People start filing into the common room for lunch. I can feel something is wrong. There’re side eyes, hushed murmurs, whispers.
All angled at me.
I see Paula and try to catch her eye, but she looks away.
‘What is going on?’ I say to Faye. ‘Has the whole school heardabout our fall-out? Or the party? Neither of those is big news.’
Just then Tori storms in and beelines for us.
‘I think we’re about to find out,’ says Faye.
‘You,’ says Tori, slamming down the latest issue ofThe Common Room. Which is weird as it’s a Monday, not a Thursday. ‘Your secret is finally out. I had to print it as soon as I heard it, and I can’t believe I had to keep it to myself for a day, but I needed to see your face in person when it was in print.’
A sinking feeling starts in my stomach, as I take the paper from her and look at the front page.
?The Common Room?
BREAKING NEWS:
SELENA PIA IS THE
SECRET SENDER
We’ve been following the words of the Secret Sender for a while. Clutching with anticipation to her every word. Well, today we can reveal that none other than Year 13 student Selena Pia is the mystery writer.
From her scalding comments on everything from attention seekers to Rose Conrad fans, the Secret Sender has had the final word.
Now the question is: what will she say now she’s been unmasked . . .
I put the paper down, stunned.
‘Anything to say for yourself?’ says Tori, crossing her arms.
‘I think this is the shortest article you’ve written,’ I say finally.
Faye snorts besides me.
‘I wanted to keep it in theme with the Secret Sender’s style. Or, should I say, your style,’ says Tori pointedly.
‘Let me guess,’ I say, looking down at the paper. ‘Kira told you.’ There is no way this was a brilliant feat of investigative journalism from Tori.
‘I was getting close to figuring it out,’ says Tori, as if she’s a prime-time detective instead of a student newspaper editor. ‘But yeah, Kira told me it was you. She showed me the email account. And why would she lie about it? She said something about how revealing you would be good for you.’
‘Of course she did,’ I say, shaking my head. ‘She did what she thought was right.’
Tori shakes her head. ‘I really didn’t believe it at first. You’ve never expressed a controversial opinion in your life! You barely raise a hand in class.’
‘I guess it was deep down inside after all,’ I mumble. Tori’s interrogation is making me uncomfortable. Like I’ve been pulled apart and laid bare for everyone to look at.
I’m overtly conscious of my surroundings. I can see more and more people start muttering around me. Suddenly Paula comes marching up towards us.
‘Hey, Selena,’ says Paula. ‘I have to ask – what did you get out of it? Writing all those things? Putting people down?’
‘I, er, wasn’t trying to put people down,’ I say. And it’s true, it wasn’t my intention.
‘Bullshit,’ says Paula, now looking very angry. ‘At least own what you did. You had the whole school wrapped around your finger. Did you know Katy had this full-blown argument with me because of that salt-on-wounds thing? Told me the SecretSender made her realise I was lording having a boyfriend over her. But it hadn’t been an issue before, I thought she was happy for me. We didn’t speak for a week!’
‘I didn’t know,’ I say weakly.
