Missing Pages

Chapter 27: Scheming

I slowly entered our shared dining room, and plopped down across from my parents. My hands were literally shaking, I had never been in trouble before. They sat eerily still, sporting solemn faces.

"Heh heh...so... what's the stitch?" I squeaked.

"Enough with the reindeer games, you know what the 'stitch' is," my dad growled. Mother laid a hand on his chest, as if to calm him. "I've expected more out of our daughter. But now you've most definitely made a name for yourself, and for all the wrong reasons, too!"

"If anything, you're in the wrong! You guys haven't even explained to me what the problem is and you're already yelling!"

"The problem is, that your guidance counselor got word that you've been bullying someone. And just yesterday you decided to share offensive information for the whole world to see online!" my mother exclaimed.

"I haven't done such a thing! The only bullies are Carmen, Nina, and their gang! They've been finding ways to ruin my life on campus for weeks now! I can't even hang out with my own friends anymore because of their humiliating me!" I cried.

"Well, if they were really that much trouble, you would've alerted us sooner," states my dad.

"No one ever believes me. I've been getting blackmailed, made fun of on social media, and physically humiliated, yet no one shows me any pity." They were making me more and more mad by the second, and this migraine wasn't helping.

"Stop rubbing your temples like there's something wrong--"

"Something is wrong! I've got a stomach bug and my parents are too ignorant to see that I never posted anything offensive on the Internet! Maybe if you actually paid more attention, you could see that," I snapped.

"Owning up to your mistake is key in earning trust. You can't just expect us to let you off the hook the first time you get in trouble at school. This is serious! Do you know that this type of behavior damages the victim's mental perceptions permanently? They might not ever think any good of themselves after the stunt you've pulled," my mom says.

"And there's something else you need to own up to," my dad added, waiting for my response.

"Fine, fine. I admit it. I did steal that dude's bike. But it's been outside of the school for two days because he hitches rides with the cheerleaders."

"No... that wasn't it at all. You leaked all of our personal information on your Facebook page. From credit card numbers to account passwords, and your grandmother's will, none of our information is secure. Now we have set up new financial records and change all of our account passwords," my dad sighed.

"Why Jazz? Just why? How could you expect us to believe you when you're bullying people, stealing bikes, and releasing confidential information? And now you're trying to skip school, again this afternoon!"

"For the millionth time, I left early because I'm ill! And I never even signed up for a Facebook account! All I have is Twitter and Instagram." I flashed my download records in their faces, "See? That's impossible!"

"So you want us to believe that you locked yourself up in that room last night doing absolutely nothing?! Even the best children can't spend hours of time idle. And there's always the option of creating an account on the computer..." my mom pointed out.

My jaw dropped to the floor."Since when do people go on the computer for social media, when it's right here in front of you?!" I yelled.

"The point is that you will receive punishment, whether or not you like it. The school printed copies of the messages so you can view them."