"Stacy Adams please come to the office. Stacy Adams please come to the office."
A cold chill ran down the pretty senior's spin when she heard her name on the intercom. She gathered her books with trembling fingers and put them in her book bag. It felt like every eye was watching her. She expected to hear them call her boyfriend Mitch's name too. Perhaps...perhaps they hadn't found out. She was head cheerleader -she could be getting called to the office for anything...anything at all. It didn't necessarily mean they had found out. Found out that she and her boyfriend had broken into the school building the night before.
Stupid. So fucking stupid, she mentally cursed. It was Mitch's fault. She didn't need the exam questions. He did. But she had the key. Borrowed off the gym ring after practice last week. There were spares...no one would ever know.
She was sure she'd gotten away with it. It was a good plan. But this morning day, as she drove up to school and there were a team of police cars gathered at the front of the building. There were even reporters. At first she thought it was because of the exam. Then she saw the horrible things that were written on the front of the building. Nappa High is full of fags. Die queers die. principle summers is a dyke bitch.
What were the chances? Why did it have to happen the day after her small little crime. Not even a crime really. It was like stealing music on the internet. No one was hurt. Besides Mitch needed those questions, otherwise he could kiss his college hopes goodbye.
But once she entered the office, any hope she had was soon dashed.
"Miss Adams," principle Summers had a grim expression and a can of spray-paint in a zip lock bag. "Do you care to explain this?"
"I don't know what you are talking about." Stacy replied. She had been worried about the exam, but this was much worse. Something like this could even effect her father's campaign. No way they could pin this on her!
"It was found in your locker," principle Summers said. "The police are going to have it dusted for fingerprints, so you might as well tell the truth."
The truth? That she had broken in last night to steal an exam for her boyfriend. It wasn't even breaking in really...she had a key. But the key had been borrowed. She was at the scene, but she didn't spray-paint the building.
She had no alibi. She was screwed. She had no choice. She was going to have to implicate Mitch and hope he could back her up. It was her only option.
"Oh cool principle Summers," a tall lanky girl said. "I've been looking for that! I've been looking all over for you Stacy."
It was Gwen, the basketball team captain. Stacy couldn't believe her luck. The girl - the dark haired giant of a girl had as much as confessed. Stacy felt the tight knot in her stomach begin to relax. She was off the hook.
"This belongs to you?" principle Summers asked incredulously as she held the evidence up to Gwen.
"Not to me," Gwen said. "The school. I'm on the homecoming committee and Stacy was helping me out. We were painting some metal music note things to hang from the ceiling. First paint - then glitter. I can get them and show them to you if you want. Anyway, it was getting late, so I gave the spray paint to Stacy to hold on to."
"But..." principle Summers stammered. "We had an anonymous tip this morning. It said that Stacy had vandalized the building."
"Stacy? Stacy Adams?" Gwen asked, and by the tone of her voice, it was obvious how ridiculous she assumed the allegation to be. "And you think that she came back to school this morning and hid the cans of spray paint in her locker right where you could find them? Principle Summers, just where did this tip come from?"
Yes! Yes! Exactly that! IT was just as Gwen had said. She had been set up. And thankfully this tall lanky senior knew it even before the school principal did.
"Well, when you put it like that..." Principal Summers said. "But still. From my experience, the simplest answer is usually the best."
"Principal...there's something else..." Gwen continued. "I need to confess something to you. There are certain individuals at this school who are very closed minded. Some could even go so far as to say homophobic. You know I have had problems in the past. There have been rumors. At first it was because - well I'm bigger than other girls.
But lately something has changed. No one knows, but Stacy and I have been ... well - we've been seeing each other. No one knew, but I think they do now ...and someone has done this to try.... to try to expose us I guess...and it is - it is very upsetting."
"You mean..." principle Summers glanced from one girl to the other.
Stacy was to shocked to speak. The woman couldn't possible believe that she and Gwen...that...they were... but it was clear the woman did. What's more, it was a likely enough story if she wanted to get out from under these horrible accusations. How could she paint those horrible things on the building if she and Gwen were actually... gay?
It was an ingenious lie. She was off the hook. There would be no dusting for fingerprints. No involving Mitch.
All she had to do was go along with this farce. Just for awhile.
And then Gwen was next to her. Her long fingers clasping Stacy's. A hand took hold of her chin, turned her to face the towering girl....then she was kissed. On the mouth.
"We are in love." Gwen said."We've been keeping it secret...but obviously someone has found out."
Stacy blushed at the assertion and then meekly nodded her head. What could she say? No, no most certainly we are not. I'm dating Mitch Campell, the star quarterback. The boy I was with stealing an exam with last night.
No. No. She couldn't do that. Moreover, this was easy, so very easy and convenient. It was like that movie where the a guy was pestering a girl at a bar and the girl's friend came up and kissed her and said, "She's with me."
It was weird and icky, but it did the job.
"Well, you girls leave it to me," Principal Summers said. "I'll be certain that no one.. I mean absolutely no one makes this school a bad environment for you two."
In truth, Principle Summers had secretly wanted it to have been true. Nothing against Stacy of course, but her father was running for senate. A Republican. The kind of guy that cuts teacher's salaries. The kind of guy that made things more difficult for people like her...like Gwen and even his own daughter too.
Gwen. Gwen Gwen. She had often wondered about the girl. Suspected. The girl gave off that vibe that those who could sense such things knew if she wasn't she probably would be. The girl reminded her of herself back when she was young. Well, except she never had a girl that was a pretty as Stacy. She was a bit jealous. The girl was a peach that was juicy enough to eat.
Stacy. She never suspected Stacy to be the sort of girl. And no, she wouldn't bother Stacy again. The girl had enough problems. She wondered if her father knew. She wished she could protect the girl, but there was little she could do to slow the storm that would soon be brewing.
With that the principal ushered the two girls from the office, then explained to the police that there must be some mistake, it couldn't have been Stacy Adams.
Stacy couldn't hear the exchange, but she caught the look in the police officers's eyes. That sly look. A bit lecherous. A bit condescending. It was a look that brought a blush to her cheeks.
Once outside the office, Stacy gave Gwen a final hug. "Thanks Gwen," she said. "You are a real life saver. I mean it. I owe you a big one. If there's anything I can ever do. Just let me know."
"Well, it looked like you were in trouble," Gwen said. "And you've never been out of your way to be mean to me...not like some of the girls you hang out with."
It was a cruel reminder. Stacy thought back and realized that will she hadn't been directly mean, she'd never been nice to this girl either.
Gwen wasn't well off. Her clothes weren't stylish. She more often than not wore sweats of some sort or other. She wasn't what one would call pretty. She was awkward and somewhat of a loner. And while she'd never called her names, she had smirked and giggled as her friends had been rude to the girl.
"You don't have to worry about them anymore," Stacy promised and she meant it too. She wasn't without means of her own. As head cheerleader and the most popular girl in school, she could make things very difficult for anyone who crossed her or make things very pleasant for those who were her friends.
"Thanks," Gwen said. "And Stacy....uh...when you blushed in there. You know...when I said it was because we were ...girlfriends....was it because you were ashamed to be girlfriends with anyone...or from being girlfriends with me."
