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Both of Toby’s eyebrows rose. “I didn’t do anything.”
“Bullshit.”
“We gave the students something to latch on to. That was it.”
“Even the rumors about me didn’t spread like this, you know. Someone was there to spread it even further than normal. And it’s the same for Benji. So how?”
“I swear, I’m really not doing anything. All Paxon and I did was give people information they probably should know anyway. Benji is a predator. If others feel like it’s important to share that news with others so they can make informed decisions when it comes to Benji, then that is their right.”
“That’s a one hundred percent rehearsed response.”
Toby sighed. “It isn’t me.”
“You really aren’t doing anything?” I asked.
“I wouldn’t stoop that low.” Toby actually looked offended.
“But you already did when you shared that video.” I leaned back in my chair. “As long as you aren’t pushing it further.”
“I’m really not.”
“Okay.”
“Believe me, Cadence.”
I met his pleading gaze. “I do. You aren’t doing anything. Not anymore. But you released an opportunity and now Benji is going to live in hell.”
“You don’t think he deserves a little hell after what he did to someone else?”
I shook my head, my chest twisting. “I’ve never been for revenge.” I rolled my pen between my fingers. “Nothing good comes from it.”
“I think I disagree with you.”
“Well let me put it this way then. I think if I believed revenge would help, I’d have room for nothing else. Think about it, about all the people in your life who you’d be spending more time than it’s worth to make them miserable. It isn’t worth it. I refuse to give those people more of my time. It’d feel like they won if I did something like that.”
Toby fell quiet, not saying anything. I couldn’t look at him and instead focused on our teacher, Mrs. Odera. As soon as the bell rang, she stood from her desk and moved to the middle of the front of the room, crossing her arms over her chest as she slowly looked at all of us.
“I finished going through your midterms. Everyone did excellent. There’s a reason each of you are in this class, and it shows. I know I said we weren’t going to do live performances, that I only needed the recorded song, but I’ve signed our class up for the Holiday Show.”
We all groaned in response. Our midterm was to sing a song in a genre we weren’t used to. All we had to do was record ourselves and send that, along with our lyrics and our two-page essay explaining the creation of the song. Nothing about having to perform it. If I’d known that, I may have sung something else instead.
“Don’t worry,” she said with a smile. “This is optional. Music isn’t just words on a page, or a song to listen to through headphones. It needs to have a presence too. It needs to take root in your listeners. If you can’t capture your listeners, then you failed, and the best way to find that out is by performing to strangers. So if you’d like to explore that aspect in this class, this is your chance. If you plan to be a performer, this is your starting point. Go onto that stage and woo the crowd with not just your song, but also your presence. Anyone who decides to do it will be given extra credit. I have a signup sheet, so take your time to think about it. You have until the end of the week to decide. I’ll have this hung up on the board by the door for you. Just drop in and write your name on it once you know.”
“Are you going to do it?” Toby asked.
I frowned, thinking about my song and having to sing it in front of so many people. I went beyond what I was comfortable with, settling on a heavy metal song. “I don’t know. You?”
“Share my rap song with the world? Hell yeah.” Of course he didn’t need to think about it. Toby was a performer at heart. Once he got over his nerves, he’d dominate that stage.
“Now that some of you have begun thinking about that, let’s begin class. It’s time we talk about music and tradition. How these are linked together, why they are linked together. All cultures have used music as part of their traditions, whether it’s for a ceremony, for special dances, celebrations, or even to mourn loss. Music can be found…”
The rest of the day ended up being much of the same. People were talking. I saw Benji a couple of times. He was going about his day with his head down as the others glared at him. Even his own teammates were scowling at him. On my way to the bathroom, I even found him with India, one of the people who bullied me the most. The two of them were arguing and India looked like she wanted to claw his eyes out. She sneered at him before storming off with her arms full of her books.
While we didn’t think Benji had anything to do with my assault last weekend, we knew India did. Along with her friend Trinity. They had been all too happy to get into my face right after it happened, trying to put the blame on me. Hopefully Benji’s situation was warning enough for them now.
Benji remained rooted in place for a while, clearly frustrated, as evidenced by the way his body clenched. I had to quickly duck into the bathroom before he realized I was there. I’d been making sure our paths didn’t cross in case he tried to retaliate against me.
In a way, he’d done this to himself. He looked at everyone like they were fools, and it wasn’t just the students he barely even knew, but also his own friends and teammates. No one trusted him anymore.
