“Like she doesn’t care.”
“Exactly.”
“So aggravating.”
“You know what else is aggravating?” Emma said in a slightly defeated tone. “We should be at home right now—working on our Santa sleigh. We have three days to get it done in time for Friday’s assembly.”
“That’s true, but don’t forget midterms. We really should be home studying right now.” Cassidy turned into Lakewood. “Here’s what we’ll do, Em. I’ll park right where we picked up Devon last night and we’ll split up and give ourselves fifteen minutes to look around. Okay?”
“Okay. Chances are that Tristin already found it anyway.”
“Probably. But for Felicia’s sake we need to do this.”
“And if we see Tristin?” Emma sounded worried.
“Keep your phone handy.”
As it turned out they spent more like thirty minutes searching for the mysterious missing flash drive. They found a pop can, gum wrapper, tennis ball, and a little pink mitten—but no purple drive. At least they never ran into Tristin. Eventually, admitting that the light was fading, they both agreed it was a fool’s errand and time to go home.
Neither of them said a word as Cassidy started the car and slowly drove out of Tristin’s neighborhood. “We shouldn’t feel like we failed,” she finally said as she turned onto Emma’s street. “After all, we had a great meeting with Mrs. Dorman this afternoon. Even without the flash drive, it seems certain that Felicia will be vindicated.”
“Yeah. That’s great, but I was just thinking about Devon . . . the way she reacted when you told her about needing to be an eyewitness.”
“That was kinda strange.”
“It makes me think about what Bryn was saying earlier, asking if we totally trusted Devon.”
“You know Devon better than any of us. Do you trust her . . . completely?” Cassidy pulled into the driveway, then turned to look at Emma.
“No way. Not completely.”
“Do you think she’s been honest with us in regard to the situation with Felicia and wanting to help out?”
“I’m not sure. I thought so at first, but something about how she was acting this afternoon just doesn’t ring true. She’s holding back about something. I can’t tell what it is though.”
“I know.” Cassidy nodded.
“Well, I better get to work.”
“Sorry I can’t help with the sleigh tonight, Em. I’ve got a ton of reading to do, but I’ll try to work on it with you tomorrow—if you want.”
“That’s probably better anyway. I’ll have everything ready by then. And I can put you to work.” Emma got out and, closing the door, waved.
As Cassidy drove toward home, she still felt a keen sense of disappointment. Like things hadn’t really worked out how she’d planned. She just hoped that today’s faux pas wouldn’t reflect badly on Felicia. Mrs. Dorman seemed relatively convinced of Felicia’s evidence—what little there was of it. But would there be enough to clearly indict Tristin? Or was it possible that, like Bryn seemed to believe, Tristin wasn’t even involved? As Cassidy parked in front of her house, she realized that her best solution to all of this was probably to just pray. Let God sort it out.
16
Devon had felt on top of the world last night. As she’d hurried up to her room with her magnificent flash drive in hand, she’d decided she should go into some form of espionage as a career. As she downloaded the files into her laptop, she imagined herself as a chic elegant spy (aka Jane Bond) worming state secrets from unsuspecting diabolical characters and having a good time doing it. But before the drive was completely downloaded, she noticed that her phone had a new text message from Tristin.
Answer your phone or suffer the consequences.
Devon texted back: What consequences?
I’ll tell everyone what you did to Jessica Burns.
Okay, this was a little concerning. Jessica Burns was the girl that Devon had pretended to want to make the fake MyPlace page for. In reality, Jessica had been a serious pain in the rear for Devon and, if anyone deserved to be trashed through social networking, it was Jessica. But even so, Devon had never planned to launch that page.
Devon texted again: I didn’t do anything. Don’t know what you mean. Devon was no fool. She knew that texts were like any other form of technology—they could be used against you.
Answer your phone, or I’ll tell everyone what you did. I mean it.
Devon stared at the threat, wondering if it was something she could use against Tristin. But Tristin was being very careful. So far everything she’d written sounded more incriminating to Devon than to Tristin. So she just waited, and when her phone chimed, she answered.
“What’s up?” she asked innocently.
“Your MyPlace page for Jessica Burns,” Tristin answered nonchalantly.
“Huh?” Devon felt a rush of panic. Tristin had actually posted the page?
“That’s right. The page you made on Jessica is up and running. Check it out if you want.”
“The page I made?” Devon glanced at her laptop. The Felicia pics were downloaded, but she wasn’t online yet. She clicked to connect.
“Yes. Remember, while I was teaching you how to do it, we did most of the photo work on your laptop. Very convenient.”
“Yeah, but—”
“Check it out.”
Seeing she was online, Devon went to MyPlace. “What name did you give her?”
“Me?” Tristin laughed. “You’re the creator, Devon. Don’t you remember?” Now Tristin told Devon what sounded like a very skanky name.
Devon typed in the words and—presto—Jessica’s altered photos popped up. Along with some jargon that was very insinuating. “Why did you do this?” Devon demanded.
“Moi?”
Devon stared at the page in horror. “Tristin, you are evil.”
“But this is your page,” Tristin said lightly. “And I’m about to contact a friend of mine who will give it a boost. Then it will go viral and—”
“Don’t you dare!”
“Not me, Devon. I’m not that stupid. This is your work. It all tracks back to you and your computer. When poor Jessica Burns finds out, she’ll come looking for you. She’ll probably bring the law with her.” Tristin laughed.
“Why are you doing this?” Devon asked helplessly.
“Because of what you did to me.” Tristin’s voice grew more menacing. “You share those photos you stole with anyone, and I will make sure that you’re blamed for Jessica’s MyPlace page.”
“Blackmail?”
“Call it what you like. If I go down, you go down with me.” Then she hung up.
Devon went right back to the MyPlace page, determined to get it removed ASAP. Because she wasn’t all that techie, she tried all sorts of things and was not having a bit of luck. The more she tried, the more impossible it became. Finally, MyPlace knocked her off their site, and she found a message from them in her email announcing that she was temporarily banned from using their social network altogether.
Devon decided to do damage control of a different kind. She had no doubt that Tristin would try to use this situation to alienate her from Amanda, but she was shocked at how quickly it all went down. Before she’d joined Grandma Betty for dinner, she’d sent Amanda several texts. All of which Amanda ignored. Then after dinner and helping with cleanup, Devon attempted to call Amanda. No answer. Finally, after Devon finished some homework and was about to get ready for bed, she noticed that Amanda had sent a text. Eager to connect with a friend, she opened it.
Leave me alone. Tristin told me what you did. I saw it on MyPlace for myself. I’m blocking you. From my phone and from my life.
Devon considered texting back but realized it was probably useless. Amanda had warned her not to get involved in something like this from the get-go. With the spin that Tristin had probably given it, Devon would look like an evil idiot. How could everything have gone sideways like this—and in just a few hours? O
f course, she knew the answer to that—she had let her guard down around a girl like Tristin. What a fool!
After a sleepless night, she had gotten up with a sore throat and a hoarse voice and decided to feign a bad case of laryngitis. Sweet Grandma Betty had been very sympathetic, insisting Devon should stay home and rest her vocal chords and drink chamomile tea. Of course, Devon knew that she was only postponing the inevitable. But why not enjoy some downtime while she was at it? Of course, her downtime was interrupted numerous times by all the text messages and phone calls her “friends” in the DG were making. It wasn’t until she was dumb enough to answer Bryn’s call that she was forced to lie. She did not feel the least bit good about it, but really, what could she do?
Just when she’d lost herself in a good chick flick, Cass and Em showed up. All full of energy and enthusiasm, they were determined to ransack her bedroom in search of the missing flash drive. Naturally, Devon had not been cooperative. The truth was she’d simply wanted to dig a hole and crawl into it. She knew she’d let her friends down and she hated herself for continuing to deceive them. At least her lies had gotten them out of her hair temporarily. However, she knew she wouldn’t be able to hold them off for long. She also knew that Grandma Betty expected her to go to school in the morning.
As Devon was printing out a book report that was due this week, she made a decision. She was going to come clean. First with her friends. Then with Mrs. Dorman in regard to Felicia. After that . . . well, she’d tell the truth and she’d accept the consequences. As she got ready for bed, she wondered if she would end up in juvie hall. That’s something her mom used to threaten her with. It might not be that bad. The worst thing, she thought as she climbed into bed, would be the look on Grandma Betty’s face. Just tonight, as Devon was helping to clean up the dinner dishes, Grandma Betty had made a sweet little speech.
“You are going to be something very special someday, Devon. I can just feel it in my bones. God has some very big plans for you. I’m so grateful I’ve been able to play a small part in it.” Then she’d hugged her.
Naturally, Devon had been speechless. She’d simply thanked Grandma Betty, then insisted on finishing up the kitchen chores on her own. “Go put your feet up,” she’d told her.
Now as Devon lay in bed, she wished she’d taken the time to tell Grandma Betty about the mess she’d gotten herself into this week. After opening up her home and her heart, didn’t Grandma Betty deserve that much? So Devon got out of bed and tiptoed down the hall, but seeing no strip of light under Grandma Betty’s door, she tiptoed back to her room.
As she got back into bed, she remembered how often Grandma Betty had assured Devon that no problem was too big for God. She’d told Devon again and again that she could go to God and tell him anything and that he would answer. Devon decided to give it a try. After years of avoiding God, it still felt a little strange to go running to him just because she was in trouble.
“Dear God,” she whispered in the darkness. “I know I don’t talk to you real regularly—I haven’t since I was a little girl. But I want to get back into the habit. Anyway, I realize I’ve made some big messes in my life. Sometimes my whole life just seems like one great big mess. Somehow I always manage to slip out of them. But I think the mess I made this week might be the one that gets me. The crazy thing is that I was actually trying to help someone this time. Does that make any difference to you? Anyway, I’d really like to keep going to school at Northwood. I’d like to keep my friends in the DG. I’d like to be able to continue living here at Grandma Betty’s too. But I know I need to tell the truth tomorrow. I need to help clear Felicia’s name. Please, help me out of this mess. Amen.”
After a surprisingly good night’s sleep, Devon got up early in the morning. The first thing she did was text Em and Cass, saying that she needed to talk to them before school. Cass texted back, offering to give Devon a ride. Next, Devon sat down at the breakfast table with Grandma Betty, explaining about what she’d done in regard to the MyPlace page and Jessica Burns. “I never intended for it to really go out,” she told her. “It was only to vindicate Felicia. But it all kinda backfired on me.”
It took some time and convincing for Grandma Betty to grasp the seriousness of Devon’s situation. “It might even be illegal,” Devon confessed. “I’m not totally sure about that. But I do know that it’s enough to get me expelled from school. I plan to tell the truth first thing when I get to school. So you never know . . .”
Grandma Betty came over and put her arms around Devon. “I’m going to be praying for you this morning. I’m going to pray that God brings goodness out of what seems bad. He can do it.”
Devon brightened a little. “I prayed last night,” she said quietly. “It still feels a little awkward to go running to God—I mean after all the years I spent avoiding him. But it feels pretty good too.”
Grandma Betty patted Devon’s back. “This is just the beginning of something good. I know it. I have confidence in God, and I have confidence in you.”
Devon didn’t feel the least bit confident as she climbed into the backseat of Cassidy’s car. “I have the flash drive,” she immediately told them. “I’m going to turn it over to Mrs. Dorman this morning. But first I have to tell you guys the truth.”
“The truth about what?” Emma asked.
“I did something pretty stupid to get those photos off of Tristin’s computer,” she admitted. She told them the whole sordid tale.
“You made a MyPlace page smearing someone else?” Cassidy asked in a horrified tone.
“Like you thought two wrongs made a right?” Emma added.
“I know. I already told you guys, it was stupid. Really, really stupid, okay?”
“No kidding.” Cassidy slowly shook her head as she turned into the school parking lot.
“Why did you trust Tristin in the first place?” Emma demanded. “We told you how she’d bullied Felicia and you knew she’d done the MyPlace page on her. You should’ve known she could pull something like this.”
“I thought I was smarter than her,” Devon confessed.
“And look where that got you.” Cassidy pulled into a parking space.
No one said a word as they got out of the car and trudged through the cold, damp fog toward the school. Devon felt like she was on her way to the executioners. She was a bit dismayed that her friends hadn’t been just slightly more sympathetic.
“Well, I just wanted you guys to know.” Devon pulled open the front door to the school. “Before the cops show up and haul me away.”
“Oh, that’s not going to happen.” Emma frowned at her. “Is it?”
“I don’t know.” Devon took in a deep breath. “Anyway, here goes.”
“Wait.” Cassidy put a hand on Devon’s shoulder. “Want us to come with you?”
“Why?” Devon was afraid to feel hopeful.
“So we can back up your story,” Cassidy told her.
“Yeah,” Emma agreed. “We’ll tell Mrs. Dorman that you really did what you did because you wanted to help Felicia.”
“Because we asked for your help,” Cassidy added.
“And that you never meant it to become a MyPlace page.”
“You guys will do that?”
“Yeah.” Cassidy linked arms with her. “Let’s go.”
After a short, nerve-wracking wait, the three girls were admitted into Mrs. Dorman’s office, and without hesitating, Devon handed over the flash drive and started to confess.
“Wait a minute, wait a minute.” Mrs. Dorman held up both hands. “Am I getting this right? You are telling me that you are guilty of doing the exact same thing that you’re accusing Tristin of doing?”
“Not on purpose.”
“You accidentally created a slanderous MyPlace page on a girl that you admit you can’t stand?” Mrs. Dorman was taking notes on a yellow legal pad.
“I know it sounds unbelievable, but I never meant for it to go up. Tristin is the one who put it up. I wasn’t even there.�
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“But you say that some of the material on the page originated on your computer?” She wrote this down too.
“Yes, but that’s because Tristin insisted I use my own laptop. She said that was the only way she could teach me. I went along because I needed to win her trust. I knew I’d have to get her to leave me alone in her room long enough to get this.” Devon picked up the purple flash drive.
“This is going to turn into your word against Tristin’s.” Mrs. Dorman looked up from her notes with a doubtful expression.
“Look,” Devon said. “Why do you think I came in here and confessed to you?”
Mrs. Dorman frowned. “I’m not sure.”
Devon held out the drive. “I wanted to clear Felicia’s name so she can return to school and her normal life. I decided to do that even though I knew that Tristin had threatened to blackmail me.” Devon grabbed her purse now, reaching for her cell phone. “I still have a few texts from Tristin on the night it all went down. She was very careful with her words, but if you take a look, you might get the gist.” She opened the texts, showing them to Mrs. Dorman. “See? She was getting ready to threaten me with blackmail, but she only wanted to talk on the phone.”
“Yes.” Mrs. Dorman nodded. “That sounds believable enough. But people usually blackmail others by threatening to expose corruption, not innocence.”
Cassidy stood now. “If that was true, why would Devon come in here like this? Why would she risk her neck when she could just sit back silently and get away with it? Why would she set herself up to get in serious trouble unless she truly was innocent?”
“That’s right.” Emma stood too. “We believe Devon is telling the truth. We believe she’s risking everything just to help Felicia.”
“And we think that’s very admirable.” Cassidy smiled at Devon.
“It’s clear you girls are loyal to each other.” Mrs. Dorman turned to Devon. “May I keep these things? Your phone and your laptop?”
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