It takes all of my self-control not to roll my eyes. “Let’s go out into the hall, then, shall we?” It’s killing me to play this little game of theirs, but right now I don’t have a choice. As long as I can get this over with quickly then it’ll all be fine.
But Professor Thiel clears his throat. “You know, I think that it’s a much better idea to have you read it here. Everyone in class knows about your behavior last week, Abigail, and here at Trinity Prep we like to make sure that bad behavior isn’t catching.”
They want to make an example out of me. Biting back the words I want to say, I turn to face the class. Quinn grins at me and goes to sit down in his seat, leaning back so far that I think he’s going to fall over.
If I had any magical powers, I’d make it happen.
Glaring at him, I try to force his chair over with my mind, but he doesn’t move.
“As you all know, at Trinity Prep, we hold our students to exceptionally high standards. When a student fails to meet those standards, then they are required to make it up to the person they have wronged.” Professor Thiel pauses for a moment and everyone turns to look at me. Immediately, my face starts burning hot red, but I try to take deep breaths to ignore it.
Everyone in the class is waiting to hear what’s going to happen. By now, they all know about the apology letter I had to write Quinn, and they’re all dying to hear it.
“Abigail here has something to say to Quinn. Last week she displayed behavior that is unbecoming of a Trinity Prep student and, quite frankly, made me very concerned about her ability to perform as a student here. Luckily for her, Quinn didn’t want her punished in a way that would harm her ability to compete as an artist. All he asked for was an apology letter, and you are all here to witness it.” He waves his hand in my direction. “When you’re ready, Abigail.”
I’m never going to be ready for this, but I take a deep breath anyway and close my eyes for just a moment. All I have to do is read the stupid apology and we can all move on from this.
When I open my eyes again, I do my best to avoid looking directly at Quinn. Instead, I flip open my apology letter and focus on it. I know it by heart, but looking at it will give me a way to focus.
“Quinn.” His name is gravel in my mouth and I have to choke it out. I hate the way it feels to be addressing him in front of everyone, and I hate even more that I know he’s enjoying this.
Madeline is sitting in the front row and she shifts position like she’s trying to catch my eye, but I studiously ignore her. All weekend she helped me with my accounting project, but I didn’t let her read my letter. I had thought that it was going to be between me and Quinn, but I was wrong.
Dead wrong.
“I am sorry for the way that I treated you last week. It’s very hard to be clumsy, and I know that you didn’t mean to spill your coffee into my bag and onto my computer, even though you’d just asked where my laptop with my accounting project was a moment before.”
Professor Thiel sucks in a breath, but I ignore him. If I can just get through this as quickly as possible then we can all get back to the business of learning.
“Then, when you ran away and left me to clean up your mess on my own, I tried my best to forgive you. You make it difficult, at best.”
I can’t help but glance up at Quinn. He’s still leaning back in his chair, but his mouth has fallen open slightly. I’m sure that this isn’t what he expected from my apology letter, but it’s the best that he’s going to get.
“I didn’t take you for a tattle-tale, but I guess that I shouldn’t have been surprised that someone who was born with a silver spoon in his mouth would run to an adult for help. Maybe next time that you fuck up, you’ll take responsibility like a man.”
This time, when I pause, I hear someone snicker. There’s no way that I’m going to look up and try to see who it was, though. It’s obvious that everyone in the class is hanging on my every word, and I’m almost afraid to come to the end of my letter.
“So, I’m sorry. I’m sorry that you were raised by parents who obviously never taught you right from wrong. I’m sorry that you don’t understand how to treat people decently. I’m sorry that nobody in your life has ever stood up to you, but you need to know that that ends now. No matter how much you think that you can walk over people, it’s over, Quinn.”
Holding my chin up, I drop my hand and the paper to my side, and stare over the heads of my classmates.
Nobody moves.
I’m not stupid enough to think that I got away with it. Hell, if I had just given the letter to Quinn like I had thought I was going to be allowed to do, then this probably wouldn’t have been a big deal. He would have known what I had written, but nobody else would have.
But then Professor Thiel got involved.
Right now, I’m not sure who I hate more. The professor or Quinn.
But they answer my question for me.
It’s Quinn. I hate him more.
Before anyone else can say anything, Quinn starts clapping. It’s not a fast clap. He’s moving his hands maddeningly slowly, the loud claps punctuating the silence. After just a moment, other students join in, all
