Page 76 of Drifting

He crosses his arms. “I would suggest you tell the truth, young lady, or the credit card that I let you use will be promptly shut off.”

Hannah’s eyes bug out of her head as she lets out a horrified gasp. “Balancing school and cheerleading got too hard, Daddy. And you know how much the squad means to me. I couldn’t keep the grades up.”

Peter paces, running his hand through his hair. “Why didn’t you say something? We could have gotten you some help.”

She twirls a chunk of her hair around her finger. “If I told you, you would have made me stop cheerleading. I wasn’t the only one doing it, so it wasn’t a big deal.”

He stops pacing to stare at his daughter. “I don’t know what worries me more. That you did it, or that you considered it okay because everyone else was doing it.”

My grades aren’t the best--they’re not straight As--but I do okay. And I achieved that while living on my own and worrying if we’d have food to eat or enough money to pay rent. Hannah doesn’t know how nice she has it.

Peter switches gears. “Now, tell me about this English assignment.”

Hannah’s eyes flicker with concern. “I don’t know. I’m not in her stupid English class.”

I roll my eyes. She’s unbelievable. If she tells Peter the truth, he’ll go easy on her. But no, she keeps digging herself deeper.

Peter thunders, “Hannah!”

Everyone jumps. I have a feeling Peter’s never raised his voice before.

“You’re just making it worse for yourself,” Nick says.

“Shut up, traitor,” Hannah huffs.

“I know Shelby didn’t copy an old report and hand it in,” Peter interrupts before they start fighting. “Hannah, you need to tell me the truth. You’re skating on very thin ice.”

Hannah stands, tears pouring down her face, her chin wobbling. “You believe that”—she points at me—“over your own daughter. How could you?”

He stares down at his daughter. “Because she’s done nothing to prove she isn’t anything but trustworthy, Hannah, unlike you.”

“Trustworthy?” Hannah’s chin jerks up. “That trash stole my boyfriend, Carrie’s, and the rest of the girls.”

Angry now, I slam my hand down on the arm of the couch. “God, Hannah, get over it. None of you are dating them anymore. You all broke up. Maybe if you all weren’t raving lunatics, you would still be together.”

As she storms toward me, I jump to my feet. If she wants a fight, I’m ready.

She stops in front of me, her chin jutted as she pushes out her chest. “You’re an easy, filthy, trashy whore who will spread your legs for anyone. That’s why you got trash in your locker, and we switched out your homework. I will do whatever it takes to get you and your disgusting mother out of here.”

Shocked, I stare back at her. She hates me so much she just spilled everything, forgetting her dad’s right behind her.

Peter’s lips press into a thin line at his daughter’s admission. I think a small part of him still prayed I was wrong. But she has some seriously deep-seated hatred inside her.

Taking my silence as a victory, she steps back and turns with a big smile on her face that falls once she sees her dad.

“Sit back down,” Peter says, his voice cold.

Her whole body slumps as she shuffles back to her place on the couch.

Peter looks at me, his shoulders slumping. “I’m sorry, Shelby. I didn’t want to believe you. I hoped you were wrong, because it meant I failed horribly as a parent.” Pushing up his glasses, he stands tall and turns toward Hannah. “Tomorrow morning, you will go with us and tell Ms. Webb everything you just confessed to.”

The tears pour once again. “But, Daddy, she’ll kick us all off of the squad.”

“It doesn’t matter, anyway. You won’t be returning to cheerleading until your grades are where they need to be. Cheer’s an extracurricular activity. Your life shouldn’t revolve around it. I’m also taking away your credit card for the foreseeable future. You’ll take any punishment the school sees fit to administer. I’ll hire you a tutor to help with schoolwork. Also, you’re to come straight home after school from this day forward.”

Tears run down her face, streaking her cheeks with black mascara. She jumps up and stomps her feet with her hands balled into fists. “You can’t do that. Everyone will hate me. You might as well kill me.”

In full dramatic fashion, she huffs and storms off to her room.

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