Page 67 of Look What You Made Me Do

It was time to go public.

There’d be no need to mention Jake at all. It would be about the school and their battle with bureaucracy. And it wasn’t like his presence hadn’t been noticed despite the low riding ball cap and aviators.

As a schoolteacher, Ella had never been on social media but Bernie, whose screen time alone must surely have put him on dozens of watch lists by now, had shown her several posts featuring Jake. From Facebook to Instagram and TikTok he’d garnered quite a bit of attention but mostly from students or their families. None of the posts seemed to have gone viral, but people were talking about him.

He was on the radar. Whether he liked it or not.

As soon as the Daily was delivered to the school on Wednesday morning, Bernie brought it through. “I think you’re gonna love this.”

He smiled, holding it up to reveal the front-page headline. The Little School That Could said the bold black type and then under it in smaller print but still readable from across the room: Education Dept Threatens To Shut Down Local School.

“Front page?” Ella practically leaped off the chair. “Oh my God! Much better than I hoped for.”

Ella took the paper from Bernie and he departed. Her hand trembled a little as she cleared a space in front of her and laid it flat. The team’s official photograph – the one minus Jake and Pete – which she had emailed to Suzy Barton, the young reporter, took pride of place in the center of the article.

Devouring the piece, which spilled over to page three, Ella couldn’t have been happier. Suzy, who’d apparently spent a lot of time covering fluff pieces, had been most eager to really dig into something juicer.

And it was a very comprehensive article.

Everything she’d discussed with Suzy was there. The Education Department’s threats to close the struggling school and the desperate measures Deluca High was employing to stay open. She’d also summarized the Demons’ successes on the field concluding with Friday’s win which had put them in the playoffs.

Somehow, Suzy had managed to ferret out that Jake “The Prince” Prince was the coach but it was only one sentence among many from the hard-hitting story which raved about the school spirit and how the cheer squad, tutored by Trish Jones, herself once a professional cheerleader, had become a whole school project. There were also mentions of Cam and Miranda, to demonstrate how Deluca High was one big family and praise for Ella herself, for leading the charge and standing up to The Man.

The piece ended with a diatribe on heartless bureaucrats who were ripping the soul out of a severely depressed socio-economic area to pinch a few pennies. Phrases such as denying kids access to free education and discrimination leaped off the page.

It was exactly what Ella hoped it would be – a stirring piece of journalism to inspire even the most apathetic in the community to rally to the cause. It may not be Watergate but Ella hoped it’d have Donald Wiseman on the run.

Or silenced, at least.

She leaned back in her chair, reveling in the buzz of a job well done, until a loud knock on her door startled her out of the glow. Before she could open her mouth to say come in, the door was flung open and Jake strode in to her office.

He was wearing his standard jeans, jersey and ball cap. “What,” he asked, holding up the paper, his mouth a grim slash in his face, “the hell is this?”

Ella blinked and the buzz disappeared like a genie in a puff of smoke. She’d hoped it might last longer. And that this wouldn’t be their first interaction after their cheek-to-cheek moment on Friday night. Their kiss.

“I can explain.”

But he clearly wasn’t in the mood for explanations as he slammed his copy of the paper down. “Didn’t I say no press?”

Ella stood. “Yes, I know you did but?—”

His loud snort cut her off. “Damn it, Ella.” He ran a hand over the top of his head. “I think I was fairly specific.”

“I got another letter from the department. They’re demanding I show cause as to why they shouldn’t close the school at the end of the year. I just thought this might drum up some broader local support.”

“I don’t care what you thought,” he roared.

Ella blinked at the outburst, so far removed from the man who had kissed her so lightly not that long ago.

“Look, Jake, I know you didn’t want any media attention drawn to you, that you wanted to stay anonymous and I didn’t mention a word about you. Suzy obviously found that out by herself. But it’s hardly anything. I don’t think there’s any need to overreact.”

“Overreact?” He gaped at her. “You don’t have a fucking clue, do you?”

“Jake…” Ella frowned. “It’s the Deluca Daily. Not the Washington Post.”

He gave another snort and stalked over to the window, slapping his palm hard and high against the frame as he muttered, “I knew this was going to be trouble. Right from the beginning. I just knew it.”

He sounded so much like Iris, Ella would have laughed had he not been so angry.

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