"Hey, I think I've figured it out."
Ophelia turned, and was surprised to see Hannah Baker standing behind her.
She blinked. "What?"
"Your mystery guy, I think I figured out who it is."
With an amused smile she said, "Okay, go ahead. Tell me."
"Zach Dempsey."
Ophelia almost choked. She turned her head, making sure Zach, nor Montgomery were there. It would be embarrassing if either of them overheard the conversation. And Montgomery would definitely freak out about it, assuming she was flirting behind his back.
"No" she said, turning back to Hannah, "It is definitely not Zach Dempsey."
"Oh, come on" Hannah said. "You two have so much in common. You both have a little sister, you both are so good at science, you talk so much in class and he's always making you laugh. And, ya know, you're both..."
Ophelia chuckled, "Asian?"
"I didn't mean it like that. I just meant you guys are both in ACC, right?"
"No, I dropped that a while ago."
Hannah frowned. "Why?"
"It took up too much time."
'At least, that's what Montgomery thought.'
Hannah sighed. "Fine. It's not Zach Dempsey. Give me a hint though. Is he like Zach?"
Ophelia chuckled. "Pretty much the opposite of Zach."
"Huh" Hannah says.
"What?"
"That basically means he's the opposite of you" she pointed out.
Ophelia thought for a moment. "...I guess you're right. Look at that. You're figuring out more stuff about my boyfriend than I have."
Hannah laughed.
"It's good to see you've returned to school" Mr. Porter began. "Are you feeling better?"
"No" she said truthfully.
Mr. Porter nodded, silently. "I can understand that. You and Hannah were close, correct?"
She shrugged. "I don't know. We had a couple classes together."
"And also a few sleepovers, correct?"
Ophelia blinked. "What?"
"Mr. and Mrs. Baker have been in here a lot the past few weeks. They've asked about you."
Ophelia hesitated. "A-Asked about me? Why?"
"They're filing a lawsuit against the school, and they've been trying to piece some things together about what happened, and what could have caused it."
Ophelia felt her blood run cold. If they were investigating this, what would happen if they found the tapes. Would she get charged? No. Bryce did something far worse than she ever did. Right?
Mr. Porter continued. "I hear that you spent the night at her house four days prior to...the day she died." He paused for a moment. "Is there anything you'd like to share about what happened that night?"
She dug her fingers into the chair. She could feel one of them crack at the end. She wondered if he could see how nervous she was. Definitely. She held her breath.
"No."
Mr. Porter looked unconvinced. "You do realize you will most likely be called to testify in court, correct?"
She felt the breath taken from her lungs.
"Are you sure you have nothing to tell me?"
Wordlessly, she nodded.
"Hm." He muttered. "I do have a few more questions before you leave. Unrelated to Hannah Baker."
Ophelia released her grip on the chair. He was letting her go so easy. Maybe if he wasn't so easy, Hannah would still be alive.
"You and Mr. De La Cruz are in a relationship, correct?"
Her grip returned.
"Yes."
"Montgomery has a temper" he began. "The staff here knows that. I'm still fairly new here, and even I know that."
She wondered where he was going with this.
"Ms. Tristano, have you ever seen this temper firsthand?"
She gulped. "I thought you said this wasn't about Hannah."
"It wasn't meant to be" he said simply. "And yet, you instantly thought of her when I said it."
The bell rang above them, but Ophelia barely heard it.
Mr. Porter stood. "You can go now, Ophelia. I wouldn't want to make you late for your next class."
Ophelia stood, and didn't bother making eye contact before rushing out. Her nails were digging into the palm of her hands. A nervous habit she had when she was trying to keep something in. But this...this would take more than a nervous habit to calm her down.
Montgomery didn't share any more classes with her until after lunch. She dreaded the conversation they would have then.
She tried to keep to herself that day. But she gained attention because of her long absence, especially from those who listened to the tapes.
Unlike Zach and Jessica, the others didn't try to talk her. She caught them looking at her, but she thanked god they didn't talk to her.
At least, not during class. As soon as the bell rang for lunch, everyone and everything seemed to reign down on her.
It began with entering the cafeteria. She couldn't take her old seat at the jock table. She would be surrounded by tape listeners and exes she didn't want to be around. Not to mention Bryce Walker.
So she sat by herself at an empty table. At least, she tried to. She was surprised when Tony Padilla was the one to sit across from her.
"Hey" he said, casually.
"Hey..."
A pause. "How you been doin', Ophelia?"
"I'm fine" she told him. She had a feeling she'd be saying that a lot lately.
"Good" he breathed, "good..."
There was an awkwardness between them.
She waited only a moment before asking, "What do you want, Tony?"
He answered, "I just want to make sure you're all right."
"I just told you I was fine."
"I don't believe you."
Ophelia scoffed.
Tony continued, "I don't believe you because you've lied to me about that before."
Ophelia looked away. "I just want to eat in peace" she said quietly.
Tony took a breath. "Look, I saw you talking to Montgomery earlier. I just...I just want you to know that I'm here for you. You don't have to go through this alone. You can call me, anytime, day or night. I'll be there."
Ophelia lowered her voice, and spoke in an angry tone. "I don't need you. There is nothing wrong with me. Hannah lied in those tapes. Montgomery was there for me when no one else was."
Tony shook his head, unbelieving. "I'm sorry, Ophelia. I'm sorry he had to be the one you had to turn to. I'm sorry I wasn't there when you needed me-"
"Stop" she begged, "Please, just leave me alone."
Her eyes glanced up, and she spotted someone walking to her table.
"The fuck you think you're doing, Padilla?"
Tony didn't bother looking back to him. "Just talking, man."
"Yeah? Well find someone else to talk to" Montgomery snapped. "You're bothering my girlfriend."
Tony looked up to Ophelia. "Girlfriend, huh? Not that I'm interested, but I could've sworn Ophelia announced herself as a single lady."
"She's not. Move."
Tony asked Ophelia. "Are you and him together or not?"
Ophelia took a deep breath. "No." She looked to Montgomery. "And you should know that. I told you we're through."
Montgomery groaned. "For fucks sake, O."
Justin and Bryce walked up from behind him.
Bryce asked, "What's goin' on, Monty? Lady trouble?"
Montgomery clenched his jaw. "Ophelia's just being a real bitch, that's all."
Ophelia's mouth fell open, already forgetting what those harsh names felt like.
Tony stood now, turning to Montgomery. "You watch your mouth when speaking to a lady, verga."
Montgomery stood a little taller. "The fuck did you just say to me?" He looked angry now, like he was ready to use his fists to end this conversation.
The situation was escalating, and Ophelia was becoming more and more nervous.
"You gonna try to fight me?" Tony asked, "You gonna fight someone your own size for a change?"
Montgomery froze for a split second. "What?" He looked directly at me. "What?"
Ophelia gulped, fearing this would escalate farther, but to her surprise the situation was stopped quickly. Justin had come in between them.
"Let it go, Monty" Justin told him, "C'mon, Zach and them are waiting."
Montgomery looked straight at me. "Let's go, Ophelia."
She stayed planted in the seat, preparing to defend herself if he tried to forcibly remove her like he had earlier in class. But Justin was the one who came to my aide, again.
"Don't even worry about her, man" Justin said, "Let's go."
Montgomery scoffed. "Fine." He pointed a finger at her. "This conversation isn't over."
As they left, Justin glanced her way with what she could only guess was a sympathetic look.
Tony turned back to her. "Are you oka-"
"You shouldn't have done that" she said, beginning to gather her things.
Tony was confused. "Do what? He was the one who come up looking to start trouble."
Ophelia snapped. "You shouldn't have said that. He thinks I told you what happened."
"Don't worry about him" Tony told her, "I'll deal with him."
"Don't" she said quickly. She flung her bag over her shoulder. "Just...don't."
Tony sighed. "I know it's never easy asking for help-"
Ophelia shook her head. "Help? If you wanted to help me, you never would've passed out those damn tapes."