It’s now dark outside, and we’re finally done marching for today. Finals went a little better than our first performance. Despite literally being exhausted all day, right now I’m surprisingly energetic. I guess it’s just the hype of the second performance.

Once again, Ashley and Zoe have snuck off somewhere, leaving Anja and I to chill while we wait for the cue to get on the busses.

“Jeez, those two ran off from us again?” I complain to Anja. “What a couple of bums.”

“Eh, let them. They’re in their honeymoon period right now,” Anja reasons. “Besides, I’ve had a lot of fun hanging out with just you!”

“Oh yeah. Same here.”

Something unexpected happens. Someone from our section comes up to us, a guy in our grade named Mason.

“Hey, you two,” he greets. “We’re taking a section picture behind the buses. Thought I should let you know.”

“Oh shit, really?” Anja replies. “Come on, Nova.”

“Eh, do we really have to?” I complain. “I hate getting my picture taken.”

“We should!” She springs to her feet and reaches her hand out for mine. I groan and take it.

We follow Mason to where the picture is being taken, and we get it over with quickly.

“Thanks for letting us know about this,” Anja says to Mason afterwards. “We’re not really that popular, so I doubt anyone else would’ve come to get us.”

“Eh, well, you know,” Mason says, looking uncomfortable. “You guys are a part of the section and all that. It’s whatever.”

“I don’t think they would’ve missed us, honestly,” I comment.

“Um… I mean…” Mason starts biting his lip. “I don’t have any beef with you guys.”

“Even though we’re friends with Ashley?” Anja says, slightly teasingly. I’m not sure what this is supposed to mean, but Mason seems to understand it.

“Well, I do have a beef with her. But that’s just her, that doesn’t extend to you guys. Or Zoe.”

“Alright, that’s good to know,” Anja replies. “I know Ashley is rather cold, but she does have some redeeming qualities.”

“Eh, qualities shmalities,” he retorts, making a dismissive hand gesture. “I just think someone needs to show her that she’s not some holy prophet of horn playing…”

“But how can you do that if you’re in the trombone section?” Anja questions, giggling at him. “You two won’t ever have to directly compete.”

“I’ll take any symbolic victory over her I can get,” he replies. “Well, okay… maybe not any victory… but any legitimate one.”

He takes a deep breath. “Also, for the record, I did not know about Ashley and Zoe’s thing when I asked Zoe to Homecoming. I wouldn’t stoop that low!”

“Well, that’s good to know,” Anja replies, still looking amused by the conversation. However, I can’t help but to notice that there’s something funny going on here…

“Hey, wait a second!” I interject, directing my glare towards Mason. “How do you know about that? That’s supposed to be a secret!”

The smile drops off Anja’s face as she realizes it too.

“Well, um, it’s not really a secret anymore,” Mason comments, looking uncomfortable again. “Look, I didn’t participate in that at all. Like I just said, I wouldn’t stoop to depths as low as…”

“As low as what?” Anja questions hotly, her temperament rapidly changing. The speed of her 180-degree turn from laughter to fury would normally be frightening, but I find it oddly inspiring given the circumstances.

“Oh… oof. I guess you guys wouldn’t have gotten it, yeah…” He grits his teeth and looks around us, as if seeing if anyone is nearby. “Di… someone got a video of them, uh, making out during the game yesterday.”

“Oh shit.” Anja replies, breathing deeply. “And how much has this been spread around?”

“Uh… enough,” he says simply.

“Shit shit shit!” Anja chants quickly, putting her hands to her face. She quickly whips out her phone and starts furiously typing on it. Since mine starts buzzing, I assume that she is messaging in the group chat and open it up.

Anja:

Ashley we need to talk

Ashley:

Hello Anja.

Are we heading back soon?

Anja:

Someone got a video of you and Zoe together.

Everyone knows.

Ashley takes a while to respond, so Anja turns back towards Mason. “Who took the video?” She asks.

“Uh… I’m not, uh, totally sure,” he stutters, blushing furiously.

“Liar.” Anja states simply, her eyes narrowing at him. “I’m good at telling when people are lying, you know.”

“No, I’m s-serious…”

Anja rolls her eyes, grabs me by the arm, and marches us back to where we were hanging out previously.

By this time, there’s a reply in the group chat.

Ashley:

I’m very upset to hear that.

Who took the video.

Anja:

I don’t know. I can try and find out for you, though.

Ashley:

Don’t worry.

I have a theory as to who it is.

There was someone I saw near the area last night.

Anja:

What are you going to do?

Ashley:

Apply knowledge gained from past mistakes.

----------------------------------------

Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website.

Zoe and I head back to where the rest of the band is. Zoe hasn’t reacted too much yet, but she has been breathing very heavily. I simply keep walking, my hand around her wrist. People we pass by are wise enough to part for us like the water for Moses.

I just so happen to see exactly who I’m looking for sitting by herself on a curb near the fence. A stroke of good luck.

“Good evening, Yonca,” I state as I approach her.

I am pleased to see that she jumps to her feet upon hearing my voice. She looks scared. 

“I’m glad I could catch you alone. I want to ask you something.”

She slowly turns around to face me, trembling very slightly. “Ashley, I’m sorry about…”

“Bullshit,” I interrupt her. I press my advantage and step close to her, making her cower slightly. “So, it kind of seems like you already know what I’m going to ask.”

She gulps. “It wasn’t me.”

“If it wasn’t you, why are you so afraid?”

“I… someone else asked me...  I saw you two walk away…”

“So who was it then? Who was it who, at your suggestion, followed after us and filmed us during our special little intimate moment?”

“No… I didn’t…”

I take another step closer to her, and she cowers like she’s about to be hit.

“You know, I really don’t care about the specifics. I just need a name.”

“Ashley, what are you going to do?” Zoe asks me, her voice thin.

“If she answers my question, nothing,” I say simply.

There is a pause. Then…

“It was Diana.”

Yeah. Somehow, that doesn’t surprise me.

“I’m sorry,” she says again. She has a certain facial expression, like that of a broken prisoner of war. It’s one that I know well, for it’s haunted my dreams for the past three years. The fact that they even look a bit alike helps. I’m not sure if this makes me feel better or worse.

“If you’re really sorry, here’s what you’re going to do,” I begin in a whisper. She looks up me apprehensively. 

“Don’t apologize to me. You know, I’m not really the one being hurt by this. I’m used to this by now. No, you’re going to apologize to Zoe.”

She buries her face in her hands, as if about to sob.

“Ashley… come on. This isn’t helping anything,” Zoe simpers behind me, her face as pale as a ghost.

“No, Zoe. She’s compliant. She’s not getting away with this.”

I turn back towards Yonca. Her uselessness suddenly makes me really angry. “Well! Go ahead!” I shout at her.

She actually is sobbing now.

“Ashley! Leave her alone!” Zoe urges me, looking close to crying herself. “This isn’t her fault!”

I sigh. “Fine. Just go away, please.”

Yonca follows my advice, half-running away from the scene.

“So, there you have it then,” I state. “It was Diana who videoed us. Couldn’t resist the chance to have something to gossip about, I bet.”

Zoe must have missed it when Yonca said her name earlier, as her face goes from white to red, and she starts hyperventilating.

At that moment, Anja and Nova appear. Anja immediately goes straight to Zoe, looking extremely concerned about her condition.

“Zoe? Honey? Sit down for me,” Anja says, helping her sit down on the curb.

“Why… why would she…” Zoe barely stutters out before breaking down into tears.

“Take full, deep breaths for me, okay?” Anja says seriously. “You’re going to be okay.”

I feel a wave of gratitude for Anja. I’m concerned about Zoe, but currently only feel anger, so I doubt I’d be able to effectively console her. Anja, it seems, is a true friend to us; unlike those worthless whores that Zoe surrounded herself with.

“Uh… I’m not so good with the emotional stuff,” Nova remarks, standing around awkwardly. “So, what are you going to do now?”

“Commit a murder,” I say simply.

His eyes pop wide open. “Oh. Uh, okay. Good luck?”

I briskly walk away from the others and scan the crowd for a certain dirty blonde flautist.

“Hey wait!” Nova calls after me. “You’re not actually gonna do that, right?”

I ignore him and continue searching. Of course I’m not actually going to. I’m not even sure how I would do that, given that I lack any weapons. I guess I could try bringing her into the Metaverse, since I have my phone…

My thoughts are interrupted when I bump into someone else who is staring at me harder than anyone else in the crowd. Well, no point delaying the inevitable. 

“Good evening, Terra,” I say as I approach her. “I was curious if you knew where Diana is.”

“I don’t fear your wrath, Ashley,” Terra tells me.

“Nor do I yours.”

She gives me a hard, steely glare. “Bullying people isn’t going to fix anything, you know.”

“That’s rich, coming from you.”

She leans back against the side of the bus behind her. “You know, when Yonca first moved here, a lot of people picked on her. She was worried that she was never going to fit in here, due to her differences.”

Hmm. So the little whelp must have told her about what happened already.

“I don’t give a fuck,” I tell her bluntly. “I don’t care what religious views anyone has, what culture they hail from, what race they are, or what gender they are. We are all equal under the law. And that means that shitty people will get that they deserve.”

“I see you fancy yourself the arbiter of justice.”

“Not me,” I say, smiling at her coldly.

Terra draws herself back up to full height. “I know it seems harsh. But I really am trying to help you guys.”

“Ah yes. Thank you so much.”

“But since neither of you seemed to have learned anything, I think I may just take this to a higher power.”

I give her a glare of instant death. Surely she doesn’t mean…

“And what makes you think that you’re helping anything by ruining Zoe’s entire life?”

“I didn’t do that. You did.” She bravely returns my glare. “When you did… whatever you people do to spread it.” 

I force a fake snigger at her. “Spread it?”

“Absolutely.” She starts picking at her fingernails, like I’m no longer interesting enough to have a conversation with. “Men go into prison straight… they leave it gay. What conclusion can we draw from that?”

I’m starting to seriously consider my “bring her into the Metaverse” idea, when an interruption comes in the form of Nova, walking up to me from the side. I guess he couldn’t resist witnessing the action.

“Hey Ashley!” he says, seemingly ignorant of the intensity of the situation. “Hey, um, Ashley. Zoe needs to, uh, ask you something. It’s really important.”

This is clearly just a bullshit excuse to get me away, but it does make me realize that it probably wouldn’t be a good idea to press the Metaverse app in a crowded area. I give Terra one last withering look, trying to get across that she is lucky she got away with just that. Then, I say, “Alright. Let’s go see her, then.”

----------------------------------------

Anja and Zoe are now sitting on the floor solemnly. Nova and I sit down across from her. Zoe presses herself into me in a tight hug and starts promptly crying her eyes out onto my sweaty shirt.

“You guys should brace yourself for more bad news,” I start explaining. “I was just talking to Terra, and she said something kind of interesting.”

“What was she talking about with people becoming gay while in prison?” Nova cuts into the conversation unexpectedly. “That’s not how being gay works!”

“Um… you’re right, it’s not,” I reply, as Anja briefly looks extremely confused. “She said that because she’s a total cunt.”

Zoe winces at this. In all of the drama, I kind of forgot that she used to be friends with these people. 

“Anyway, what did she say?” Anja asks me seriously.

“I think she might be planning to reveal us to the adults at our church,” I explain. “She said something…”

“No!” Zoe shouts through my shirt, starting to tremble.

“What are they going to do?” Nova asks. “Make you do double communion until you become straight again?”

“One, that’s not what communion is; two, the adults at our church include both of our parents, who can do quite a lot!”

“You don’t think… you guys are in danger?” Anja asks, looking startled.

Zoe is squeezing me so tightly that it’s restricting my breathing.

“In danger? I don’t know,” I admit. “But it’s probably not going to be a ton of fun.”

I’m thinking hard about whether or not my parents had ever indicated their feelings on lesbians or gay people in general before, but I’m drawing a blank. Honestly, it’s kind of funny. I could tell you without a moment’s hesitation that Chris Potter is my mom’s favorite saxophone player and that my dad can play every JJ Johnson solo on Trombone Master from memory, but I don’t know their opinions on gay rights, one of the most polarizing political topics of our day. 

“Your parents are fairly conservative people, are they not?” Anja asks me. “I saw that sign in your yard when I visited…”

“I don’t think they’re that socially conservative,” I respond. “They just don’t want to pay out their ass in taxes, that’s all.”

Anja continues to watch me doubtfully. Zoe withdraws from me again and seems to be holding back having another meltdown for now. She’s now holding her head and breathing deeply.

“When is Terra going to do the thing?” Anja questions. “Did she say?” 

“Well, given that we have church tomorrow, I think it’s a fairly safe bet she’ll do it then,” I begin explaining. “I’d rather rip off the bandage and tell them early morning before we go. If they’re going to learn about it anyway, I’d prefer that it be from me.”

There is a pause. And then…

“I’ll do it before church, too,” Zoe adds, sniffling a bit. “I… know they’re not going to like it. My family doesn’t like homosexuals. But maybe… if I can explain everything to them…”

She trails off there. I can see that there is fear in her eyes still…

“We’ll both do it at once,” I suggest. “That way… it’ll all be over in one go.”

Zoe nods in agreement. But she’s still looking blankly at the concrete. Like staring into a fireplace on a cold winter night.

“Well,” Anja says, “If… you need anything… either of you, just let me know. No matter what happens, I’ll be there for you.”

“Thank you, Anja,” I respond.

Zoe doesn’t say anything, but she does scoot over to give Anja a hug.