Chapter 89 – The Golden Rule – Holly Hayfield

Most of my day was spent outside of the classroom, in an abnormal schedule. Ms. Sampson lived up to her promise of having more people for me to counsel. It was taking up so much time that she personally went through the trouble of excusing me from class. Normally I would've welcomed the vacation from boring everyday class routine. Today, however, I was being taxed by a rapid succession of appointments.

I lost count of how many girls I talked to throughout the day but I made an effort to appear positive and energetic to each of them. None of these girls understood why they were being pulled out of class to come talk to me. For the first time since I started taking notes for Ms. Sampson, neither did I. The group of girls sent to me almost seemed randomly selected. It was like Ms. Sampson was just searching for hints of duplicity amongst these students, rather than having information of actual value.

None of these girls were thrilled to be attending these random counseling meetings either. Ms. Sampson sold it to the students and the teaching staff as an investigation into student mental health and wellbeing. She said that it was as much for my internship training as it was for the students. Thus, Ms. Sampson was able to call these girls out of class without a word from their teachers. It was hard to blame the girls involved for feeling irked about the entire charade.

It wasn't until studyhall that I got some much needed rest. I was left to look over all the notes I had with a sense of confusion. What was Ms. Sampson even searching for with all these randomly selected girls? Was it something that I couldn't see or had she finally gone off the deep end? Either way, I was done with counseling her selected students for the day and could relax for a while before the student council meeting. There was still one last person I wanted to talk to, but it would happen after the meeting.

The student council meeting turned out to be a recap of everything that happened the day before. Although Lilith and I recounted the events of the day before over ChatCat and again at lunch, they wanted to see the physical evidence for themselves. Val, Sam, and Jay shared the same dumbfounded expressions that Erica had when they saw the picture of the old Society of Sisters. They fully understood the depth of the situation because of the fact that Raven Keyes was involved. Raven Keyes had launched a one-woman attack against Ms. Sampson and the school.

Once the student council meeting was over I was ready for my last counseling appointment of the day. This appointment wasn't one made by Ms. Sampson. This was one that I had been planning for some time but kept postponing due to changing circumstances. Now though, I was ready for her. Megan walked into the student council room as if she naturally belonged there. It was hard to say if she was overconfident in her stride or just an oblivious idiot. It was probably both.

"It's been a while!" Megan said cheerily, "Kendall told me about what you said! Let me tell you, I really admire loyalty like that. You're a good girl after all."

This sounded like both an attempt to butter me up and an attempt at making me forget about everything she put me through with Black Brittney. Fortunately for her I was willing to overlook that at the moment. I didn't completely forgive her, but at the same time I never really fully despised her for it either. I knew Megan was a spoiled daddy's girl that behaved like a slimy opportunist. Doing something underhanded was par the course for her.

"I didn't advise her to stay with you out of loyalty," I explained, "I merely thought you were the best choice for Kendall at the time."

Megan walked over to the couch beside me and plopped down into it.

"Of course I am!" Megan nearly shouted, "Who the hell does Rachel think she is? Do you know who I found Rachel hanging out with before I scooped her up? Do know how big of a nerd she used to be?"

I assumed these were rhetorical questions because there was no way that I was going to even make an attempt at answering that. Depending on Megan's criteria of the word 'nerd' she was probably talking to one right now.

"You were betrayed?" I asked.

I didn't actually know the full story between Megan and Rachel beyond what Kendall told me. Quite frankly, I wasn't too interested in the details either. However, I hoped to help Megan patch things up with her. Recently I had a new idea for the school event that Ms. Sampson asked for. Megan's support could actually come in handy. For that, I'd at least need to entertain her.

"I was! I couldn't believe it!" Megan said.

Somehow I found that hard to believe.

"What happened between the two of you that made you go your separate ways? Was it an argument or a sudden change of heart?" I asked.

"Well..." Megan said thoughtfully.

Megan sighed and kicked off her shoes and socks. She lied back on the student council room's couch and made herself comfortable there.

"This goes all the way back to when I wanted to run for student council president. Rachel believed that she was the one that deserved to be my vice president if I won. I told her that Black Brittney was more popular and would help us round up votes." Megan said.

By 'rounding up votes' I assumed she meant another underhanded plot to become student council president.

"She was envious that you chose Brittney and not her?" I asked.

"There was more to it than that." Megan said. "She tried to convince the other girls that I had betrayed them by working with Black Brittney. They don't understand. I don't care about Brittney one way or the other. I just wanted to win!"

I had to supress a laugh. She was still my client at the moment. It'd be unprofessional to laugh at her to her face, as much as I wanted to.

"I think she may have a point, Megan."

Megan gasped like she couldn't believe what she was hearing. I raised a hand.

"Let me explain," I said before she could protest, "Rachel is your friend, isn't she? Or at least, she was your friend, right?"

"Yeah, she was."

"How long have you two known each other?"

"We met when she started going here last school year."

"Which means you two have history together, yes?"

"I don't see where this is going." Megan said plainly.

"Rachel was personally slighted by the fact that you chose someone from outside your group to be your second in command. It's like you were telling her that she wasn't good enough, despite your history together. The fact that you don't even like Brittney but chose her anyways made Rachel feel betrayed."

Stolen novel; please report.

Megan sat up in her seat.

"What?!" Megan shouted, "She was the one that betrayed me!"

"This may be karma coming full circle. Have you ever heard the saying 'Treat others the way you wish to be treated'?"

"No..."

"It essentially means that we have to consider how others might feel as if we were in their place. Let's say that Rachel was the one running for president and you wanted to be vice president. Then, without warning you, she picks someone from outside your group of friends to be her vice president."

"Then she'd be stupid for doing so!" Megan said confidently, "I'm obviously the best person for the spot."

"Now take what you just said, and apply it to Rachel. Rachel probably feels that exact same way."

Megan was awestruck, like she had been slapped in the face. This type of thinking obviously didn't come naturally to her. Now that she was actually starting to consider how someone else might feel she started to go silent. She laid back into the couch and stared up at the ceiling in silence. I didn't want to ruin the moment. I wanted her to reflect on this piece of her inner humanity for as long as possible.

"Options...?" She asked as if I were an AI assistant.

"The way I see it some much needed apologies are in order to smooth out the tensions."

"You're right.. She should come apologize to me for leaving with almost half my group." Megan said.

I had to bury another laugh within a fake cough. I hid my smile behind my notebook and cleared my throat before continuing.

"Sorry, um... What I meant to say is that you should apologize for overlooking her candidacy as vice president. After that she may or may not apologize to you for taking so many of your members out of your group. With that, the two groups can finally begin the process of merging back into one."

"Me...? Apologize to her...?" Megan asked like she didn't hear me right.

"The only way to get past this is by offering the olive branch. Making peace is the first step towards returning to the status quo."

"I can't do that!" Megan said, "Not after how she betrayed me!"

This time I didn't bother hiding my expression. I wanted her to see my annoyance.

"Megan, you used Black Brittney to try threatening me into giving up my student council plans. Yet, despite that, I've put that behind me and decided to help you. It's because I believe it's in the interest of the greater good that you and Rachel make up. Do you understand?"

"No." Megan said immediately. "What's that got to do with this?"

"It's all a matter of perspective." I said in exasperation. "When someone slights you it is your choice in how you deal with it. You can dwell on it, focus on it, and dread it. Or, you can learn from it and grow. That's why we're all at this alternative school for troubled girls, Megan. You have to learn to grow into a better person."

Megan looked confused. Everything that I was saying just wasn't getting through to her. How did she become like this? She came from a privileged background and yet seemed to be missing basic understandings of morality and empathy. Maybe her parents were just too busy for her? She clearly had no one to be teaching her things like this that she needed to know.

"Do you have anyone you can talk to about these types of things at home?" I asked carefully.

Megan shook her head. I sighed.

"Don't feel alone." I said, "A lot of the girls I counsel in this room are in the same position. It seems a lack of proper support structure is a common theme amongst girls at our school. I never realized how important my job here was until I got to counsel so many people. Our school... Our society as a whole is failing so many people just like you and me."

"What's that mean for me?" Megan asked sheepishly.

"I can't say. I'm venting my own thoughts now, sorry. I don't totally blame you for your situation, Megan. You can try to start making it better though. Just remember the golden rule. Treat others the way you wish to be treated."

“You think that’ll be enough to bring Rachel and the others back?” Megan asked.

“If you can seriously identify the appropriate time to apply the golden rule, then yes, I believe your consideration of their feelings would be enough. They want a leader that takes them seriously. Demonstrating that you can communicate with them in a mature way will show them just that. They’ll have a new level of respect for you.”

“Hmm…” Megan said.

My phone vibrated, signaling that I received a new text message. It was just a straight-to-the-point message from the vice principal.

"I'm sorry, Megan. I'm going to have to end this session here."

"What…?" Megan protested.

"The vice principal is calling me to her office to speak to her. As you can imagine a meeting with a staff member takes priority."

"Ugh!" Megan huffed.

"We can pick up things on another day if you'd like. There's a sign-up sheet for after school counseling on the library check-out table."

"Fine," Megan said, "I'll put my name at the top of the list. We'll continue this tomorrow."

I laughed as I stood up from my seat.

"You can't do that. There are people ahead of you. Really, Megan, consider the things we talked about today and give Rachel a call."

Lilith was still sitting at the library check-out table by the time we came out. She agreed to oversee Megan's sign up at my request. With that out of the way I headed for Ms. Sampson's office. I wasn't looking forward to this meeting but it was a necessity. My fear was that she'd double-down with another list of random individuals for me to interview. If that were the case then I might bring myself to reject her outright.

"Holly, go ahead and take a seat." Ms. Sampson said politely as I came in.

I did as she asked. She was making an attempt to sound nice and presentable. The look on her face told another story, however. I could easily see the grooves of stress lines weighing heavier on her face than ever. She sat down in her seat at the same time that I sat down in mine. She reached her hand out to me, expecting that I knew what she wanted. I handed my notebook over to her reluctantly.

These last batches of notes were less focused than my previous ones. The problem was that I didn't know what I was looking for in this new group of girls. All I could write down was what came to my mind as they spoke. Ms. Sampson was regarding these weaker notes in full seriousness. She wasn't even trying to make small talk as she read. She turned through several pages in quick succession and then let out a sigh.

"It seems I'm no closer to finding what I'm looking for." She said in a downbeat tone.

Now this was her real voice coming out. This was the sound of someone that had been losing sleep over ongoing stress.

"I don't mean to be rude, but it would help to know what I'm looking for." I said. "I don't understand why you send all these seemingly random students to me for interview."

"Those were all girls I don't trust." Ms. Sampson said. "At some point or another, each of those girls was in detention for disrespecting the staff or the school. I thought that maybe one of them could be the one fueling the fires..."

This was an incredibly desperate tactic. It was a stretch to assume that just because they got in trouble for insulting the school that they might be plotting to take it down. This methodology was proof that Ms. Sampson was at the end of her rope in terms of leads. Hell, she might've been at the end of her rope in terms of mind also. The empathetic part of me wanted to feel sorry for her. However, the rational part of me was reminded of the dark truth of Malorie's corpse being hidden for years.

"That's a reach." I said honestly.

"Reaching is the only thing I have left." Ms. Sampson said. "Someone out there is trying to bring me down and I want to know who."

This was the perfect opportunity for me to change the course of this conversation.

"I know exactly who's responsible for this." I said without further explanation.

Her eyes shot up from the notebook to my face. She looked at me searchingly, like she was looking for some hint that this could be a trick.

"I discovered a group inside the school called the Society of Sisters."

Ms. Sampson put one hand on her chin and squinted into the distance in thought.

"I know that name... Why the hell do I know that name...? Where did I hear that before...?" She asked herself quietly.

"I believe you knew one of its former members." I said, "This group's current leader calls herself the Matriarch. Her real name, however, is Raven Keyes."

Ms. Sampson jumped up out of her chair and walked around the desk. She put both her hands on my shoulders and pushed me against the back of my seat.

"What did you just say?!" She asked in shock and horror.

"Raven Keyes has manipulated girls from the school ChatCat server into joining a server that she developed herself. She's preying on girls that have an interest in the story of the Killing Cat and is using them to spread rumors within the school."

Ms. Sampson backpedalled away from me as I spoke and put her hands on her head. She shook her head in disbelief and looked back over at me.

"How do you know?" Ms. Sampson asked.

"She had a secret meeting where she asked her followers to come listen to her speak. I went there undercover and saw her for myself."

"And you're sure her name was Raven Keyes?" Ms. Sampson asked.

"I'm positive. She works at the local district courthouse as a judicial assistant, right?"

Ms. Sampson went back around the table and sat down in her chair.

"Please," Ms. Sampson begged. "Tell me how Raven got her claws into so many students."