Ashley Cooper's Arc

Chapter 14 of 37

Mike's words stayed with Ashley all morning. Beat them by being better, not by being meaner. She wanted to prove she'd changed. So when the student council posted the vote for prom committee chair, she saw her chance. She would win it fairly, in front of everyone. But the twins, Susie and Lucie, had already signed up too. And Ashley knew they wouldn't play fair. By lunch, she understood how far they'd go. Susie and Lucie moved through the cafeteria with their one body and two blonde heads, whispering to every table. The word spread fast. Ashley was cursed. Her bone arm was a bad omen. Anyone who voted for her would catch her rot. Students who'd smiled at Ashley that morning now pulled their trays away. Ashley felt the heat climb her neck. She'd promised herself she'd stay calm. She'd promised Mike. But two years of hiding, and now this, cracked something open. She stormed toward the library to breathe. Inside, Mrs. Poo-Poo sat at her desk, thin and stiff in her white blouse. The strict librarian had once filed a report to get Ashley in trouble. Now she barely glanced up. A wet, rumbling sound broke from her chair. She winced and shifted her heels. Then she rose and clicked toward the shelves, leaving her desk empty. That's when Ashley saw it. Tucked under the desk sat a diaper, its padding lumpy and stained brown, a foul drip hanging from one edge. Ashley didn't ask how it got there. Her hand closed around it before her brain caught up. The twins had followed her, grinning through the library doors. Ashley walked straight at them. She swung her bone arm and threw. The soiled diaper burst against Susie and Lucie's chests. Brown smeared down their black dress. Both heads screamed. The smell filled the room. Students crowded the doorway and howled with laughter. Ashley stood frozen. She'd won the room. And she'd lost everything she told Mike she'd become. Mike pushed through the crowd. He looked at the twins, dripping and sobbing. Then he looked at Ashley, the empty diaper still in her bone hand. He didn't yell. That was worse. "I told you," he said quietly. "Better, not meaner." He shook his head. "You didn't even try." He walked out. Ashley chased him into the hall. "Mike, wait, please—" He turned. His face was set hard. "You know what? I'm taking your mom to prom. At least Mandy wouldn't throw a diaper at somebody." The words hit like a slap. Ashley's mouth opened, but nothing came. Down the hall, students repeated it, laughing, spreading it already. Ashley dropped the diaper. Her chance to prove she'd changed was gone. She hadn't just lost the committee. She'd lost the one boy who saw all of her. And now he was aiming to hurt her the same way she kept hurting everyone else.