Chapter Twenty-Five

Lila woke with a start the next morning. Her first alarm wasn’t due until half an hour and she was wide awake. Lila contemplated trying to go back to sleep. But her desire to catch the earlier bus to avoid Piper was far stronger.

Lila threw herself together as quickly as she could, the pits of her stomach tying itself into knots. She tried not to think about yesterday and failed miserably. It was all she could think about, the image of Piper’s distorted face having been burned into her mind’s eye.

She was too nervous to pack lunch today, so hauled herself to her bus stop ten minutes before the first school bus was to arrive. Though March could still be blisteringly hot, this morning a cool breeze brushed past Lila’s face as she waited. It eased her somewhat, but the humidity underlying this breeze hinted at an overbearingly hot lunchtime.

After boarding the bus and confirming that Piper was not there, Lila checked her phone. The calls and texts had increased even further and she felt like throwing her phone into a creek. Biting her lip, she looked out the window, trying to distract herself with the scenery.

While Lila was hopeful at the prospect of Asher finally ending the rumours, they hadn’t actually discussed how or when Asher would have his conversation with Piper. Shaking her head, she pushed the thought out of her mind. Leaving behind the empty, roaring bus, she gradually made her way to her locker, distinctly unenthused by the fact that she was at school far earlier than she needed to be. She had Maths first up with Ms Wang, so she could potentially get started on revision in the library…

When Lila entered the locker room, however, she saw Asher leaning against her locker, looking deep in thought. She looked around to see whether there was anyone else, but it seemed that it was just the two of them in there.

Gulping, Lila tentatively walked up to Asher. He didn’t seem to notice her.

“Hi,” Lila said uncertainly. Asher jumped, looking around wildly before locking eyes with Lila. A beat passed before he moved away from her locker.

“Sorry,” he said, somewhat sheepishly. “I didn’t think you’d be here so early.”

“Neither,” Lila replied, putting her school bag away with a sigh. “I woke up too early.”

Asher nodded. “Same.”

Another pause passed between them before Asher spoke again.

“Where was the photo?” he asked, gesturing to her locker. Lila pointed at the mirror on the inside of her locker door and he let out a low hiss.

“That’s so creepy.”

“Sure is,” Lila agreed. “Trying not to think about it, actually. So… what’s the plan?”

Asher ran his fingers through his hair, grimacing. “I don’t have one.”

Lila raised an eyebrow at him as she shut her locker and locked it, having sorted out her book bag. “You don’t have one?”

Asher shook his head. “She’s so unpredictable. I can’t make a plan around what she’ll likely say.”

“I guess it would be hard.”

“I thought of about fifteen different plans that I could do, but none of them feel right,” he said, leaning against the locker next to Lila’s, his arms folded. “It feels so odd, knowing that I should be able to think of the perfect one so easily but being unable to.”

“How long have you been here?” Lila asked, leaning against her own locker now.

“About half an hour. I took down all the photos in the boys’ bathrooms,” he said, averting his gaze.

“How are you feeling?” Lila asked after a few moments of silence. He gave her a sideways glance before sighing, kicking at the floor.

“Feeling like I could raze this building to the ground.”

Lila gave a hollow laugh. “Don’t let anyone hear you say that.”

“I know,” he said, an equally hollow smile on his face. “That’s why I’m only saying it to you. You’re not just ‘anyone’, you know.”

“Noted,” Lila said, looking at the floor now. A small, budding feeling of warmth began to spread from her heart as she bit back a grin. She checked the time on her phone.

“Piper should be here in a few minutes,” Lila said tonelessly. “Are you just going to talk to her here? In the locker room?”

Asher shrugged. “Why not? I’d rather not enclose myself in a classroom or something with her. They only have one exit.”

Lila briefly wondered whether that was for Asher’s benefit, or Piper’s, and stretched her arms behind her back.

“As long as you’re fine with a whole bunch of witnesses,” she said. As if on cue, a few groups of students wandered in, chatting indistinctly. A couple of students did a double take as they looked at Lila and Asher, but neither moved to pretend they were ignoring each other today. It felt as though they were preparing for a boss fight, the anticipation now tingling through Lila’s blood. With each passing second, her heart beat faster and harder than it did before, rising to a crescendo.

Asher suddenly stood before Lila, bringing his right fist down to his open left palm, his eyes sparkling with realisation. “I’ve got it! The current plan is to approach this calmly, rationally, and with dignity, which is more than she’s shown to us. I’m not going to stoop to her level. I will treat her firmly but also afford her respe-”

His words were cut short as his eyes landed on Piper, who had split off from a large swarm of students and was walking to her locker, seemingly unaware that Lila and Asher were standing nearby. He instantly marched right up to Piper before Lila could grab him.

“You!” Asher barked, pointing at Piper, who looked at him in apparent alarm. Lila slapped a hand to her face before chasing after Asher. This didn’t bode well.

Asher took a deep breath, his face glowing with anger.

“How dare you,” he almost shouted, commanding the attention of everyone else in the locker room. Some craned their necks to see what was going on as Piper shrunk away from Asher.

“S-Sorry?” she squeaked, bringing her backpack to her front.

“You are vile,” Asher spat, the volume in his voice increasing with each syllable, jabbing the air between himself and Piper as he spoke. “Piper, you’re horrifying. You’re absolutely insidious and calculating. You could be intelligent if you tried, but you instead waste your time chasing someone who will never want you. You instead waste your time spreading misinformation and gossip and play the part of the vulture digging through the wreckage you wrought as if you innocently stumbled across it. How worthless. Your heart is ugly and necrotic. Looking at you disgusts me. You’re a stalker, a bully, and a swine.”

He breathed heavily before pulling a stack of photos from his blazer pocket. He threw them at Piper’s feet. Evidently, they were the photos he’d taken down from the boys' bathrooms that morning. Lila was frozen and almost entirely consumed by Asher’s magnetic wrath.

“This is the fruits of your labour. This pile of lies, which you relied on to destroy me and destroy Lila. We’ve done nothing to you. I barely knew you fucking existed until yesterday when I found out you’ve been sitting outside my house without my knowledge. And now that you’ve got my attention, I wish you didn’t,” he continued, his breathing unsteady, almost to the point of hyperventilating.

Lila tightly gripped Asher’s arm, pulling him back from Piper, who was now silently crying, her backpack crumpled on the floor.

“Asher,” Lila warned.

He closed his eyes before taking a deep breath. He nodded and gently shook her hand off his arm. He stepped forward, cracking his neck, glaring down at Piper, who had sunk to the floor.

“Don’t come near me again. Don’t come near Lila again. If I catch wind of you spreading rumours again, I will do more than destroy your spirit,” he snarled, his entire body twitching with outrage.

Piper began to sob loudly into her hands. Looking down at her like this, Lila felt a small pang of pity in her chest. It was quickly replaced with revulsion as Piper looked back up at Lila, her face full of loathing and wet with tears. She let out a banshee-like scream as she lunged forward towards Lila.

“You bitch!” Piper screamed, crawling the rest of the distance between herself and Lila. “Why did you tell him?!”

A circle of students was now forming around the three of them, all of them watching on with wide eyes, seemingly too stunned to make any noise. Asher pushed Lila behind him as he swiftly stood between Piper and Lila.

“She is not a bitch,” he growled. “She’s done absolutely nothing to you, and you decided to destroy her reputation. You decided to throw her into danger. You gave out her phone number to strangers, hoping for what? That she’d get attacked? Or worse? Why? Just ‘cause we fucking got paired for English? It’s not even like we got to choose!”

“A-Asher,” Lila stammered behind his back. “It’s fine-”

“I’ve told you already, Lila. Stop saying it’s fine. Nothing about this is fine,” Asher hissed, looking over his shoulder at her. Piper began to wail loudly at Asher’s feet and he shuffled back, closer to Lila, his face wincing in repulsion.

“I will never love someone like you,” Asher said coldly above Piper’s wails. “Get over it. I love Holly.”

Lila felt her stomach drop and chest tighten, her lungs uncomfortably constricting. Was it from the stress of the confrontation?

“I think that’s enough,” Lila said quietly, looking down at Piper’s small frame which had curled into a fetal position. “Let’s go.”

Asher nodded, stepping around Piper and kicking the photos out of the way as he passed them. He led the way through the crowd, which silently parted like the Red Sea, Lila following close behind. Not a single student spoke. Piper’s yowling seemed to get louder the further they walked away until it stopped completely with the slam of the locker room doors closing behind them.

Asher continued walking, though it was apparent he had no destination in mind. He was trembling, a hand pressed to his chest.

“I… kinda lost it there,” he said eventually as they passed a set of bubblers. He slowed his pace and took a drink from them. Lila couldn’t find the right words to say in response, so said nothing at all. It seemed like Asher was trying to drown himself by how much he drank, but he eventually turned the bubbler off.

“Was I too much?” he asked tensely, wiping his mouth and turning to face Lila.

“… it was certainly a lot,” Lila replied. “What happened to your plan?”

Asher groaned, putting his face in his hands, squatting on the floor. “As soon as I saw her, I couldn’t help it. I just… saw red.”

“It was a pretty impressive rant,” Lila said with a wry smile. “Very eloquent.”

“Ah,” Asher looked up at Lila. “Do you think she got the picture, or did it fly over her head?”

“Yeah, nah, she definitely got the picture,” Lila replied, her voice higher-pitched than normal. “Her and the rest of the grade.”

Asher rubbed his face and then, without warning, let out a scream into his palms. Lila jumped in alarm.

“You okay?” she asked, concerned. He paused before responding, his face still in his hands.

“Yup. Just… screaming into my hands. Like all okay people do.”

Lila looked at him, deadpanning for a moment, before bringing her own hands to her face and screaming into them as well. It felt incredibly cathartic, and when she was done, they both burst into almost-delirious laughter.

“I… guess that’s it then,” Lila said, wiping a small tear of unexpected joy from her right eye.

“Nah,” Asher said, standing up, his face serious again. “We need to report her to the teachers. Can you come with me at lunch? You said Ms Wang told you an investigation was opening, yeah?”

“Yeah,” Lila nodded. “I’ve got Maths with her first up. I can let her know that we need to talk to her at lunch.”

“Thanks,” Asher replied, closing his eyes, and bringing a fist to his forehead. “I… I’ve got Chem with Piper first.”

“And you decided to do this before Chem?” Lila asked incredulously.

“I… thought it would be a civil conversation,” Asher said unconvincingly.

“Sure,” Lila snorted. “Not that I was expecting it to go down like… that, but I don’t think civil was ever on the cards.”

“I’ll let you know if she shows up, I guess,” Asher sighed as they began slowly walking back towards the locker room. They passed several people from their cohort, some of whom openly stared at them as they went.

“Somehow I don’t think we’re in the clear of the rumour mill just yet,” Lila said softly.

“Probably not, but at least it’s not for the reasons we have been,” Asher shrugged. “If it’ll go the way I think it will, it’ll be fine though.”

“And what way is that?” Lila asked.

“Well, from what happened, I predict you won’t even feature in the new rumours.”

“Oh. Why?”

“I mean, you didn’t even really say or do anything. I bet everyone will just be talking about me and her for a bit,” Asher shrugged. “And I can handle that. I guess the benefit of having a psycho-stalker spread rumours about you for years is that you build up a pretty good tolerance.”

They reached Asher’s locker, and he unlocked it, pulling out his Chemistry textbook and other assorted books.

“I’ll see you at lunch, I guess,” Lila said awkwardly. “I’ve got to get to Maths.”

“See ya then,” Asher smiled, giving her a little wave before reaching into his locker again.

Lila arrived at her Maths classroom in time to see Ms Wang ushering students inside.

“Ms Wang?” Lila said, standing outside the classroom still. Ms Wang looked at her in surprise before smiling at Lila.

“Good morning, Lila. Do you need something?”

“Um…” Lila glanced around. Most of her classmates were all inside now, so there was no real risk of being overheard. She at least couldn't see anyone else approaching. “It’s about the investigation you mentioned.”

“Ah,” Ms Wang said, closing the classroom door behind her. “Yes?”

“A-Asher and I need to talk to you about it. At lunch, preferably.”

Ms Wang raised an eyebrow but nodded.

“I’m assuming this is about some new information?” she asked.

“Yeah,” Lila replied. “You could say that.”

“Alright. You can bring Asher to our PC room. No one will be in it during lunch.”

“Thanks, ma’am.”

Ms Wang opened the classroom door again and gestured for Lila to head inside. Lila settled in, her mind incredibly clear. She found herself able to focus on Ms Wang’s revision lesson with ease.

This clarity followed her to her Modern History classroom. Elise and Grace both kept glancing at Lila, but their Modern History teacher was demanding total silence from the class as he went through the expectations of their Tuesday exam.

Upon being released for morning tea, however, Elise and Grace immediately began peppering Lila with questions as they walked towards the locker room.

“What happened this morning?”

“Why was Asher so angry?”

“What did Piper do?”

“What did you find out?”

“Where did you go after?”

“Wh-”

“Guys,” Lila interrupted them, halting in place. “I can only answer one question at a time.”

“Sorry,” Elise and Grace said in unison. They resumed their journey to the locker room, not saying a peep.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

“Were you guys there?” Lila eventually asked. Elise shook her head, but Grace nodded.

“I tried to get to my locker, but no one let me through. I heard Asher being super angry, but I couldn’t see or hear much. Then when I finally got to my locker, I picked up the photos on the ground and chucked them in the bin.”

Lila recapped Asher’s ‘conversation’ with Piper to a rapt Elise and Grace as they pulled out their food for morning tea. She also included further details regarding what she had found out about Piper, including her visit to Asher’s house on Monday.

“I’m sorry, WHAT?!” Elise shrieked, slamming her locker shut, squeezing her mandarin so tightly that juice dripped onto her shoe.

“Yeah,” Lila replied simply. “Sorry I didn’t tell you earlier…”

“It’s fine,” Grace piped up as Elise wiped her juiced hand on her uniform absentmindedly. “I get it.”

“Not happy about it,” Elise added, sucking at the tiny opening on her mandarin. “But I get it, too.”

“I haven’t even told you what I saw in her locker,” Lila sighed as they rounded the corner out of the locker room. All eyes seemed to be on them as they strolled to the tuckshop so Lila could buy something to eat.

“… but I think I’ll save that for when we have more privacy,” Lila added, casting her eyes downward. If everyone was going to stare at her, she didn’t need to see it. Elise began to whine, but Grace quickly shushed her.

It didn’t take long for Lila, Grace, and Elise to slot into the tuckshop line, which was flooded with students eagerly babbling about various goings-on. There were so many different conversations that Lila couldn’t decipher anything in particular whilst in line.

“Do you think she’s still at school?” Grace asked quietly, biting into a pear.

“Well, her Dance final is due this afternoon,” Elise reminded them. “Also, what are you eating?”

“A pear. What of it?” Grace retorted, taking another bite of her pear. Lila shook her head at their antics.

“I’d say it’s a toss-up whether she cares about that,” Lila said in a low voice. “If she was only trying to get good grades to impress Asher, she might just throw in the towel.”

“Do you reckon they’re sitting at the Home Ec building? Piper and her friends, I mean,” Elise asked, slipping her mandarin peels into her pocket.

“If they are, I don’t know if Asher would be,” Lila sighed.

“Does Asher sit there too?” Grace asked, frowning. Lila looked at Grace in confusion. It was pretty obvious to Lila that he did.

“Well, yeah,” Lila said slowly. “You didn’t notice?”

“Huh, funny that,” Elise said, looking skyward, a finger on her chin. “I didn’t notice either.”

“Oh,” Lila murmured, looking down at her shoes.

“I was so focused on Piper’s group, I can’t believe I didn’t see him,” Grace laughed. “Your observational skills are pretty good, Lila.”

“W-Well, looking back, I think that’s why Piper’s group always sat there,” Lila said, a slight flush forming on her cheeks. They were at the front of the tuckshop now, waiting for the teacher on duty to wave Lila through.

“Makes sense,” Elise nodded. “See you out the front.”

Lila crossed the threshold into the tuckshop and perused the items. ‘I should probably buy some lunch while I’m here too…’ she thought, heading over to the sandwiches.

“… you see? Insane…”

“Yo, he was so mad…”

“Kinda hot… never seen Asher…”

“Careful, mate… saw what happened if… like Asher…”

“Piper’s a bit…”

“Scary…”

“… mega intense…”

“Dude, I’d move schools…”

“… made it all up… how awful.”

Lila tried not to draw attention to herself as she caught more snippets of what people were saying.

“… heard she wanted… him.”

“Lowkey, that’s pathetic as…”

“… put the pictures up…”

“… stalked him.”

“… his HOUSE!”

“Can’t even deal…”

“What does insidious mean?”

“… Banker…”

“… money?”

“… servo after school?”

“Need an icy pole…”

“… called it… not a homewrecker…”

“I failed the heck out of that…”

“… Asher… loves Holly… clearly not interested… Lila.”

“The rumours… ridiculous.”

“Just English partners…”

“Elijah…”

“I heard! … scholarship?”

“Ms Shard… so old.”

“Ha! Righto…”

Lila carefully approached the cashier, paid for her items, and left without much fuss. Elise and Grace waved her over.

“Do you want to stop by the Home Ec building?” Grace asked, checking her watch. “We’d have enough time to check it out then head to PC.”

“I suppose we could,” Lila shrugged, peeling open a banana.

The trio meandered over to the Home Ec building, Elise regaling them on tales of her latest Maccas battle scars, with Grace and Lila laughing at her dramatisations. Upon arriving at the usual spot, they noticed that it seemed rather empty. Mia, Scarlett, and Jackson were sitting there, talking in hushed voices, but Piper and Ayla were conspicuously absent. Lila glanced towards the roofed area and didn’t see Asher or Isaac sitting there either.

Lila, Grace, and Elise continued on their leisurely loop back towards their lockers, with Lila shoving her lunch in her locker and pulling out her Japanese materials. With nothing else to do, they casually headed over to PC. Ms Wang was already sitting inside, reading some papers. She looked up briefly and allowed the trio to sit inside on the proviso that they wouldn’t disrupt her.

They quietly looked through their schoolbooks whilst they waited for Ms Wang to commence PC. Their PC classmates gradually filed in, talking amongst themselves, though Lila was too engrossed in preparing for her Japanese exam next week to try and listen to what was being said.

“11E,” Ms Wang called out, silencing the chatter of Lila’s classmates instantly. “We are quickly speeding towards school holidays, but we’re not just there yet. Don’t forget to revise and prepare for your exams next week. Additionally, semi-formal is just around the corner. I have a list of potential suppliers for suits and dresses, among others. If you’re stuck on where to go, feel free to see me. Otherwise, I have nothing else for you today. Keep the noise to a minimum, everyone.”

Ms Wang turned her attention back to the stack of papers on her desk. Lila reluctantly pulled her phone out of her pocket. Ignoring it as much as she could had been a very difficult exercise over the past couple of days, but she was curious. Asher did say he would let her know if Piper showed up to Chemistry…

Scrolling through her phone, Lila saw that she had missed several more calls and messages, but it seemed significantly reduced in comparison to yesterday. There was a message from Asher intermingled with several other messages from unknown numbers.

She went to Sickbay, the message read. He hadn’t sent anything else. Lila tapped Grace on the shoulder, as she was closest. Grace tapped Elise on her shoulder, and they both leaned in, reading Asher’s message.

Do you know if she’s coming back? Lila replied.

No one’s said anything, Asher sent back almost instantly.

Okay. Thanks for the intel, Lila replied. Then she added – Btw, Ms Wang said to meet at my PC class. I’ll take you there at lunch

Sounds good, Asher replied with a smiling emoji.

“I’ve got German with her next,” Elise whispered as Lila turned her screen off and pocketed her phone. “We’ll see if she turns up. I’ll let you know at lunch.”

“Oh,” Lila said, “I’m actually talking to Ms Wang with Asher about Piper during lunch.”

“Do you have a music lesson?” Elise turned to Grace, pouting, her best attempt at puppy-dog eyes on display.

“Nah,” Grace smiled. “We can wander around campus. Maybe we’ll hear something interesting.”

“I hope so,” Elise grinned, pointing at Lila. “This morning’s already been interesting.”

Lila let out a chuckle before she shook her head and said, “Could say that, aye.”

Japanese class entailed heavy revision, with Ms Takahashi sternly advising everyone to practice their kanji over the weekend before their exam next week. Lila wasn’t quite so confident in her kanji and uneasily noted down Ms Takahashi’s suggestion.

As Japanese drew to a close, Lila became incredibly fidgety. She’d be meeting with Ms Wang and Asher in a few minutes about Piper… Would Ms Wang believe them? What would happen to Piper? Lila wasn’t sure whether she wanted Piper expelled, but she also didn’t want to see her ever again, especially after the thinly-veiled threat about burying Lila.

She began walking to her locker, trying not to think too deeply about her impending conversation with Ms Wang. At the very least, Lila wouldn’t be in trouble…

“Penny for your thoughts?”

Asher was leaning on Lila’s locker again, a half-grin on his face. He held a lunchbox in one hand, the other being in his pocket.

“Sorry, I only accept bank transfers,” Lila replied, gently pushing him aside so she could grab her own lunch. Asher snorted.

“An enterprising enigma, I see,” he said as Lila shut her locker, armed with her sandwich and juice.

“I try,” Lila said. “Gotta start the hustle from somewhere.”

They headed off in the direction of Lila’s PC class, not saying much. It felt like everyone they passed turned to ogle at them, their conversations cutting short as they walked by. Lila could have sworn that, despite Asher’s outwardly relaxed demeanour, he was anxious as hell. There was something about the way he seemed so jumpy, his eyes flickering about as if trying to take in as much as he could.

Lila exhaled deeply as they stood outside her PC classroom before raising her hand and knocking on the door.

“Come in,” came Ms Wang’s voice through the door. Lila exchanged a look with Asher before turning the handle and letting them in.

Ms Wang was sitting at the teacher’s desk, chewing as she stabbed a few lettuce leaves from her salad bowl with a fork. She smiled at Lila, gesturing for both of them to sit at the two chairs that were pulled up beside the desk.

“How can I help?” she asked, covering her mouth and swallowing. Lila saw a notebook was open beside Ms Wang, turned to a blank page. Ms Wang put her salad down on the table next to it. They clearly had her full attention. Lila glanced at Asher, his face now extraordinarily pale.

“U-Uh,” he stuttered, “w-we have some information.”

Ms Wang nodded but didn’t say anything. Lila jumped in.

“We have reason to believe that Piper Baker is behind everything.”

“Everything?” Ms Wang raised an eyebrow, reaching for a pen.

“Well… the photo you showed me yesterday, for one,” Lila replied, looking down at her Gladwrapped sandwich. “I know that some of it was blurry, but I received a copy of an unblurred one…”

Lila fumbled around in her blazer pockets before pulling out the photo in question. “I found this on the inside of my locker door on Tuesday.”

Ms Wang took the photo and looked at it for a moment, before staring up at Lila. “Did you say on the inside of your locker door?”

Lila nodded. “Elise tested my lock and it seemed like it was pretty easy to bypass. She got me a new one from Mr Morrison.”

“Why do you believe Piper is responsible?” Ms Wang asked, clicking the tip of her pen. Lila looked at Asher again, and he nodded. Lila pulled out her phone, declining a call that flashed on her screen from an unknown number with a frustrated sigh, and opened up the photo of Piper in the hedge outside Asher’s home.

“I guess I need to tell you some backstory,” Lila said awkwardly as she passed her phone to Ms Wang. “There’s been a lot of rumours about me and Asher this term, all of them untrue. So, I did my own digging into who could be spreading them and narrowed down Piper. I’ve never really spoken to her, but people told me she knew way too much about me. So I followed her on Monday and she was doing… that… outside Asher’s house.”

“I assume you’ve been to his house,” Ms Wang said, writing down some notes in the notebook.

“Yeah. We got paired for English, and we worked on the project at Asher’s place. Which is kinda where this all started, I think,” Lila said quietly.

“And I also assume Piper hasn’t been invited to your house?” Ms Wang asked, looking up at Asher now.

“Y-Yeah,” Asher replied.

“Okay. Is there anything else?” Ms Wang asked, turning to Lila.

“A lot, actually,” Lila said sheepishly. “After our conversation yesterday, I decided to talk to Piper. To confirm whether she was the one behind it. And she basically confessed. A-And she…” Lila faltered, shooting Asher another look before shaking her head. She wasn’t sure whether she could say anything more about what happened to Ms Wang.

“Lila told me that Piper basically has a shrine to me, ma’am. In her locker. Apparently, she’s been stalking me for years. And she also told Lila she wasn’t going to stop, and I quote, until she 'buried her into the ground'.”

Ms Wang let out a small gasp, before coughing, seemingly in an attempt to cover it up. She wrote some more notes down, peering at Lila’s phone again as a message from an unknown number appeared on the screen.

“I see you’ve been getting more unsolicited calls and texts,” Ms Wang said to Lila, sounding disappointed.

“Yeah… but it seems to be slowing down now. Asher pulled down the photos from the boys’ bathrooms this morning and I haven’t gotten as many since.”

“But still some,” Ms Wang murmured, writing down some more notes. She looked up at Lila and Asher and leaned slightly back in her chair.

“These are some serious accusations,” she said finally. “But I appreciate that you’ve provided some evidence.”

Asher gave Lila a sideways glance before he leaned forward. “Ma’am, can I say something?”

“Of course,” Ms Wang responded. Asher inhaled deeply.

“I don’t feel safe, with Piper still here. Especially now. I… kinda yelled at her this morning, and she tried to go for Lila. There’s probably over twenty witnesses for that bit… She’s terrifying.”

Ms Wang looked very grave as Asher’s words hung in the air, her body rigid.

“I will need to escalate all this,” she said, her tone far more business-like than usual. “But, to summarise, you two have said that Piper has been potentially stalking Asher for years, and has likely stalked Lila to some degree. She’s additionally strategically placed these photos with a slur and Lila’s mobile number, implying that Lila would, forgive me, hire herself out for some sexual services. And this effect was achieved to an appalling degree and continues despite the photos being taken down. She also has a ‘shrine’, so to speak, regarding Asher in her locker. She’s also threatened Lila and tried to ‘go for’ Lila this morning in front of witnesses. Finally, Asher doesn’t feel safe with Piper in the school. Lila, do you feel safe?”

“After this morning, I… don’t think so, but I also don’t need to go home,” Lila said, biting her bottom lip. “To be honest, while I don’t feel safe at school, I also feel like there’s safety in numbers here. She… takes the same bus home as me, and I think she knows what bus stop I get off at. If she’s stalked Asher, she might know where I live… so I’d rather stay here until the rest of my family go home. I'm usually the first one home if my sister's not there.”

Ms Wang closed her eyes, rubbing her forehead.

“I’ll need to talk to the Headmaster about this,” she finally said. “It’ll be hard to get evidence for some of what you’re saying, but we can have Piper open her locker. That should be enough to be able to take some serious action.”

Lila’s breath caught in her throat as she exchanged another glance with Asher.

“If we are going to get her to open her locker, it would be important for you and Lila to be in attendance,” Ms Wang continued. “If it is as Lila says, you deserve to see it for yourself, Asher. And Lila will need to confirm that it is what she saw yesterday. Of course, if you don’t want to see it, Asher, that’s fine as well. This is all very, very serious, and probably deeply overwhelming.”

“I want to see it,” Asher said firmly, standing up suddenly. Ms Wang blinked up at him for a second, before nodding.

“It’ll likely happen after school,” Ms Wang said. “We’ll still need to complete some independent enquiries and paperwork, most likely. Would you both be able to meet me in the locker room at the end of the day?”

“Yes, ma’am,” Lila and Asher said in unison. Ms Wang checked her watch, scrawling a few more dot points before looking at Lila and Asher with a reassuring smile.

“There’s still some time before the end of lunch,” Ms Wang said. “Lila, can I please ask you to email me the photo you showed me today? And please take some screenshots of your call and text history. I don’t need your entire history, but just enough to get the point across. I’ll need it when I meet with the Headmaster. I’ll just need to collect my thoughts before I do so, if you’ll excuse me.”

Lila stood up, making sure to grab her uneaten sandwich and juice, and left the classroom, Asher trailing behind.

“That went smoothly,” Lila noted.

“Surprisingly so,” Asher agreed.

“Maybe she’s taking it seriously ‘cause you’re the Dux?” Lila posited. Asher shrugged.

“I think we’ve got Study next,” he said, beginning to walk in the direction of the locker room. “Shall we head over to the library? I’d like to sit with you again today. The last couple of Study blocks were torture. Our class is still not taking Study seriously and it’s driving me nuts.”

“I don’t mind,” Lila said casually. After grabbing what they needed, including their English books as that was their last class for the day, they walked over to the library together. Just as it had been for the majority of the day, people seemed to be stopping their conversations to stare at them as they passed. Lila's mood soured some and privately hoped that it would stop soon.

They set themselves up in Lila’s usual booth, Asher putting headphones in and working quietly as soon as they sat down. Lila sent the requested pictures to Ms Wang before setting up her own independent study materials. Lila occasionally snuck glances at Asher as she studied. Despite his sloppy looks, he was entirely in his element while studying. His focus seemed unbreakable – inspiring, really, his face looking entirely serious as he worked.

Lila nudged Asher when their Study teacher arrived, and they signed in. Lila kept an eye out for Piper and Ayla, but neither of them appeared in their usual spots in the library. Piper was probably in Sickbay still – was Ayla with her? Or was Ayla sitting elsewhere, avoiding them?

‘We did call out one of her closest friends for being a massive creep,’ Lila thought with a sigh as she flipped open her Maths textbook. ‘She could be mad if she thinks what we said was untrue, or she’s trying to adjust to the new info…’

They almost missed the end of Study due to their collective focus on their revision. Once Lila noticed that English was only a couple minutes away from starting, she urgently interrupted Asher.

“We’ve gotta go!” she said, panicked now. They threw their study materials into their various bags and ran off towards their English class, making it just in time for roll call. After they sat down, wheezing and puffing slightly, Lila reached out a hand towards Asher and, after staring at her hand for a second, gave her a low-five and a joyful grin.

Once English was finally over, Lila and Asher trekked back to the locker room. Lila wasn’t sure how this afternoon would play out, having not heard from Ms Wang after sending the pictures through. The uncertainty was gnawing at her stomach as she pressed her lips together, holding her breath almost the entire way to the locker room. Asher seemed just as nervous, his face slightly pale and he looked mainly at the floor.

Upon reaching the locker room, they saw Mr Johnson and Ms Wang standing guard in the entranceway. Ms Wang waved them over.

“You two can go in. We’re just trying to make sure this is as private as it can be,” she explained, stepping aside to let them through.

“I’ll go with Lila and Asher, Bradley, if you don’t mind,” Ms Wang said to Mr Johnson, who nodded stoically, arms crossed and stance wide like a nightclub bouncer.

Ms Wang followed Lila and Asher as they walked towards Piper’s locker. Mr Morrison and Mr Lockwood, the Headmaster, were already waiting with a very subdued Piper. As soon as she saw Asher and Lila approach, tears began to well in her eyes, but she otherwise remained silent, unlike that morning.

Mr Morrison looked uncharacteristically grim. Mr Lockwood, an incredibly tall, balding man with rectangular glasses and bushy beard, looked similarly solemn.

“Greg, this is Lila. And, of course, you know Asher,” Ms Wang said, gesturing. Mr Lockwood nodded in acknowledgement.

“Let’s get this show on the road, then,” Mr Morrison said, clapping his hands together. “Piper, please open your locker.”

Piper’s face turned bright red as she glanced at Asher, shifting her weight between her feet. “N-No thank you,” she whispered, looking down at the ground, a small tear escaping down her face.

“Piper, as this is school property, this locker will be opened in the presence of everyone here, whether you give us permission or not,” Mr Morrison said firmly, though not unkindly. “I would rather not use the bolt cutters if I don’t have to.”

Piper remained silent for a few moments.

“Do I have to watch?” she finally asked, still looking at the ground, wiping the tear away.

Mr Morrison looked at Mr Lockwood, as though deferring the decision to the Headmaster. Mr Lockwood pursed his lips.

“You’ll still need to be here, but you can turn around after it’s opened,” he said in a measured tone. Piper hesitantly stepped forward to her locker and unlocked it before returning to her original spot, this time facing the opposite wall.

Mr Morrison creaked it open, and Ms Wang gasped, covering her mouth. The inside of the locker was much the same as yesterday, however there was also a stack of the same photos that had been plastered in the boys’ bathrooms on the bottom shelf. Lila’s eyes darted to the pictures of Asher, and settled on one that she featured in, her stomach heaving. Mr Morrison and Mr Lockwood looked dumbfounded, and Asher looked white as a sheet of paper. Seeing it for a second time seemed to pile on the impact on Lila, particularly as the first time had felt so quick. She began to shake, tears forming in her own eyes.

“Lila, is this what you saw yesterday?” Ms Wang asked gently, seemingly recovered from her shock.

“Yes, ma’am,” Lila replied, sniffling slightly, scratching nervously at her wrist. “Though that stack of photos wasn’t there yesterday.”

Asher stepped forward, looking at the items on the top shelf in apparent disgust, intermingled with abject horror.

“I’ve been missing that sock,” he said, almost too quietly to hear. “It… went missing on the washing line a few months back. I only had one pair of flamingos.”

“What about these things?” Mr Morrison asked, pointing at several of the trinkets. Asher nodded, his breathing rapidly increasing as he continued to look at Piper’s locker.

“Mine too. Oh God, I-I feel sick,” he said, clapping a hand to his mouth, his pale face taking on a green tinge.

“We’ll need to take pictures,” Mr Morrison said quickly, pulling out his phone and taking pictures of the contents of Piper’s locker. He then reached in and grabbed the stack of photos on the bottom shelf, adding, “I’ll also confiscate these.”

A receipt fluttered to the ground as Mr Morrison took the stack out of the locker, and Lila quickly bent down and grabbed it. She passed it to Mr Morrison, who thanked her.

“Looks like this is a receipt from Officeworks,” Mr Lockwood observed, taking the receipt from Mr Morrison. “For one hundred copies.”

“A-A hundred?” Lila asked faintly. Her head started to spin as she tried to take in the information. How many had Piper already put up?

“Greg, I think we may have reached a decision,” Mr Morrison said with a disappointed sigh. “To be honest, I half-thought these kids were making this up…”

“Dean, I’ll ask you to not discuss this here,” Mr Lockwood said sharply, giving Mr Morrison a meaningful look. Mr Morrison immediately fell silent.

“Piper, I’ll have to ask you to come with us to my office, please,” Mr Lockwood said, turning to Piper. She noiselessly nodded.

“We’ll inform you of the outcome via email,” Mr Lockwood said, now looking at Asher and Lila. Asher looked dazed and didn’t seem to register Mr Lockwood’s words.

“Thank you, sir,” Lila said, clearing her throat. “I… think Asher needs to process for a while, but I’ll make sure he reads your email.”

“Thank you, Lila,” Mr Lockwood replied, smiling down at her for the first time this afternoon. “I appreciate the severity of what Asher has seen, so I’ll take my leave now. Dean, Jia, please accompany me and Piper to my office.”

Mr Morrison locked Piper’s locker and followed Ms Wang, Mr Lockwood, and Piper out of the locker room.

“Asher, are you okay?” Lila asked once they left.

“Not at all,” he said, gulping loudly. “I… just need to be left alone for a while. Sorry.”

Students began to file into the locker room, looking at Lila and Asher curiously as they headed to their respective lockers.

“That’s understandable,” Lila replied with a soft smile. “Let me know if you need anything, okay? I’m serious.”

Asher avoided her gaze for a moment before tentatively looking into her eyes. It felt like he was waiting for her to rescind her offer. When she didn’t, he tore his eyes away and ruffled his hair before saying, “… Yeah. Thanks.”

Asher swiftly turned on his heel and walked to his own locker. Lila exhaled heavily. It had been a long week, and she couldn’t wait to get home.