Page 75 of Belong With Me

We walk together to the office, and with Jason beside me, the gawking and stares don’t seem to bother me anymore. Jason says, “When Gia came to grab me, she explained that Brandon was blackmailing you for the phone in exchange for not releasing the picture. Why didn’t you tell me?”

He’s not angry, but he seems worried, even slightly hurt.

“I didn’t intentionally not tell you,” I admit, stopping in front of the office. “With everything going on, it was the least of my worries, and it slipped my mind.”

When he frowns slightly, I add, “You know I trust you with everything, and if Gia hadn’t run away and I hadn’t gotten kicked out, I would’ve told you. But I wasn’t planning on giving in to his demands anyway, so this was always a possibility.”

The door to the office swings open, and Zia Stella comes out, followed closely by Principal Anderson.

“Siena!” Zia Stella runs to me, engulfing me in a tight hug that knocks me slightly off-balance.

I’m too confused to return the hug. “What are you doing here?”

She pulls back to examine me. The bruising on my face has developed into an ugly deep purple, and my one eye is slightly swollen.

“You haven’t answered your phone all weekend,” Zia Stella says. “I’ve been so worried about you! The only reason I didn’t start a manhunt was because Gia told me she saw Jason pick you up and that you promised her you’d come to school today.”

She tried calling me? She wasworriedabout me? I didn’t think anyone would be trying to get in contact with me, didn’t realize my disappearance would affect her so much. I’m not used to having someone worry about me or having to keep people updated on my whereabouts.

“I’m . . . sorry?” I say, though it comes out like a question.

Principal Anderson steps forward. She’s still as intense and commanding as I remember her. “Let’s talk in my office, please.” She ushers us into the main office, where the secretaries gawk at us before hastily pretending to get back to work when Principal Anderson glares at them, then into her private office. I must still be in shock, because I follow without any complaints or questions, without even saying goodbye to Jason, and sit in the chair beside Zia Stella.

From the other side of the desk, Principal Anderson levels her stare at me. “I’m assuming you know why I’ve called you in here?”

Is it because I kneed Brandon in the balls? But Zia Stella is here, and she wouldn’t have gotten here so fast over that. Instead of guessing, I do what Jason has advised me to do in the past and don’t admit to anything.

Principal Anderson fills the silence. “Last night, I was made aware of some rumors spreading about you. I called your guardian as soon as I got in this morning. The first one didn’t answer, but your aunt is listed as your second emergency contact.”

I glance at Zia Stella, whose eyes are watering. She worried about where I was this weekend. She dropped everything to come into school for me today.

“And I’m glad I called,” Principal Anderson continues. She intertwines her fingers on the desk, leaning forward and gettingmoreserious, if that’s possible. “I’m very sorry for the picture that’s circulating. It was clearly a violation of your rights and privacy, and it shouldn’t have been taken in the first place. I’m having meetings with all teachers on their lunch breaks to instruct them on how to proceed should it come up in their classrooms.”

That’s nice of her, I guess? Principal Anderson hates me after the last time I wound up in her office, so it’s kind of cool of her to be on my side for this, or at least to do her job as principal.

“And what about everyone who keeps sharing the picture?” Zia Stella prompts. “There has to be something we can do about that, right?”

“Unfortunately, there’s nothing we can do about that,” Principal Anderson says, and it isn’t a surprise to me. It’s not a private school network; you can’t cut people off from the internet. “We can help you file an investigation report with the police to find who took the actual picture, but that would probably need to be done in the city where the case was handled.”

And the odds of them finding out who took the photo are probably slim to none. It’s just another headache on top of everything else there is to deal with.

Zia Stella leans forward, completely focused. Mom never showed up if she was called to school for us, Aunt Julie didn’t even know which school we went to, and apparently Dario didn’t bother answering when he saw it was the school calling. Yet Zia Stella is here, asking questions and taking an interest as if what happens to me matters to her. It makes me feel weird, like warm and fuzzy but also light-headed.

“So how do we proceed from here?” Zia Stella asks.

“I know how awful kids can be, and I’ve been reading the comments and seeing what people are posting about Siena, and they’re . . .” She trails off, wincing apologetically when she looks at me. “What happens now?”

Principal Anderson clears her throat in a way I instinctively know is her preparing to deliver news parents won’t like. “We’re suggesting that Siena be removed from school for the time being.”

“What?” I exclaim, jumping up from my seat. “I’m being expelled?”

I take back thinking she was cool and nice for taking my side. This is not taking my side! This is getting rid of the problem by kicking it under the couch and pretending it doesn’t exist. I’ve been hounding Jason to leave Brandon alone in case this exact thing happened to him, and it’s happening to me anyway. I didn’t even do anything!

“No, not expulsion. Please sit back down,” Principal Anderson calmly says, and I begrudgingly sink back into the seat even though I feel itchy and hot. “For your own comfort and safety, this might be the best course of action.

We can arrange for homework to be sent home, and you can email your teachers any questions you may have.”

“So, youarekicking me out.”

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