She hadn’t told a single soul—not even Katie—that Greg had been more and more persistent now that Annabelle wasn’t in school to catch him trying to hook up with Misty. He’d cornered her in the hallway half a dozen times during the week, making her squirm with his disgusting suggestions about what he’d like to do to her. Thankfully all the teachers seemed to be hanging out in the halls between classes and after school. Whenever one of them had moved close, Greg had taken off, his smirk firmly in place. He was such a jerk! She still couldn’t believe this whole mess had happened because Annabelle, who was otherwise pretty smart, hadn’t recognized that.
Once more she looked at her notes for tomorrow, then crumpled up the paper and threw it in the trash. It landed right there with her first dozen attempts. When her cell phone rang, she grabbed it, relieved to have an excuse to take a break. She saw Katie’s name and smiled as she answered.
“Boy, am I glad you called,” she told her friend. “I’ve been trying and trying to write something for tomorrow, but everything I put on paper seems stilted and stupid. I’m thinking it’s a bad idea for me to try to do this.”
“No, it’s not,” Katie said. “If anything, it’s more important than ever.”
Something in Katie’s voice alarmed Misty. “What do you mean?”
“There’s something online. I’m not sure who posted it, but it was somebody from school. I spotted it on my page and when I looked around, it was all over.”
Misty felt her heart actually sink in her chest. “How bad is it?” she asked.
“Pretty bad,” Katie said.
“More pictures?” she asked, a catch in her voice. Those had been the worst, most degrading of everything Annabelle had done.
“Uh-huh, and not like last time,” Katie said, her voice filled with sympathy. “These are worse, like they came from some porno site or something. There’s no way anyone could believe they’re you, but that’s what it says.”
Tears leaked out of Misty’s eyes as she managed to whisper, “Where?”
“Go to my page. I wanted you to see them before I printed them out for Helen and Ms. Reed. Then I’ll get Kyle to take them down. I called him to come home from school as soon as I saw this. He’ll be here any minute and he knows how to pull stuff like this down. I’ve already posted a message about how phony they are and how disgusting the person is who put them up.”
Misty knew that wouldn’t be enough to stop the circulation of the pictures, though. This kind of thing could take on a life of its own. She was probably lucky someone hadn’t decided to take it a step further and fake a video. Even a post that was taken down in minutes could go viral.
Her hands shook as she logged on to her computer and went to the social-networking site. One glimpse of the pictures made her gag with disgust.
“Oh, Katie, don’t let Kyle see them,” she pleaded, figuring this would just about doom that secret crush she had on Katie’s brother. It wasn’t much of a crush, because he was older and didn’t even know she was alive. Unlike Katie’s other brother, Ty, who was this major sports superstar, Kyle was quieter and a bit of a nerd. But he had a wicked sense of humor that made Misty laugh. “Please, Katie. I’ll never be able to look at him again.”
“Misty, it’ll be okay,” Katie said. “Kyle was as furious about this as I am. The minute I told him, he said he was heading home. He knows this isn’t you and, most of all, that it isn’t your fault. I pity whoever did it, if he figures out that part.”
Misty was surprised it wasn’t obvious. “It wasn’t Annabelle? You’re sure?”
“Not unless she’s started some other page and online identity. Her old page is completely gone. I checked there first. I don’t know enough about technology to figure out where this started, but maybe Kyle will.”
“How am I supposed to even show my face tomorrow, much less speak?” Misty asked wearily.
“You’ll do it because you aren’t going to let these idiot bullies win. If you need me to, I’ll stand on that stage right beside you. I can get some other kids to do the same thing. We’ll present a united front, so everyone knows you’re not in this alone.”
“I know you’re trying to help, but the truth is I am alone,” Misty told her, feeling utterly defeated. “That’s my name linked to those awful pictures, not yours or some other girl’s. No matter how many times I tell people it wasn’t me, that image will stick in everyone’s head.”
“It won’t,” Katie said with feeling. “We won’t let it. But you have to speak tomorrow and show everyone how strong you are, that you’re not going to let this destroy your reputation.”
“I don’t feel strong,” Misty said miserably. “I know I didn’t entirely believe it would be over once Annabelle was caught and suspended, but everyone kept saying it would be. I let myself start to hope they were right. Now, this. How am I supposed to go through this again, especially when I don’t even know who’s behind it this time? All I want to do is crawl into bed and hide.”
“I’m telling you Kyle will figure out who did this, or the police will. The second I show these to Helen, you know she’s going to be all over it. And Chief Rollins will be, too. His sisters are in school with us. I know he’s terrified that the same awful thing could happen to Carrie or Mandy, so he takes it personally. I heard him tell Helen this wasn’t happening in his town, not on his watch.”
Misty almost managed a smile. “You almost make him sound like some sheriff in the Old West.”
Katie giggled. “I guess in a way that’s what it’s like around here. Chief Rollins considers every single crime like an attack on him. He’s fair, but he doesn’t even take misdemeanors lightly. I heard my mom, Dana Sue and Helen saying that they’d have been locked up for sure
