
I shot him a deadly look. “Don’t speak to me. I don’t exist, remember?”
“Whatever. Can I go?” Cayden made to stand.
“No. Sit down, Mr. West. Did you distribute these papers?”
“Not that I recall,” Cayden drawled. “Besides, if Bug wasn’t acting like a kid caught with her hand in the cookie jar, no one would even suspect that it wasn’t just a prank. The way she’s acting is only confirming that it’s her journal entry – if only she was smart enough to figure that out.”
My anger choked me, and I could only glare wordlessly at him.
“So, if that’s all, I need to get to class. We have an important game this week, and I was at practice at five a.m. and didn’t get much sleep last night.”
The reminder of last night only angered me even more.
The principal sighed, sounding like she was completely over idiot teens and their problems. “Are you going to press charges about the bike?” she asked, all business now.
Cayden shook his head.
“And do you want to make a complaint about this ‘joke’ of a journal entry or just laugh it off and de-escalate this entire thing?”
I shrugged. They were right, laughing it off would have been the smart thing to do, but I’d seen red.
“De-escalate it, I guess.”
“Good, okay, I’ll say we’ve looked into it, and it’s just a silly prank, made-up junk. Cayden, Coach Eric will get your bike fixed. I don’t want to hear about you two being at each other’s throats again. It’s senior year. It’s too important to waste time on this nonsense.”
“I couldn’t agree more,” Cayden said as we all stood.
I glowered at him, but he strolled out, unbothered by my anger.
I followed him into the hall and waited until Principal Smith had closed her door before shoving him from behind.
“How could you?” I started, furious tears forming again. I’d never been so angry or upset.
I pushed him again, and he grabbed my arm, whirling us both so we ended up against the wall, hidden behind a huge fake ficus.
“Don’t start a fight you can’t win, Bug. We go our separate ways, that’s for the best. It’s merciful for you.”
“And who said I wanted your mercy? You really think I’d be grateful that you decided not to go after me, after what you’ve done?”
