Chapter 14

Mr. Sheldon stopped me on the way out of Civics the next day.

"Chastity has told me that you've threatened to do no work on the project." I could see Chastity smirking at me through the window in the classroom door. "I've put her in a different group," Mr. Sheldon said. "I don't want to hear that you're slacking off. You might be smart, but you still need to work hard in this class."

I put my bag down and reached for my tablet.

"Don't bother," Mr. Sheldon said. "I'll have my eye on you."

I shrugged and left the room. Something in the way that Chastity had been looking at me made me swing by my locker. I had intended on leaving my tablet there, but it was smeared with lipstick and what looked like all the eyeliner shades that Chastity wouldn't be caught dead wearing. She was standing there looking all innocent and waiting for me to burst into tears or something.

I smiled at her and knocked on the door to Marilyn's washroom. The door swung open and I walked in. I couldn't see Chastity's face, but I have a good imagination.

I hefted my bag with my gym stuff at Marilyn and ne waved me to one of the stalls. I changed into my shorts and tee and left my other clothes folded neatly on the seat. The vest with the tablet I put on the hook. I was just finishing when there was another knock on the door. I heard it swing open and the teacher walk in. It had to be Mr. Hand since the shoes clicked on the floor and he was the only person in the school to wear hard soled dress shoes everyday. I played chicken and stayed in my stall.

"What is Petunia doing in here?" Mr. Hand said.

"Changing for gym," Marilyn said.

"It isn't appropriate for a girl to be in this room."

"I am a girl." There was a long silence. "The board decided on their own that I would have my own washroom since they weren't nearly as certain as I am of my femininity. It was not my idea."

"We couldn't have you in the girls washroom..."

"And I won't use the boys."

"That isn't the point. The point is that Petunia is a girl and she is not allowed in here."

"So you are saying that I'm not a girl?"

"I don't know what you are, and it is my job to keep my students safe."

"From me."

"From whomever!"

"So you should be looking for whoever made such a mess of Petunia's locker that she felt she needed to come here to be safe."

"For all I know, you could have done it yourself to lure her in here."

"Petunia is the only friend I have in this school. I am not likely to do anything to risk that."

"That isn't my concern."

"It should be your concern. It should be your concern that you have students who are comfortable destroying others to make themselves feel better. It should be your concern that even the teachers are trying to set up students to fail. It is too bad that your only real concern seems to be your fear of me. If you come in here again, I will have my father's lawyers write a letter to the Board making a complaint of sexual harassment. This is, after all, a girls washroom."

I heard the shoes making their way to the exit.

"I will not let you put one of my students at risk," Mr. Hand said, and I heard the door close. When I crept out of the stall I saw Marilyn staring at nir face in the mirror. Tears ran down nir cheeks and I could see that nir knuckles were white on the counter.

I'm sorry, I wrote on my tablet and held up to the mirror.

"You're sorry!" Marilyn said, "You have nothing to be sorry about. You're the only honest person in this whole freaking mess." Nir shoulders were shaking now. I wrapped my arms around Marilyn and held on while sobs wracked nir body. I don't know how long it was before they stopped.

Marilyn spent some time fixing nem face in the mirror.

"You'd better get to class," ne said, "I don't want to get you into more trouble."

The entire class stopped and stared at me when I walked in. I was at least ten minutes late.

"What kept you?" Miss Philps said. I shrugged and pointed to my throat. "You are supposed to change in the locker room with everyone else."

I walked up to the white board where she drew game plans and diagrams.

NOT SAFE I wrote. I heard the chatter of the girls behind me, but I pretended I didn't. I just joined the line and looked expectantly at Miss Philps. She gave me a worried look, but started into the lesson.

"Today we are setting a base line for our segment on personal fitness. It is important to try your hardest at each station. I will be watching to make sure that you are pushing yourself. We will do the same test at the end of the three week segment and see if your scores improve."

For the next hour I failed at sit ups, push ups, chin ups and all kinds of other ups. The only thing that I succeeded at was sweating. By the end of the class I would have killed for a shower, but I returned to Marilyn's washroom and used paper towels to sponge myself off as best I could before changing for lunch.

Mr. Hand was waiting for me when I came out.

"We need to talk," he said, "My office. Now."

I jogged along beside him to to his office where he pointed to a chair and sat himself behind his desk.

"You cannot go into Marilyn's washroom," he said.

Why not? I wrote.

"That washroom is set aside for Marilyn's use."

Marilyn is my friend. Ne invited me to use it.

"Marilyn doesn't have that right."

Ne doesn't have the right to have friends?

"HE doesn't have the right to have friends in that washroom. You will get changed with the rest of your class."

No.

I wondered if Mr. Hand's head was going to explode. I don't think he was used to students telling him no.

"You will do what I tell you to do!"

It's a human rights issue. I wrote. Marilyn has the right to have friends. I have the right to be safe. If you try to tell me otherwise I will have a long talk with my parents.

"I can suspend you and don't think I won't!"

For what cause? I'm the top student in the school. I've never missed a class, never caused problems. You suspend me and it will be all over the papers that you are trying to isolate Marilyn and punish me for being nir friend. It will probably make the national news. I'm sure the Board will be delighted. I need to go have lunch with my friend.

I got up and walked out of the Principal's office. I was pretty sure I knew all the ways that students could make my life miserable. I was also sure that now I was going to learn what a Principal could accomplish.