Untitled Part 52

"Have a seat, Ms. Wyndham."

"Listen, I don't know why you've called me here, but it's interfering with my academic achievement, and I don't appreciate you keeping me from the stimulating discussions in health class." I sat down, crossed my legs, and waited for him to respond to my opening argument.

He merely narrowed his eyes and seemed to take even longer to return to his chair. "Will you please check your attitude at the door?"

"I'm here to learn, Mr. Lee, not twiddle my thumbs outside your office."

"I could suspend you."

"For what? Being a voracious student?" I smiled sweetly, daring him to. I could use a vacation from this place. But just to cover my bases, I reached into my pocket and hit the record button on my phone. If I was going to take the heat for this, I wanted everything documented.

"No, for this." He tapped his computer screen that displayed my blog post. "If word gets out about this to the local media-"

"Are you suggesting I don't report the truth?"

"I'm suggesting you keep your stories to subjects that do not slander our school."

I pulled out my notepad and started scribbling notes. If he wanted to play hardball, I'd give him something to sweat about. "So you're saying I should censor my blog?"

"No, I'm not saying that."

"But you are restricting my First Amendment rights to free speech." I scribbled some more notes. I already knew what next week's blog post would be about.

"Put your pen down, Ms. Wyndham, and answer my questions." His voice darkened. He was playing bad cop, and there wasn't a good cop in sight to rescue me.

I set the notepad in my lap. "Ask away, Mr. Lee."

"How long have you known about those videos?"

"They first came to my attention last week. One of the victims was quite traumatized to discover them."

"And why didn't you bring it to my attention then?"

"Because I wanted to handle it." I shifted in my seat and re-crossed my legs.

A bead of sweat rolled down his temple. "No, because you wanted to make me look like an idiot, just like you did my predecessor."

"No offense, Mr. Lee, but you do a good job of doing that on your own if you have no idea what's being posted about your school on YouTube."

I was pushing his buttons, and I enjoyed it. It seemed my Queen B powers weren't limited to just the student body. And based on the way the conversation was heading, I knew what he'd eventually ask. However, I was still trying to decide how much information to give him when the moment came.

He blotted his forehead with a tissue. "I want you to remove this post."

I picked up my notepad again. "And we're back to censoring the presses."

"No, I'm trying to protect the reputation of this school."

"Correction-you're trying to protect your reputation as principal of this school."

He pointed a shaking finger at the screen, his face paling with each word. "If there is any truth to your allegations-"

"And there is."

"-I'm going to have to answer to the school board about this."

"Probably not a bad idea, especially considering how easy it was for the person to use the school's network to record and upload videos from the girls' locker room." I decided to play up the moment, steering the conversation away from Principal Lee's wounded pride and toward a solution. "As a female student of Eastline High, I have never felt more violated in all my life, and I wasn't even one of the women featured in the videos."

"So you mentioned in your article. But you managed to leave out some important details."

"Such as?"

"Where are the videos now?"

"I had someone remove them for the sake of the victims."

That seemed to ease Principal Lee's fear. He leaned back in his chair. "And how did you manage that?"

"Please, Mr. Lee-this is the land of computer geeks galore. It wasn't that hard to find someone to do that."

"I need a name." He watched me with glittering eyes, trying to ruffle my feathers with silent intimidation.

He obviously didn't know who he was up against. "Would Batman work for you?"

His expression darkened. "That's not what I was talking about, Ms. Wyndham."

"You just said you needed a name."

"This is not like you. I've read your posts in the past, and you've always been eager to name names and point fingers. What are you trying to hide?"

"This is different."

"No, this is a major issue I'm going to have to answer for, and I'm not letting you leave until you give me the information I need to resolve it. Who helped you track down the person behind the videos?"

I gulped. Brett would be in some serious trouble if I named him. Suspension would surely ruin his chances for a scholarship, not to mention his reputation if people learned what a geek he really was. "I'm not going to reveal my sources."

"Then tell me who's behind the videos."

I remembered Brett's warning about pushing Adam past the tipping point. "If I tell you, will you promise to handle the matter discreetly?"

"Ms. Wyndham, you destroyed any hope for discretion when you published that article."

"Actually, no, I didn't. I exposed a problem, and I discovered the person behind it. He's a minor, though, and under the law, he's allowed certain protections, which is why I didn't reveal his name. Not to mention, there's a high probability things could get worse if people found out he was behind the videos."

"I'll be the judge of that." He nodded to the screen. "If you refuse to give me a name, then I'll have to assume you're an accomplice to the matter and punish you accordingly."

"And I go to the media and let them know about the cover-up at Eastline."

"If anyone's covering anything up, it's you."

"I'm willing to give you his name, but only if you promise not to draw any unnecessary attention to him."

Principal Lee's brows moved in opposite directions-one up and one down. "I'm having a hard time figuring out your motives."

"Well, if you'd just asked nicely, I would have explained them to you."

"Why do I find that hard to believe?" He crossed his arms. "Explain them, then."

"The reason I tried to handle this myself is because my sister was one of the victims, and I wanted to spare her any further embarrassment. I'd thought I had taken care of it last week, but it became clear earlier this week that the person behind the videos couldn't take a hint. So, I launched my investigation, and thanks to the wonder of IP addresses, my accomplice was able to track him down."

Principal Lee nodded. "Go on."

"But when my accomplice realized who the person was, he was only willing to give me a name after I promised to handle the matter delicately. So now, I'm asking the same of you."

"You're going to talk in circles until I agree, aren't you?"

"You're the one who wants a name, and I want to prevent any more drama in the hallways."

He swiveled back and forth in his chair, his arms still crossed, and stared at the headline I'd created about our X-rated Peeping Tom. "Ms. Wyndham, what are you planning on doing with your life?"

"I haven't the faintest idea." I remembered what Brett had said about me being a ball-buster and caught myself grinning. "Maybe I'll become Attorney General one day."

"Well, if you're serious about the legal field, you need to be prepared to name sources if you wish to be credible."

The tension eased from my shoulders. I'd worn him down, even though he wasn't ready to admit it just yet. "I understand that."

"If I agree to handle the student behind this appropriately, will you give me his name?"

I nodded and took a deep breath. "Adam Kozlovsky."

He jumped as though I'd zapped him with a Taser. I had no idea what was in those confidential files Brett had stumbled upon, but it was quite clear Principal Lee did. And based on the way the color seemed to drain from the principal's face, it wasn't pretty. "Thank you, Ms. Wyndham. I'll speak to him about this matter right away."

I pointed to my blog on his screen. "And no censoring of the press?"

He shook his head. "But I ask you not to speak to the news media about this if word gets out. Let me handle it."

"Of course." I pulled my phone out of my pocket and stopped the recording. "It was a pleasure talking with you, Principal Lee, but I need to go back to my academic studies now." And back to my last day working with Brett.

The bell rang, indicating the end of fourth period, and I fought back the sigh of resignation. My class project time with Brett was now officially over. It was time to resume my role as the Queen B.

I just hoped he'd notice what I'd done.