So Amethyst had brought the girl with her. And she had also told her Hope was the one behind the very true gossip. It wasn't difficult at all to see these two things when Amy entered their rooms, the girl from earlier in tow. Amethyst's face was full of guilt, and she was forgetting to shield her thoughts.
I hope she takes it well.
The thoughts of Katie went a little bit like this while she looked at Hope.
How could she possibly do such things? Was Amethyst lying when she said it was her?
Hope closed the book she was reading, placed it before her crossed legs on the duvet and looked at her, head tilted to one side.
"So Amethyst told you?"
Amethyst nodded in her place.
"You were right. This one time, it could be good to expose someone's secrets. She can help us."
Hope was debating whether to be angry at her or to just accept it, but finally, she chose to be happy about it. Katie could give her a lot of details – things people weren't thinking in class. She also thought about answering the girl's unasked question, but she didn't. She got up and strolled over to the chest of drawers pushed between the two beds in the white-painted room. It was pretty wide, separating the beds enough to not be bothered by each other. She opened the top one, picked up her notebook from the neat piles of books stocked there, and closed it again. She felt the two other girls watching her curiously when she walked over to the desk on the right side of the room, facing the bed. She got a pen and returned to her cross-legged position on top of the bed.
'Okay, go on. As much detail as you can master," she said finally.
"Don't be fucking rude," Amethyst hissed, sitting down on her own bed and patting the covers, inviting Katie to come sit next to her.
"Just tell us what you want. We're not going to put any pressure on you."
Hope managed not to huff sarcastically. But Katie smiled sadly at Amethyst and then looked at Hope.
"How do you know you're not going to mention me?"
Hope leaned against the wall.
"You don't. You're going to have to trust me." She wasn't planning on mentioning Katie, though. She didn't know why. Normally, she wouldn't have cared. A good story is a good story.
Amethyst glared at her.
"I will double-check. I promise."
Hope rolled her eyes. Amethyst didn't make it a secret she broke into the blog, but Hope didn't mind. It was more fun that way, and besides, if she changed her password Amethyst would hack it again.
So Katie nodded, and began to talk.
"So... my parents sent me to this school because my grades were so bad. They were really disappointed in me, and I didn't want to anger them further, so I cheated. But then I got caught, and they were even more mad."
Hope didn't think that was important at all, but she did ask, "What's the big deal?"
Katie cringed a bit.
"My sister's super smart, and they are always comparing us. I think they wanted to get rid of me far sooner. I did break a lot of rules of the perfect daughter-rulebook."
People were here for many different reasons. Some had just very busy parents, like Amethyst. Some were problem children. Some had learning disabilities. Some parents just wanted to get rid of their child. Thanks, mom and dad, Hope thought.
"So when I came here and I got study counseling and stuff and my grades still didn't improve, I started to panic a bit. I started to cry during a session, and, yeah, Mr. Johnson was my mentor. He started to touch me, and I thought he was just comforting me."
She hesitated and looked down.
"But then it became more. And I felt so miserable I wasn't really paying attention to it. He told me he could help me, and I nodded, because I was failing English very badly, and it was a course my parent think is very important. I got home, relieved. I really thought he was going to help me. He was going to make my tests easier, or overlook mistakes. But he didn't. the next session started out pretty normal, but then he started again. He touched my legs and my arms and my neck and I felt uncomfortable, but I didn't do anything because I thought I was making an unnecessary fuss. It wasn't bad, I thought, and if he was going to give me good grades for this, I should let it be. My next test was great, and I remember I felt so relieved."
"When was that?" Amethyst asked softly. She had put her hand on Katie's leg, hesitatingly, as if she didn't know if the other girl wanted to be touched.
"A few months ago. But it didn't come far until a month ago. Then, he tried to kiss me, and I felt so uncomfortable I pushed him away and told him I didn't want this anymore. I still wasn't thinking all of this was a big problem. I didn't until yesterday, really."
She sighed. She looked as she was about to cry. She wasn't going to, was she? Because Amethyst would start to cry, too, then, and it would be super awkward.
"My next test was an F. I apologized the next time, and he just told me he didn't know what I was saying sorry for, and that the test was just really bad. But I knew he had failed me on purpose. He never tried to kiss me again, but continued to touch me everywhere. He said weird things to me, too."
Amethyst's grip on her leg strengthened.
"And yesterday he tried again to kiss me. I... I let him do it, because I was scared he would get angry. He was looking at me with an almost threatening look, and I didn't say anything. His hands got under my shirt and he unhooked my bra, and he started pulling on my shirt, as if wanting to take it off. If my mom hadn't just come home, he probably... he might have raped me," she finished with a choked sob. But she didn't cry. She inhaled deeply.
"It was only then that I realized this was not okay. I wanted to call the cops, but I was scared he would say that I wanted it too because I did nothing, and then I would lose in court, and then my parents would be even more disappointed in me. It was his word against mine, and I had no proof."
"So you were just planning to letting him continue with it?"
Hope hated the soft, warm tone of Amethyst's voice. Katie shook her head. Her hands were trembling.
"I didn't know what I was going to do. Our next session wasn't until two weeks from now. And I could say I was sick when it came. I hadn't really figured out the rest."
She squinted at Hope.
"It's just really weird you come to know this the morning it happened. I told no one. It's almost as if you can read my thoughts, or something."
Hope raised her eyebrows.
"That would be ridiculous. But I have my methods."
She deserves to know the truth, Hope. We can trust her.
Hope chuckled softly. Yeah, right. Amethyst could tell her secret if she wanted.
She is miserable enough. She deserves answers. Come on.
And just as when she said she wouldn't mention Katie in the post, she gave in, even though this was really different. Hope was sick of not revealing her true talents and getting the praise she deserved.
"Which are?" Katie said. She sounded harsh, and Hope knew she was trying to hide her emotions, mostly because her thoughts were clear as glass.
Hope gave her a crooked grin.
"Reading thoughts."
"Not funny. Take me serious, please"
"I am dead serious," Hope said, but the fact that she was still grinning probably didn't make the statement very believable. Katie crossed her arms.
"Then tell me what I am thinking right now," she said. Hope knew she was mocking her. She tipped her head to one side, placing her hands next to her on the bed, as if she was thinking.
"You're still thinking why I am doing these things, but since that could easily be a guess I shall say you just thought of the cookies of your mom with white chocolate and raspberry to test me. I don't really appreciate that. You also have that one Hamilton song stuck in your head."
Katie blinked at her.
"Wha... How is that possible?" She didn't really seem to believe it. "You just..."
Hope shrugged.
"Actually, I don't really know."
If Katie wasn't already sitting down, she would have hurt herself. She looked at Amy.
"Is she... is she serious?" She seemed to be struggling speaking. Amethyst nodded.
"Sadly enough, yes."
"And you knew about it?"
Amethyst hesitated, then nodded again.
"Yeah." Was she going to reveal herself? When she didn't say anything more, Hope thought she wasn't going to.
Katie held up both hands.
"Wait. I still don't believe it."
But it seemed as if she was only trying to convincing herself, and not telling the truth. People who didn't believe it wouldn't be so pale.
"Try it again," she said to Hope.
"Pink pen. History homework. You're a psychopath," Hope said, then smiled at her, not caring about the last statement. Katie paled even further.
"I didn't mean..." she mumbled, then looked at Amy as for searching for help.
"Singing a song in your head usually helps. Try musical songs. She can't stand those," Amethyst said wearily. She sighed.
"Do you still want us to help you?" she asked then. Katie hesitated, then looked at Hope.
"Please don't mention me."
Hope pushed one shoulder up in a 'we'll see' gesture and looked at her. It was not as if her not wanting Hope to publish the story would actually stop her.
"I will make sure of it," Amethyst repeated, and glared so intensely at Hope that she decided she wouldn't even try. For such a short, cute looking girl, Amethyst could be really intimidating if she wanted to. Amy then stood up and took Katie's hand to haul her up. She ruffled her bangs, something Hope recognized as a frustrated gesture, and left, dragging Katie behind her. She didn't return until late that night.