Mariana

I'm left in a state of uncertainty after Callie admits to me what happened between her and Bradley. I'm happy that she told me, and amazed that she would stand up for me like that, but I'm also disgusted by Bradley's actins and confused as to why Callie is the one sitting at home, suspended for a week, while Bradley is at school with his friends.

I knock on my moms' door and listen for the go ahead before entering. They're sitting on their bad with various papers strewn out between them. I take a seat carefully on the edge of the bed on Mom's side.

"What's going on, Honey?" Lena asks as she sets her work aside.

I begin twisting a lock of hair around my finger, "Callie told me what happened. With Bradley." Stef and Lena look at each other for a moment. I know they're trying to figure out how to respond. I continue, "Why isn't Bradley in trouble? He was in school today."

"I know," Lena says quietly, "As it stands at the moment, Bradley is the 'victim'—"

I scoff, "That's ridiculous!"

"We know," Stef assures me, putting her hand on my knee, "Trust me, we know love. We're not going down without a fight, I promise you."

"What is Principal Sanchez doing?" I ask and I know the answer as soon as I see the look on Lena's face. I scowl, "This blows."

"Hey," Lena warns with a look.

"But it does!" I argue, "Callie didn't do anything wrong but she's being treated like a criminal. It's not fair."

Stef scoots closer to me and takes both of my hands, "We know, Mariana. We're doing everything in our power to fix this. In the mean time, I don't want you to worry about this. That's not your job. This is something for me and Mama to worry about, not you."

I shake my head, "But she's my sister," I say, looking between my parents, "How can I not worry?"

Callie

I'm sitting on my bed, thinking over yesterday and today. So much has happened in so little time. It's crazy. Part of me wonders if I should have just walked away when Bradley started talking about Mariana. Then this whole mess would have never happened. I walk over to the desk and open the laptop. Stef said no computer but that was before she knew. I log into my Facebook and see I have a message in my inbox.

From: Daphne

is your phone broken? i texted u like 4 times

I type out a reply.

To: Daphne

sry. I don't have my phone, im sorta grounded

From: Daphne

Wow, what did u do?

To: Daphne

Hit some jackass, it's a long story. Ill see if u can come over tmrw

From: Daphne

k, let me know

I sign off and close the laptop. I head for the stairs but pause when I hear voices floating out of Stef and Lena's room.

"But I thought she isn't in trouble?" I hear Mariana say, clearly confused.

"She's not," Stef answers, "Therapy isn't a punishment."

Oh.

They're talking about me.

"What we want more than anything is for Callie to get the attention and support she deserves," Lena adds, "Going to therapy allows her to sort through her feelings and make sense of them—"

"But four times a week?" Mariana interrupts in an incredulous tone, "She's not a serial killer; she's a sixteen year old high school student who was protecting herself and me. It's not fair!" I hear a thump as Mariana's feet hit the floor and I have a millisecond to duck into the bathroom before she storms into out room and loudly closes the door. Wow, she's really upset about this.

I head to Brandon's room, knocking on the doorframe before I enter. He's lying on his bed with his headphones on, working on some homework. He pulls them off when he sees me, "Hey, what's up?"

"Lena says you have homework for me?"

He nods and reaches over the side of his bed for his backpack, "Yeah, I do. One second."

I sit in the desk chair and pick up a Rubik's cube off of his desk. I begin to twist the different faces even though I have not a single clue how to solve the puzzle.

"The chemistry homework isn't too bad," Brandon comments, getting up and handing me some papers, "If you read the textbook you should get it. Math is a little hard. I don't know if I can explain it but Mariana probably can. And then there's some English homework."

I take the papers and quickly flip through them, "Thanks," I say. I set them on the desk and continue fiddling with the Rubik's cube. Brandon nudges me with his knee, "Do you even know how to solve that?"

I snort, "Not at all," I put it back on the desk and fold my hands on my lap.

"Are you okay?"

I shrug, "I guess. I just…wish everything was such a mess. I didn't mean to start all of this trouble."

Brandon shakes his head, "You didn't start any trouble, Brad did."

"Yeah," I agree half-heartedly, "I guess. But it still seems like a lot of this could have been avoided."

"What happened, happened," Brandon says, "It sucks and it's not fair but something good will come out of it."

I shoot him a look, "Are you quoting a freaking fortune cookie?"

He rolls his eyes, "I was trying to be a wise big brother and you make a joke out of it. Get out."

I laugh, "Are you serious? And we're the same age."

Brandon points his finger towards the hallway, "Out."

"Can I at least get my homework?"

He hands me the papers and pushes me towards the door, "Bye."

I smile a little, "Thanks, Brandon."

He smiles back, "You're welcome. And if you need to talk, I'm here. But right now, get out of my room."

Lena

The following day at school, I am sitting at my desk going through test scores when Karina unceremoniously enters my office. I set my papers aside and fold my hands, "Can I help you?"

"I'm setting up a meeting," she tells me, "Between Bradley and his parents and you, Stefanie and Callie. I find it best that we all talk about what happened in a controlled setting and work out whatever needs to be worked out."

I nod, "Fair enough. Have you contacted Bradley's parents?"

"I'm going to email them now," she answers, "What day works for you?"

"Tomorrow," I answer immediately, "The sooner we resolve this, the better."

Karina nods, "Okay. I'll send the email and get back to you." She leaves, most likely to go back to her own office. I sit back in my seat with a sigh. This meeting will go one of two ways, and I have a feeling it won't be in our favor.

But that doesn't mean we won't try.

Jude

School has been weird ever since Callie got into the fight. Because the high school and middle school are connected, everyone in my grade knows about what happened. All I've been hearing is about how Callie is a "freak" or a "psycho." And it's not fair because the people talking about her don't know.

They don't know she would give me any food she found and go hungry herself.

They don't know she would lie and say she did something wrong even though it was really me.

They don't know she would do anything to protect the people she loves.

"Hey." I look up from my locker and see Connor leaning against the lockers next to me, "Are you okay? You look like you're daydreaming."

"I'm fine," I answer, I grab some books and close my locker, "It's just…the thing with Callie."

Connor nods as we begin to head down the hall together, "Oh. Is she okay?"

"Yeah," I answer, "I just wish everyone would stop talking about her, y'know?"

"Who's been talking about her?" Connor asks immediately, his fingers tightening on his backpack straps.

I shake my head, "It doesn't matter. I'll just be happy when this is over with."

Stef

It is taking all of my self-restraint not to jump on Bradley the moment he walks into the conference room.

He has a stupid smirk on his face as he and his parents settle across from us at the large table. His face is a conglomerate of colors, various bruises in different stages of healing. His nose is slightly swollen.

Callie did a good job.

Speaking of, I glance at my daughter. She is sitting on one side of me and Lena is on the other. Her eyes are stormy and her mouth is drawn into a straight line. I grasp her hand beneath the table and give it a squeeze. She squeezes my hand back.

"Okay," Karina says from her spot at the head of the table, "I've called this meeting so that we can work out what happened between Callie and Bradley."

Bernard Clark, Bradley's father, points his finger at Callie, "She attacked my son, end of discussion. I don't even understand why she's allowed on school grounds today—"

"Excuse me," Lena interrupts in her quiet, but firm principal voice, "But there are two sides to this story. Callie told me and my partner that Bradley provoked her which is why she hit him in self-defense."

Bernard scoffs, "Bullshit!"

"Mr. Clark!" Karina warns in a stern tone. She turns to Callie, "Miss Jacob, why don't you tell us what happened."

Callie shifts in her seat, "I was on my way to class and Bradley stopped me. He was asking about my sister, Mariana and he was making suggestive comments about her. He put his hands on me inappropriately and I reacted."

"She's lying!" Bradley exclaims and my eyes nearly bug out of my head at his blatant dishonesty, "I literally bumped into her and she started freaking out for no reason."

"That's not true!" Callie interjects.

"Brad told me Callie was in a juvenile detention center," Marcia Clark comments unnecessarily, "Is it so hard to believe she would commit such a violent act? Delinquents are pretty much destined for a certain kind of lifestyle…"

What a bitch.

"My daughter is not a delinquent!" I snap, eyes zeroing in on this Marcia lady, "She acted in a way she deemed necessary based on the way your son behaved towards her."

"Allegedly behaved," Bernard interrupts, "Where's the proof? We're going based off the word of a convicted foster-kid!"

I feel Callie stiffen next to me. I'm about to give this asshole a piece of my mind when Lena puts her hand on my knee, "Can we pull the security tapes?" she asks Karina. I see Bradley pale at her suggestion.

Karina pursed her lips, "I'll have to talk to the school board first."

"What about Callie returning to school?" I ask.

Karina sighs, "I suppose we can lift the suspension pending further investigation."

Marcia makes a noise of disapproval I choose to ignore, "Thank you," I say sincerely.

"I will let you all know what the school board decides in regards to the security tapes," Karina continues, "Callie, you may return to school tomorrow. I want to maintain a civil environment, do you understand?" she asks, looking between Bradley and Callie. They both nod, "Alright. Thank you for coming in." Bradley and his parents leave in a huff. Lena, Callie and I take our time. We walk into Lena's office and close the door behind us.

"I hope the school board is okay with having the security tapes pulled," Lena comments as she sits behind her desk, "I want Bradley punished and for what he did and for everything to just settle down."

Callie bites her lip, "But what if they don't allow it? Then it's just my word against Bradley's."

"Then we'll continue to fight," I tell her firmly, taking her hand in mine.

Callie shakes her head, "Is it even worth it?" she asks, "The suspension isn't that bad. I can serve it and be done with it. It's not the end of the world." Lena shares a look with me and I sigh.

"Look at me, Love," I say, waiting until I am holding Callie's gaze, "It's not just about the suspension. It's about Bradley facing consequences for what he did. We want to make sure this never happens again."

"But how can you do that?" she asks, crossing her arms, "You can't watch out for me every day at school. I'll have to deal with him until he graduates."

Lena purses her lips and a look comes over her face.

"Not if we get him expelled."

Life is hard. Sorry for the wait. I don't have an excuse except that my life is very busy. I'm putting up a new story, check it out.

-Liv