Page 29 of What Happened to Lucy Vale

---

The mystery was resolved before last lunch, when the Sharks and Minnows list was leaked online. None of us knew who’d drawn it up. Ultimately the authorship wasn’t important. The Sharks and Minnows list, we understood, was bigger than any one person. It represented Consensus. It represented What People Were Saying—or more specifically, Who They Were Talking About.

It was a small scandal to see that Lucy had grabbed the tenth spot on the list of Minnows; all the other girls were freshmen. But it was only a small scandal. Given that Lucy Vale was new, we supposed she technically counted as fresh bait.

@ktcakes888:is Lucy hot now? I thought she was just cute ...

@moonovermatter:I think she’s so hot

@brentmann:This list is a sham

@brentmann:Bailey Lawrence is number one goddess

@brentmann:She is perfection

@brentmann:She melts glass

@mememeup:the Minnows are new to school, dude

@brentmann:I don’t care. It’s false advertising

@brentmann:Bailey torches everyone on this list

@highasakyle:maybe you should file a complaint

@kash_money:This list isSo Fucked

@kash_money:Minnows are fish bait

@nononycky:Sharks are trophies

@nononycky:What’s your point?

@kash_money:My point is that it’s sexist

@skyediva:so is mansplaining sexism

@badprincess:if you want to be offended, may I recommend the school’s “Style Guide” for Shark Week themes

@bassicrhythm:you mean because 90 percent of the models are white girls??

@badprincess:I mean

@badprincess:Because 100 percent of the models

@badprincess:AreGirls

@nononycky:remember, Ladies

@nononycky:Shark Week is for everyone

@nononycky:But onlyYoucan prevent Unwanted Sexual Harassment

@geminirising:does the style guide count?

@mememeup:well for sure no one asked for it

Sofia Young, who was getting rebellious, insisted that Lucy Vale wasn’t actually that pretty.

@goodnightsky:we just see her as pretty, because she acts like the kind of person who should be pretty

---