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Tully nodded and walked in, freezing before she’d even passed into the office. She took in the unexpected group sat in the upholstered chairs in front of a neatly made desk.
Now sheknewsomething was wrong.
“Take a seat, Tulsa,” Principal Fordham stood next to Ms. Hill’s desk, but that wasn’t the bad part. Tully’s mother and father sat in two of the three seats, glaring at her as she entered.
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Tully’s stomach dropped into her feet, making it difficult to shuffle over to the soft chair next to her mother.
“George, what’s the reason I’ve been called out of my office for this?” Tully’s father asked the principal as Ms. Hill shut the door. “I’m very busy.”
“Mr. and Mrs. Harding, I apologize for calling you down here this time of day,” Ms. Hill answered. Her fingers laced together. “I don’t do this unless it’s necessary.”
“What’s the issue, Ms. Hill?” Tully’s mother asked.
Ms. Hill opened her mouth, shut it, then opened it again. There was a piece of paper situated right in the center of her desk that Tully hadn’t spared a second glance until the counselor picked it up and held it out toward her mother. Tully could see it better: it appeared insignificant other than a line of numbers and some text she couldn’t make out. She did catch the title though:Stat Exam B #1-10. “I’m afraid we found this in Tulsa’s locker today.”
Her mother grabbed the paper and studied it with her father leaning over her shoulder to get a look. “What is this?”
“It’s the answers for the statistics exam that Tulsa took today. It went missing from Mrs. Carmichael’s classroom yesterday and after an anonymous tip we ended up finding it in your daughter’s locker.”
Tully’s gaze snapped away from the exam to Ms. Hill. “What? That can’t be right.”
All the adults in the room looked at her. The grooves in her parents’ faces grew deeper than they normally were. Principal Fordham looked bored. Only Ms. Hill didn’t look at her like she was a criminal, just watched her solemnly. “Tulsa, we had the chance to compare your exam answers to the answer sheet, and it was nearly identical.” Her sentence trailed off as if to soften the blow, unsuccessfully.
“Are,” Tully stuttered, and her eyes blinked rapidly as her mind tried to comprehend what was happening. “Are you saying I cheated?” No one said anything. No one wanted to be the one to make the accusation. “I didn’t take those answers. I’ve been studying for weeks for this exam. Ask anyone.” She looked desperately towards her parents. “You have to believe me.”
Parents are supposed to defend you. They’re supposed to believe you and take your side. Tully never cheated. She never had a reason to. She was the best in her class, she worked the hardest of any of her siblings, she did everything she could just to stay noticed.
But that didn’t matter.
Her mother shook her head and pursed her lips in disappointment. Her father rubbed his eyes to fight away an invisible headache.
“I expected better from you, Tulsa,” her mother said.
Tully sagged, and when she spoke again her voice didn’t hold the same persistence. “I didn’t do it.”
Ms. Hill observed the family members from the side, not speaking until no one else said anything. She sighed. “Now, we’ve discussed this and since Tulsa has been a top student, we are going to offer an opportunity for her to right this. She can retake an alternative version of the exam on Monday and if she passes similarly to this time, we will pretend this didn’t happen.”
“You’re far too generous,” Tully’s mom said, but there was a bite directed at Tully. “We have never condoned this sort of behavior in our household.”
Tully’s teeth dug down into her tongue, and her eyes dropped to her hands that sat still in her lap. She could say all she wanted, defend herself all she wanted. No one would hear her. It was like she wasn’t even there.
“I’m sure you do your very best, Mrs. Harding. These sorts of instances reflect very little on parenting methods. We don’t believe that to be the issue.”
“I should hope not,” Tully’s mother stood. “Rest assured, Ms. Hill, Principal Fordham, we’ll make sure Tulsa is disciplined properly for this behavior at home. If you’ll excuse us.”
Her dad rose and gave a curt nod, before following his wife out. Tully couldn’t move, still stunned by the entire situation. No one believed her.
The only thing saving her from a big red stain on her transcript was Ms. Hill’s generosity based on her previous class scores. What if she had a couple Bs on her report card instead? Would they be so lenient?
“Tulsa,” her mom snapped and she looked up to where they paused to wait for her in the doorway. Both her parents glared at her. “Come with usnow.”
Tully stood up and ignored the pitiful look Ms. Hill gave her.
She followed her parents out of the office and down the hallway, out through the front doors into the autumn air. It was colder than usual, making her skin rise under the warm sleeves of Nathan’s jacket.
