Ashley Cooper's Arc

Chapter 19 of 37

By Monday the whole school knew. Peggy's photo had spread all weekend. Students called Ashley "poop girl" in the halls. She walked to her locker with her chin up, but the whispers followed her. If she couldn't kill the rumor fast, no boy would stand near her. Not Mike. Not anyone. She had one day to fix it. At lunch, Ashley found Peggy at a table with the twins. Susie and Lucie were the beautiful blonde girls who shared one body and two heads. They had fought Ashley for the top spot since they arrived. Now they leaned close to Peggy, laughing. One head grinned at Ashley. "There she is," Lucie said. "Smell her from here." Susie snickered. Peggy just stared at her tray, cheeks red. Ashley kept calm. She would not throw anything this time. "Peggy," she said. "You know those shirts weren't mine. A woman ruined them. You saw the truth and posted a lie." Peggy opened her mouth. But the twins spoke first. "Nobody cares," Susie said. "You're the poop girl now." Students laughed. Ashley felt her face burn. She turned and walked out before the anger won. She pushed into the girls' bathroom to breathe. The door banged open behind her. The twins had followed. They shoved her into a stall and held the door shut with their weight. "Poop girl," they chanted together, two voices, one grin. Ashley pounded the metal. "Let me out!" They only laughed harder and rattled the latch. The outer door swung open. "What is this noise?" A sharp voice cut through. Mrs. Poo-Poo, the strict librarian in her white blouse and pencil skirt, stood in the doorway. She had once tried to remove Ashley from council, then dated her father before it ended. The twins froze. Mrs. Poo-Poo pointed one thin finger. "Off that door. Now." They stepped back. Ashley burst out of the stall. Then a loud, wet sound filled the room. Mrs. Poo-Poo's gas echoed off the tile. The twins wrinkled their noses and fled, gagging. Mrs. Poo-Poo did not flinch. "Bodies make noise," she said flatly. "So do stomachs. There is no shame in it." She looked at Ashley over her glasses. "Whatever they say about your digestion, child, it is nothing. Half this school has worse. Hold your head up." Ashley almost laughed. The woman who ruined her shirts had just saved her. And she was right. Ashley walked back into the cafeteria. She climbed onto a chair. "Yes, I kept ruined shirts," she called out. "A sick woman stained them. That's all. Peggy lied for laughs." She pointed at Peggy, who shrank. "Mrs. Poo-Poo says stomachs are nothing to hide. She's right." Some students nodded. The laughter died. The rumor lost its bite. But as she stepped down, Ashley saw Peggy slip out the side door. Peggy looked hurt, then angry. She had been named a liar in front of everyone. And she pulled out her phone again.