Chapter 102 - Vivian
It was decided the principal, Mrs Lewis, would be the adult present when Vivian confronted her bullies. It was only natural for the person in charge of the school to mediate a conflict between students.
They gave Vivian some time to clean up, since she hadn’t had a chance to do so after practice, and get some food before calling the accused girls to the office. Everyone else was relegated to waiting in the vice-principal’s office while the meeting took place.
Vivian sat quietly, mind racing. Without Samuel there she had a bit more leeway with what was said, but not much. Both girls would gladly spread anything she said and the principal wouldn’t see an issue with discussing what went down with her father. Now that she thought about it, who was present didn’t matter; she had to be careful regardless.
“Let me know if you need a break at any time, Miss St Peters,” the principal said as they waited for the two girls to arrive.
Vivian appreciated the thought, but the last thing she should do was show weakness. Those two would eat her alive if given the chance.
A light knock at the door sounded before it was opened by Ms Gardener. “I have two students here to see you.”
Mrs Lewis raised her hand in a beckoning gesture. “Let them in.”
Adriana then Abby walked into the room, both shooting Vivian a second look, as if startled to see her there as well.
“Have a seat, Miss Johnson, Miss Demoine,” the principal instructed, motioning for the two empty chairs to Vivian’s left. Abby took the seat closest to her while Adriana chose the furthest. “I’m sure you’re aware of why you’ve been brought here today.”
“I’m sorry, Mrs Lewis, but I can’t say I do,” Abby replied with a sheepish smile. “What seems to be the issue?” The other girl said nothing, letting the blond speak for now.
“It seems Miss St Peters found herself in an unwanted situation this morning and has given both your names as the ones responsible.”
Adriana stiffened at the accusation, but Abby let out a light laugh. “For real?” Turning to look at Vivian, she continued. “We hardly know each other and definitely don’t have any issues, do we, Vivian? I mean, come on, we don’t even run in the same circles.”
Glancing over at the blond, Vivian stayed silent, feeling like there was nothing she needed to say at the moment.
“What exactly happened, anyway?” Abby asked, looking back towards the principal. “I can’t even think of anything I’d do to someone that’d need this kind of thing.”
“Seems someone trapped her in a locker after practice this morning,” Mrs Lewis replied, keeping her tone neutral as her eyes moved from one girl to the next in turn. “Miss Johnson, you’re on the track team and would have been in the locker room with Miss St Peters this morning. Do you have anything to say about this?”
The girl in question shrugged her shoulders. “Not really. The entire team was there with me, so it’s not like I’d have been able to do anything without being seen.”
From listening to what had been said so far, Vivian already knew Adriana was the weak link in the pair. She was hesitant and deferred to Abby unless spoken to directly. Would the principal notice and know where to apply pressure?
“That’s what concerns me the most,” the principal continued, resting her elbows on the desk as she intertwined her fingers. “You see, for this to have taken place someone would have to plan things very carefully; wait until all the team is gone except Vivian, and there’s no way to plan that without someone on the inside stalling her.”
“Oh please,” Abby laughed. “You actually think we’re capable of that?”
“You’d be surprised what a person is capable of, Miss Demoine,” Mrs Lewis replied with a slight smile. “You’re a smart young lady; it’s very possible for you to have done this.”
It was obvious the blond wasn’t sure if she should take that as a compliment or an insult; instead she chose to scoff out loud. “For real? We didn’t do anything to Vivian!”
“Miss St Peters? Do you have anything you’d like to say to these two?”
Vivian finally turned her head a little, looking at the two girls for a few seconds before speaking. “I’d like my things back, please.”
“This is ridiculous! We didn’t take your stuff,” Abby exclaimed, clearly frustrated by the situation. “Why do you have it out for us? Is it because you’re jealous or something? Maybe you want the guys to pay attention to you instead of us? Is that it?”
“What guys?” Vivian asked, her voice light as she waited to see if one of them would step into the trap.
“You know who,” Adriana retorted, rolling her eyes. “God, what is your problem?”
“What guys?” Vivian asked again. “I’m curious which ones would make me jealous of you.”
“Laurent and Theo!” The brunette spat. “We already went over this.”
“Yes, this morning before you shoved and locked me in the locker,” Vivian nodded once. “But I just want to double check that you think I have a romantic interest in both Laurent and Theo.”
“Girl, please,” Abby cut in, giving Adriana a sharp look. “We aren’t going to play this game with you. Just get over it. If they were interested in you in the slightest then they’d have already made a move.”
Instead of responding to the jab, Vivian exchanged a look with the principal, who let out a sigh. “It seems without evidence it will be difficult to prove any of these allegations; especially since someone tampered with the surveillance footage between seven thirty and nine this morning. I’m guessing none of you know anything about that?”
This was news to Vivian. Maybe the girls were more devious than she’d initially thought. The surveillance cameras had made her confident they’d never try anything on school property but if they could tamper with that then nothing was off the table.
I got ahead of myself, Vivian realized, feeling stupid for not thinking of it sooner. I underestimated them and they took advantage of that. Even though the principal is aware Laurent is my brother it’s worthless information right now.
“Nope,” Abby replied with a shake of her head. “And I know nothing about her stuff being taken, either.”
A knock at the door made them pause the conversation as everyone turned. After a second, the door opened and Tyrell walked in holding a school bag in his giant hand. “I found her bag,” he said in his deep voice. “It was in locker 747. Can you verify that this is, indeed, yours, Miss?”
Vivian reached out and took the bag from her bodyguard, sneaking a glance at the other girls who looked worried as they stared at the giant man. Holding back a smirk, she opened the bag and took note of what was inside. “My phone isn’t here.”
“But the rest is yours?” The principal inquired.
“Yes. My uniform, textbooks and notebooks are all here.”
“Which of you was assigned locker 747?”
The girls exchanged looks but neither said anything, which made the principal let out a sigh before waking her computer and typing something in.
“Locker 747 is registered to one Adriana Johnson,” she read off the screen a minute later. “Miss Johnson, care to explain why Miss St Peters bag was found in your locker?”
“You can’t just go through my locker without my permission!” She exploded, jumping to her feet. “It’s a violation of my privacy! My parents won’t let you get away with it.”
“Actually, I have every right to go through any student’s locker at any given time, even without probable cause,” Mrs Lewis explained as she leaned back in her chair. “The document we have both you and your parents sign at the start of the year clearly states this fact. If they attempt to cause problems the school can and will settle it in court where you will lose. Now, answer the question. Why was Miss St Peters bag found in your locker?”
A red flush had spread over the brunette’s face as she began shaking in anger. “Maybe she put it there to frame me!”
“How would I do that?” Vivian couldn’t stop herself from asking. “I don’t know the combination to your lock.”
“You could find it in the office,” Abby pointed out. “All our combinations are saved so the school has access to them.”
“And how would I have done that?” She asked again, working hard not to roll her eyes.
“Ladies,” the principal interrupted before they could continue the back and forth. “We are here to find answers, not fight.” She then looked at Tyrell again. “Were you able to locate the phone?”
“Yes, ma’am,” he nodded, pulling the device out from inside his suit jacket. “It was found in locker 587.”
Mrs Lewis frowned, catching Vivian’s attention. Why was she frowning at this information?
The principal typed on her computer for a moment before sitting back again. “That would be Emma Curtis’ locker…”
“I told you,” Abby laughed. “I had nothing to do with this. This just proves it.”
So that’s why she was so confident, Vivian thought to herself. She knew none of the evidence would be found in her locker. “Isn’t Emma your girlfriend?” She asked, looking over at Abby, who jerked around to glare at Vivian.
“I’m not gay!” She shouted before taking a breath and visibly calming herself. “Emma and I had a bit of a… spat the other day and haven’t talked much since. I bet this was all done to frame me cause she’s still angry about our fight. She came to you and got you to agree to do all this.”
“Oh, give it a rest,” Adriana muttered, angry.
“Pardon, Miss Johnson?” The principal prodded. “Speak up so we can all hear or it’s rude.”
“I said,” she began, voice louder than needed, “Give it a rest. Like Emma could ever think this up. She literally only does what you tell her to.” Adriana jabbed her finger at Abby as she spoke, but the blond shook her head, unbothered.
“Maybe that’s what she just wants everyone to think.”
Vivian tuned out the bickering between the two girls and accepted the phone Tyrell handed over. It was her phone, but it was security locked until the next morning due to someone attempting to force their way in. “Mrs Lewis,” she began, interrupting the argument that was beginning to get heated. “I believe I can prove Abby isn’t as innocent as she wants us to believe.”