‘You’ll think I’m completely overreacting.’
‘Try me.’
Harriet crosses her legs, then uncrosses them. Then she crosses them back the other way. ‘It was at the end of last year, and I was coming out of tennis practice after school. I’d been chatting with my tennis coach about something so I was late getting to the change room.’ She clears her throat. ‘It was just after Edie and I started dating, and everyone had recently found out about us. The whole Sports Department knew.’
‘I see.’
‘Anyway,’ says Harriet quickly. ‘You know the corridor you have to walk through to get down to the change room? The one with the blue grip on the floor?’
I nod.
‘I was walking through there and I saw Coach Hadley coming in the other direction. It was just the two of us in the corridor; there was no-one else. As he approached, I smiled at him. Generally, we’d stop if we met like that and have a bit of a chat. He’s always – was always – so nice. But this time, instead of smiling back he gave me this kind of, I don’t know, lewd grin.’
I make a face. ‘Gross.’
‘And he was looking me up and down in a way that he’d never done before. He’s looked at me before, certainly. He often used to say nice things about my hair or my figure –’
‘Are you serious?’
Harriet wraps her arms around her chest. ‘Anyway, this time as we passed each other he leant in and said something in my ear.’
‘What did he say?’
She flushes. ‘He said – “What a waste”.’
Something curdles in my stomach.
‘I’m probably overreacting,’ Harriet rushes on. ‘But it just made me, oh, I don’t know … so –’ She is struggling to find words. ‘I’m not sure why I even keep thinking about it. It’s probably a compliment, in a way, I suppose.’
‘A compliment?’ I lean forwards, almost forgetting about my fake ankle sprain. ‘Are you kidding me? Did it feel like a compliment? Being judged by a sleazebag?’
‘No,’ says Harriet in a small voice.
‘No. Because it’s not a compliment. It’s a fucking disgrace. In my view, coming from a teacher, it’s also a sackable offence. Who did you go to?’
‘Go to?’ She seems confused.
‘Who did you tell? Bracken? Watson? Who?’
‘Oh! No-one like that.’
I sit back. ‘Why not? You didn’t want to cause trouble? Or … ?’
‘I don’t know.’ Harriet prods her hairline with her fingers. ‘I guess I didn’t think it was important enough to cause a fuss about. I mean, it’s not like I’m the only one. I’ve seen him say far worse things to other girls. We all have. I did tell Beth and she said – she said …’
‘What did she say?’
‘That I wouldn’t be so upset about it if I were, you know, into guys.’
Beth Tupman. I could kneecap that girl. What a piece of work. So she thinks the straight girls are all doing just fine with his inappropriate behaviour, does she? I have a feeling Ruby, and Nakita, and Trish, and Anna, and all the others he’s had a go at might see things differently. Hadley is a sexual predator and Beth Tupman is a fool who probably thinks he should be forgiven because nine hundred girls in uniform is too great a temptation. Or that it’s just the way of the world, so get used to it. Whatever Beth thinks, she’s not helping.
‘And how has he treated you since?’ I ask.
Harriet grimaces. ‘Oh, I don’t know.’
‘It sounds like you do,’ I say.
‘It’s hard to know.’ She shrugs. ‘I mean, he’s certainly making me do extra laps in the pool more frequently than he used to. But then, he makes lots of people do extra laps.’
I reach for Harriet’s hand and squeeze it. ‘Listen to me,’ I say. ‘Beth’s wrong about this. You’re not overreacting. You need to tell somebody.’
Harriet shakes her head vigorously. ‘I’m not telling anybody.’
I try again. ‘What about your parents, at least?’
‘My parents?’ Her eyes are wide. ‘No. We don’t talk about that kind of thing.’
‘Then what the hell do you talk about?’
‘School and Tawney, mainly. When we do talk. Look Will, it’s fine,’ she says, pulling her hand away.
But I’m not letting this go. ‘You really need to talk to somebody.’
‘Will. I’ve made up my mind. I’m not doing it,’ she says firmly.
I can’t believe this. ‘But don’t you see, Harriet? This is the problem with this school. It’s conditioned us so completely that nobody even considers questioning what goes on here anymore.’
‘I don’t think that’s true.’
I remember my recent meeting with Croon and how she shut down everything I implied about Hadley. ‘This is why we have to keep doing what we’re doing,’ I say. ‘This is what Amelia Westlake is all about. Changing how this place operates. It’s not about protecting Rosemead’s values, like you pretend it is. Rosemead’s true values are rotten to the core. And things are only going to change if people learn to stand up for themselves. Right now, we’re all being crushed.’
Harriet looks incredulous.
‘You know it’s true,’ I say. ‘Otherwise Hadley would be out on his arse by now.’
‘I’m sure Principal Croon is investigating. These things can take time …’ She peters out.
I search for her gaze until she meets mine.
‘If anyone can show them how to stand up to the school and its warped values, it’s Amelia Westlake,’ I say quietly.
Harriet watches me, her teeth clenched. She firms her mouth. ‘Then what’s our next move?’
Chapter 16
HARRIET
Will’s idea is this: a series of pranks in quick succession. Major enough for people to take notice, and regular enough to make it difficult for Rosemead to respond before another one begins. I suggest a codename for our new accelerated phase and Will agrees.
So begins Operation Volley.
Volley Stage One. Location: the skip bin in the laneway behind the computer labs.
Will spies the skip bin one lunchtime while taking a prohibited shortcut from the main block to our storeroom. In it are
