Ashley Cooper's Arc

Chapter 18 of 37

Talking to her father had helped. Ashley slept better now. But Mike still avoided her in the halls. Words alone wouldn't win him back. She needed him to see the new Ashley up close. So she asked her science teacher to put them in the same lab group. He agreed. He paired her with Mike, Peggy, and Tyler. Saturday night, the group came to the brick house with green shutters. Ashley set out snacks on the kitchen table. She had a plan. Be calm. Be kind. Let Mike watch her stay steady, even under pressure. The plan died fast. Mike barely looked at her. He turned his whole body toward Peggy, the nerdy girl with round glasses and braces. Peggy blinked, surprised. "You really think my project idea is smart?" she asked. Mike leaned closer. "Smartest one here," he said. Ashley gripped her pen. Her skeleton fingers rattled against the wood. She kept quiet. Screaming had cost her before. Then things got stranger. Ashley turned to Tyler, the football captain with the blonde mohawk and the earring. He wasn't looking at the worksheet. Danny had walked in with more soda. Tyler stood up. He crossed the room. And he kissed Ashley's father on the mouth. Danny dropped the soda. "Oh," he said softly. He didn't pull away. Ashley stared. Nothing made sense anymore. She stood and grabbed the empty snack bowl, needing one small thing to control. "I'll get more chips," she said. While she was gone, Peggy wandered upstairs to find the bathroom. She opened the wrong door. Ashley's closet. Inside hung the ruined shirts, the ones Mrs. Poo-Poo had stained brown weeks ago. Ashley had never thrown them out. Peggy came back down holding one. "Ashley," she said, loud enough for everyone. "Why are all your shirts covered in poop?" The room went silent. Mike finally looked at Ashley. But not the way she wanted. "It's not what you think," Ashley said. "A woman lived here. She had a condition. She ruined them." Peggy already had her phone out. "That's so gross," she said, thumbs flying. By Monday the whole school believed Ashley Cooper had diarrhea so bad she stored the shirts in her closet. The group left. Ashley sat alone at the table. The whole plan had blown up. But before Mike walked out, he stopped at the door. He looked at the ruined shirt still on the floor. Then at Ashley. "You didn't yell at Peggy," he said. "Old you would have." Ashley shrugged. "Old me lost you." Mike was quiet a moment. "Maybe you did change," he said. "But the whole school's about to laugh at you tomorrow. And I don't know if I want to stand next to that." He left. Ashley had proven she had changed. Mike saw it. But now a new rumor would spread by morning, and Mike still kept his distance, unsure whether being with her was worth the mockery coming.