Page 20 of My Rules for Revenge
The only thing he’s worried about is me assaulting him, I thought.
Jacob leaked my nudes everywhere. The entire school had probably seen them by now. I felt completely exposed, humiliated, and violated. He should’ve given me permission to beat his face in with a pair of spiked boxing gloves.
“You’re joking, right? I already hit him. Why does that matter right now?” I asked.
Newman’s face turned a rosy red.
“Excuse me? Have you already hit him? Heather, did he hit you or physically hurt you?” he asked.
“Well, no. He didn’t hit me. I hit him because he was being very disrespectful to me,” I explained.
“He didn’t hit you?” he asked.
“I just told you he didn’t,” I clarified.
“Okay. Got it. You can’t hit him or touch him again, Heather. Do you understand me?”
“Principal Newman, why the hell are we talking about his well-being? Do you not comprehend that he has blasted my nudes online? This falls under that cyberbullying umbrella you guys are always talking about. Do something about this!”
Principal Newman slowly bent down and picked up his phone. He placed it on his desk and sighed. He nervously rubbed that horrible goatee.
“This is highly distressing. Have you contacted these social media sites to take down the pictures that were leaked?”
“Yes, of course. It’s child pornography. I sent like fifteen emails to the social media administrators. They might take them down tomorrow or in a month, but that doesn’t matter. Everyone has already saved those pictures, and they’ll be on the internet forever. Jacob needs to be punished for this. He has completely violated my privacy,” I asserted.
“Oh dear. This could potentially be a serious legal situation for the school. If we’re going to go to the police, you’ll need proof that Jacob Boruta did this. Do you have any?” he asked.
I thought back to when I saw him in the hallway. Due to the stupid, smug look on his face, I knew it was him. That was hardly proof, however.
I could have explained to the police the prior events that led up to him leaking my pictures, but I would have had to reveal that I had assaulted him. That would have made things complicated.
Plus, my mom could not find out what had happened. She just couldn’t. The way she was…absolutely not.
“The police are not an option for me, Newman. I don’t want to go to them. I also don’t have any concrete proof it was him, but I know it was. Trust me.”
I may have hallucinated this, but I swore I saw a flash of a smile that formed on Principal Newman’s face. It may have lasted only one second, but I swore I saw it. It looked like he was relieved that he didn’t have to contact the authorities.
“Heather, I’m very sorry, but without any proof, I can’t go to the police. They would have nothing to go on. How are you certain they hacked into your phone to get them? Perhaps someone you know got hold of these photos and distributed them,” he suggested.
“What are you suggesting? I didn’t send them to anyone, you weirdo,” I scoffed.
That was a lie.
“No, no, no. I’m sorry, I wasn’t suggesting anything, but I’m unsure how someone could access your phone like that without having direct contact with it.”
“Of course, you’re unsure. You’re old, and you don’t know the full potential of technology. Trust me, hacking is a thing, and it’s very prevalent in our modern society,” I explained.
“I’ll take your word for it, Heather.”
“So, you’re not going to do anything about this?”
“This will all blow over. I’m certain of it. I’ll make an announcement that sexting is in violation of the school’s code of conduct in your student handbooks.”
I stared at him in disbelief. This had nothing to do with sexting. I was convinced right then and there that Principal Newman was a half-baked, potato-brained old geezer.
Jacob had essentially committed a crime, and Principal Newman didn’t care one bit. He was only worried about himself and whether or not the school could be held liable. I could have accused him of covering up for Jacob, or maybe I could have gotten himcanceled,but I didn’t want to get expelled or suspended, although I did have a chance of succeeding.
There was a previous incident a few years ago where a boy named Aidan tried to expose Principal Newman for giving favoritism to the athletes. Apparently, he would personally buy them lunch and brand-new athletic gear.
