Dismissed (17 page)

CHAPTER 20

Lizzie knew something was wrong when she showed up at school the next morning. As she walked from the front gate to her locker, a few people gave her funny looks. At first she was worried that she had dried food on her face, or that she had toilet paper stuck to her shoe, but it soon became clear that it was nothing like that at all.

Taylor, Heather and Cara turned and ran away as soon as they saw her. Lizzie shrugged and dropped off her bag.

Then she saw Zoe.

‘Zoe! I’ve been meaning to talk to you…’

Zoe gave her a dirty look. ‘Don’t even bother.’ She hurried off and caught up to Taylor, Heather and Cara.

God. What must have they told her for that reaction? That was a little unfair.

She spotted Josh and gave him a small wave. They hadn’t talked much this year, but because he was friends with Gabe, she’d occasionally said hello and chatted to him about school work.

He looked at her, seemingly unsure whether to walk away as well.

‘Wait,’ she called. ‘Can you please tell me what exactly is going on this morning?’

He hesitated. ‘Gabe’s probably not going to be very impressed when he finds out.’

‘Finds out what?’

Josh held up his phone. On the screen was the photo of Lizzie and Jason from the first night he hooked up with Taylor. Lizzie still felt disgusted when she thought about his offer to have a threesome. The problem was, this photo didn’t look like it was Jason making a sleazy joke. It looked like it was Brandon about to kiss Lizzie.

She gasped. ‘How did you get this?’

‘Everyone’s been texting it around all morning.’

‘Shit. That isn’t what it looks like.’

‘Ha. That’s what they all say.’ He spied Gabe in the distance and quickly shoved the phone in his pocket. ‘You’ll have to explain that to
him
.’ He then walked off.

Lizzie turned around. Gabe looked furious.

Damn. He’d already seen it.

‘Please let me explain,’ Lizzie said as he approached.

‘I don’t think you can talk your way out of this one,’ Gabe said bitterly.

‘Come on, please. Give me a chance,’ she begged.

‘OK. Tell me your side.’

‘For a start, that’s Jason, not Brandon.’

‘Not really helping.’

‘It was from the night Taylor hooked up with him. Not me.’

‘What were you doing so close to him?’

‘He was trying to get me to have a threesome with him and Taylor!’ she said exasperated, and then realised that probably wouldn’t help the situation either.

He laughed in disbelief.

‘So you said no, but then hung around in the apartment anyway.’

‘What was I supposed to have done? I have a curfew! If I don’t get home before midnight, I can’t go home until the next day!’

His face turned to stone.

‘So what
did
you do Lizzie? You told me you left soon afterwards.’

Lizzie’s face flamed.

She didn’t know what to say.

‘I knew it,’ he said softly. ‘Sorry, but I can’t do this.’

He stalked away.

Lizzie started crying.

At that moment, Brandon walked past. ‘Lizzie, is everything OK?’

‘No. And I think you’re about to be in a lot of trouble.’

He paled. ‘How much trouble?’

‘Stuff that’s probably going to take a fair bit of explaining.’

He breathed in shakily. ‘Alright. Fill me in on exactly what people know, or think they know, and I’ll go talk to Sam Jenkins. I think it’s best to deal with this thing pre-emptively.’

Lizzie told him.

‘OK, so no one saw us the other night at Eagle Street? I’m just wondering, because I don’t want to have to deal with that too.’

‘I don’t think so.’

‘You’re sure?’

‘Not one hundred percent, but I think Taylor would have used that against me if she knew.’

‘Are you going to be alright?’

‘Yeah. I think Gabe just broke up with me though, so that’s going to take a while to process.’

He looked pained. ‘I’ll do whatever I can to sort this out. In the meantime, let me know if things get too crazy.’

‘Thank you. And if you need me to talk to Mr Jenkins to clarify anything, I’ll be happy to do that too.’

He nodded grimly and went up to the office. Lizzie stood there staring into space. She wondered if she could do home-schooling for the last couple of months of Year Twelve. It was certainly tempting to run away.

But she wasn’t a quitter. She would get through this.

***

It was a rough morning. No one wanted to talk to her. Taylor had done a great job of isolating her from everyone. And because Gabe was so well liked, those who weren’t keen on Taylor but were friends with Gabe also avoided her.

Lizzie concentrated on her school work as best as possible, but at the end of second period, she got a call to go up to the office.

When she arrived, she found Brandon sitting in front of Mr Jenkins.

‘Come in please Lizzie,’ Mr Jenkins said, gesturing for her to sit in a seat beside Brandon.

Lizzie nervously sat down. She didn’t dare make eye contact with Brandon.

‘I understand there’s been a bit of a situation,’ he began.

‘Yes, but it involved Taylor and Brandon’s, I mean Mr Thomas’ brother Jason,’ she explained.

‘So I’ve heard. And naturally I knew that Mr Thomas had a twin brother, so I believe that it is he in the photo and not Brandon.’

Lizzie relaxed a little. ‘That’s right.’

‘However, the fact that you and Taylor were in his apartment is quite worrying.’

‘I know. But Mr Thomas and I were very much against it. We tried to stop Taylor from going home with Jason, but when we couldn’t, I thought it would be best if I went too, so I could keep an eye on her.’

‘Very well. Look, I don’t know how I’m going to deal with this if parents start asking questions, but I strongly suggest the pair of you keep your distance. Lizzie, Mr Thomas has requested a transfer to another school, but it might be several weeks before this happens. So I’m putting you in a different English class for the remainder of the year.’

‘That’s fine,’ Lizzie said quietly.

‘And Mr Thomas, I recommend that if you are unable to control your brother’s behaviour, you find somewhere else to live. Alone.’

‘Already happening,’ Brandon promised.

‘Ms White, could you please send Ms Walsh up to see me when you return to class?’

‘No problem.’

‘Dismissed,’ he said, and returned to typing something on his computer.

Lizzie hurried out.

Brandon followed.

‘Lizzie,’ he called. ‘Thanks for that.’

‘It’s OK. So you’re leaving, huh?’

‘Yeah. I think it’s best if I start over somewhere else next year. Even if my name is cleared here, the rumours will persist.’

‘I hope Mr Jenkins punishes Taylor.’

‘I suppose he could suspend her. But she didn’t technically do anything wrong.’

‘She almost ruined your career!’

‘It doesn’t matter now. I should never have allowed the two of you to come back to my apartment. I’ll be lucky if the Department of Education doesn’t kick me out.’

‘I’m sorry for everything.’

‘Don’t be. It’s all in the past.’

‘So I guess I won’t really see you again.’

‘Only around the school grounds, but then we probably won’t be able to talk to each other.’

‘That’s crap,’ Lizzie said. ‘We did nothing wrong.’

‘I know,’ he said. ‘But that’s just the way things are.’

Lizzie walked away, trying not to let Brandon see how sad she was.

Life was so cruel.

CHAPTER 21

In the end, Taylor ended up getting suspended for three days. She didn’t seem to care though, bragging about all the shopping she did and all the day spas she visited on her time off.

But when she returned, she resumed her war on Lizzie.

Lizzie was automatically excluded from any further formal or after-party planning, and even from actually attending the after-party. Lizzie wondered if it would still be at Gabe’s house. Then one afternoon, she saw him talking and laughing with the four girls, so she assumed they must have come to an arrangement. It seemed quite odd, considering how much he had said he disliked most of them. Lizzie was kind of mad that he didn’t look as though he was standing by his convictions. But then she’d discovered he’d been a bit of a contradiction in a lot of ways. He was such a goofball around his guy friends, yet fairly serious, and almost conservative around her. And when they had talked about his family, he was like a petulant toddler. Plus, while he always seemed like such an honest person, he’d lied and then basically avoided talking to her about CC.

Lizzie decided that not only did she not want to go to the after-party, she didn’t want to go to the formal either. Why subject herself to watching a whole bunch of people who hated her having a good time?

Nick approached her at recess when she was sitting alone down near the trees where she and Gabe used to meet.

‘School can be rough, huh?’

‘You can say that again.’

‘This year has been a lot harder than I expected too.’

‘I’m sorry to hear that. I thought you, Gabe and Josh were good friends?’

‘Not really. Gabe and Josh hang out a lot, but I’m not really into the same stuff as them.’

‘And none of the other guys were?’

‘I guess I never really tried to find out. This is the final year of school, so I figured there wasn’t much point in getting too attached to anyone. Everything will change next year anyway.’

‘Well count yourself lucky you didn’t end up being friends with someone like Taylor.’

‘Girls can be pretty horrible to each other,’ he agreed.

‘So what’s up?’ she asked.

Nick suddenly seemed nervous. ‘Um, I was just wondering, seeing as you’re probably not going with Gabe anymore, and if you didn’t have anyone else to go with, would you like to go to the formal with me?’

She smiled kindly. ‘That’s sweet, but I don’t know if I want to go now. But if I did, I would totally go with you.’

‘Oh, OK,’ he said, looking crushed. ‘No worries.’

Lizzie felt bad. ‘Hey, maybe I’ll think about it. Can I give you a proper answer next week?’

‘Sure,’ he replied, perking up slightly.

‘But if anyone else asks you in the meantime, please feel free to accept.’

He laughed. ‘I highly doubt that will happen.’

‘You never know. There might be a few girls out there who think your red hair is as cute as I do.’

He blushed. ‘Stop it.’

‘I mean it.’

‘Thanks Lizzie. I hope you decide to come with me.’

As he walked away, Lizzie smiled. Maybe she would go after all.

***

Lizzie was washing her hands in the girls’ bathroom when Zoe walked in. She glared at Lizzie and went into a cubicle.

Lizzie called out to her. ‘Zoe, I’m so sorry about my birthday. You do know that I had nothing to do with that, don’t you?’

Zoe flung the door back open and stared at her.

‘Is that what you think this is about?’ she asked incredulously.

Lizzie wrinkled her brow. ‘Isn’t it?’

‘No, you idiot. I know what Taylor, Heather and Cara are like. I knew you had nothing to do with ditching me.’

‘So what’s going on?’

‘It’s how you treated Gabe.’

‘What?’

‘Going behind his back and flirting with Brandon.’

‘Hang on, I wasn’t flirting with Brandon. And why do you care so much about Gabe’s feelings?’

‘I can’t believe you haven’t figured it out by now,’ she said pityingly.

‘Figured
what
out?’ Lizzie asked, exasperated.

‘I’m CC.’

Lizzie’s stomach dropped. And before she had a chance to ask how she knew that Lizzie knew, Zoe filled her in.

‘Taylor told me you saw the text.’

‘But I’m confused. Why would you be so nice to me if you wanted him for yourself?’

‘I thought if I couldn’t be with him, then I could still get close to him through the girl he was dating. And I really did start to see you as a good friend. I even thought
well, if he has to be with anyone else, at least he’s with someone nice.
But then you broke his heart, and that made me mad.’

‘I assume Gabe was the guy you lost your virginity to?’

‘Yep. And it was good.’ She seemed to enjoy rubbing this fact in Lizzie’s face.

‘He didn’t know you were a virgin, you know.’

‘Yes, I do know. In hindsight, maybe it would have made him stick around longer if I told him, but at the time, I didn’t want to look like a loser.’

‘He said you started stalking him.’

‘I wasn’t stalking! We were in love.’

‘You stole some of his clothes.’

‘I borrowed a t-shirt one time and forgot to bring it back.’

‘Forgot on purpose?’

Zoe frowned. ‘Whatever. You humiliated Gabe, so you deserve to suffer. I’ve already talked to him and we’ve sorted everything out. We’re even going to the formal together.’

‘How did you pull that off?’

‘None of your business. Although, one thing you should have learned is how to get his mum on side.’

Lizzie wondered if Gabe’s mutterings about his parents interfering in his love life were actually referring to Zoe. It all kind of made sense now. Especially if Zoe’s family was loaded.

‘Well good luck to the two of you. I hope you guys have a lovely life together.’

‘Oh we will.’ She gave Lizzie a fake smile and then locked herself in the cubicle again.

‘Hang on. Why CC?’ Lizzie called through the door.

‘It’s my middle name and last name, Chai Carmichael. Gabe always called me Chai as a private joke.’

‘Ah.’

‘Oh, and just to let you know, Gabe and I talked nearly the whole night on the phone on your birthday.’

Lizzie didn’t want to dignify that with a response, and wandered off in a daze. Things were so complicated now. It was such a shame that her friendship with Zoe was pretty much a lie. She’d actually thought that they might hang out next year, but clearly they wouldn’t be now.

Zoe was crazy. Who tried to be friends with someone, just to get close to a guy? At least Gabe’s reaction to finding out Zoe was her friend made sense now. Jeez.

And if that was true about her talking to Gabe on her birthday, then things were more fucked up than she thought.

Had the whole world gone insane? Maybe Nick was against her too. What if they were planning a horrible prank like in
Carrie
where they were going to tip a bucket of pig’s blood all over her as she walked into the dance hall?

She shook her head. She couldn’t start getting paranoid now. Just because a few of her friends had turned against her didn’t mean everyone had.

***

It took two weeks for Brandon to be transferred. He accepted a temporary spot filling in at a school on the north side, with a possible permanent position opening up in the New Year.

Mr Jenkins had talked to all the students in Year Twelve about the dangers of gossiping without knowing all the facts, and had advised everyone to delete the photo of Lizzie and Jason from their phones on threat of suspension. He explained that it was a private matter which had already been dealt with, but if any of their parents had concerns, they could talk to him directly.

Lizzie knew there were still a few whispers about the place. Some of the kids she hardly knew were the worst, making up stories about how she was having an affair with Brandon and that she’d had an abortion after getting pregnant with his baby.

But she dealt with it as best she could. She was just amazed that no one seemed to realise that the real story was about Taylor and Jason. Lizzie wasn’t even sure they were still together, but she suspected the whole pregnancy thing would have put a strain on their relationship.

Lizzie watched Brandon walk up to the car park and pack his stuff into his Kombi for the final time. She wondered if she would ever see him again. The thought that she might not made her sadder than anything else she’d experienced lately. Even breaking up with Gabe.

She wondered if she somehow deserved all of this because she’d never fully committed to Gabe in her head. It was like she was being punished for something that she had hoped would happen, rather than what actually had.

Brandon glanced up and saw her leaning against the fence. It was the same place she’d been standing with Taylor on the day they’d met Jason.

He waved and smiled sadly. She waved back. She didn’t even care if anyone saw. She might as well make the most of the vilification.

After he drove away, a single tear dripped down her cheek.

It was all over.