Page 36 of Make No Mistake

I’d made it clear in my article, but who knew how many people read that.

No, it needed to be widespread. Every single girl needed to know to be aware of her surroundings. I wished there was a way to make sure that no one walked alone.

I leaned back and looked around the room. There was a way. We had campus security. We were supposed to be able to call on them if we needed help, but what if there was a network of people that girls, or anyone, could call when they were walking alone. We couldn’t restrict people from walking around specific areas of campus, but we could provide resources.

Before the doubt could set in, I pulled up the campus security website and called to set up an appointment. Change needed to happen now. Well, last night would have been better. We couldn’t allow this to keep happening.

I got a notification of a new email and clicked on it with my breath held. It was from Mr. Jowett.

I read it quickly, then again.

He didn’t want me to do this. He thought I was trying to turn these attacks into a bigger deal than they already were. He didn’t want panic to spread through campus.

Part of me understood, but the part of me that felt this was the right thing to do was much stronger and much fiercer.

Luckily, he wasn’t the final decision maker. He was just one of the members on the review board. He might be able to sway the others, but I just had to hope the rest would see what a big deal this was.

I doubted I’d hear the official decision that day, so I went back to my plan for setting up help with the security.

We could have people sign up as volunteers. If students felt uncomfortable, they could call someone from the group.

But how would we ensure that they were safe people? The last thing I wanted to do was give the attacker easier access to victims.

I bit my lip and tried to think it through.

The front door swung open to reveal a very exhausted looking Aubrey. She was in a leotard and sweatpants which meant she’s been dancing all morning.

“Hey.”

She smiled and collapsed to the floor in the middle of the living room. “I’m dead.”

I laughed at her dramatics. “I bet. How long were rehearsals today?”

“I got there at six and we just ended, so …”

“Seven hours?”

“Whoa.”

I laughed again. “How’s the show coming along?”

She rolled to her stomach and folded her hands under her head. With her eyes closed she answered. “It looks good. I have a few changes I want to make to the lineup and some transition, but I think it’s good.”

Aubrey had always been a perfectionist. She worked herself to her breaking point on more than a few projects, so I knew when she said something was good, it was fantastic by anyone else’s standards.

“That’s great. I know it will come together.”

She nodded with her eyes closed. “How was your day?”

“I submitted my proposal.”

Her eyes popped open. “Your senior project?”

I nodded.

“What is it?” She was on her feet and leaped onto the couch next to me.

“You know the attacks that have happened?”