Real by Carol Cujec (snow like ashes .txt) 📕

turned to me. “Charity, may I be your helper in the meeting?”

Mom supported me. I typed, Yes please.

“Thank you, Ana,” Mom said. “I would probably make her more nervous.”

Ana squeezed my shoulders and peered into my eyes for what seemed like forever. She whispered, her voice ever calm, “Now is the time, Charity. You are ready.”

I felt her peaceful energy surge through me, and my hands shook a little less.

Mom checked her watch. “Now or never.”

Celia gave me a thumbs-up. “All will be well, querida.” Then she swung open the door. About a hundred people sat in the audience facing the committee members, who were sitting at a table on the stage. I sensed a simmering anger in the room. Three frowning adults sat at the front table next to Mr. Jergen.

My mind flashed to the snow globe nearly smashing his skull.

Oh no.

As we stepped forward, the auditorium erupted in chatter.

“Quiet, please,” Mr. Jergen said, holding up his hand. He motioned to the front row. “Please have a seat.”

I marched down the aisle holding Dad’s hand, my eyes focused down on the pigeon-gray carpet to avoid the angry eyes around me. I could not let them break Ana’s bubble of calm. Then my mind flashed to the disaster of Elvi’s wedding.

I thought that was the most embarrassing moment of my life. Maybe that was only a warm-up act.

I sat in a cold plastic seat, Dad still holding my hand and Ana on my other side.

Darcy and her parents, a few seats down, did not even look at us. Mr. Warner wore his usual grumpy frown. Mrs. Bling-Bling spread her lips wide like a hyena ready to sink its teeth into a rotting corpse.

Ana kept breathing deeply, loud enough so I could hear.

I closed my eyes, and my breath fell in line with hers.

Inhale hope. Exhale fear.

Hearing my name, I peeked one eye open and saw Celia talking to the three committee members. Her hands held my progress reports, sample assignments, and statements from teachers.

After a few minutes, my restless body started to jiggle. No puzzle to work on. No fidget to twist.

I shifted in my seat. My shoulders started shrugging.

Shrug. Shrug. Shrug. Shrug.

If I had a kettle explosion in front of the committee, that would be the end of it. My feet shuffled on the floor.

Shuffle. Shrug. Shuffle. Shrug.

Ana squeezed my hand in a slow, even rhythm.

Jergen shook his head at Celia and pointed to a chair.

He stepped up to the podium and spoke into the microphone. “Quiet, please as we begin this hearing.”

Celia sank into her seat next to Mom, and the room fell silent.

Jergen smiled at an older woman wearing a mint-green jacket and heavy wooden bracelets. She wore reading glasses and took notes on a yellow pad.

“That woman is the district superintendent,” Ana whispered. “She doesn’t usually participate in investigation committees.”

I tried to judge the superintendent’s mood, but I could not read her at all. My sixth sense was not working. Friend or enemy? I had no evidence for a hypothesis.

Jergen clenched the podium with both hands as if it might float away. His lips turned down, and he spoke in a deep voice. “The committee is here to address the claim that Miss Charity Wood and/or her aides have violated the school’s policy on academic honesty. Additionally, she is accused of disruptive behavior that puts other students at risk. Ultimately, this committee must determine whether Miss Wood should be removed from Lincoln Junior High and placed in a school better equipped to handle her . . . special needs.”

He turned to Darcy’s mom. “We invite the first witness, Mrs. Mitzy Warner.”

Mrs. Bling-Bling smoothed her flamingo-pink skirt and walked up to the podium. She turned to the committee members and flashed a glamorous grin.

“In the course of this school year, Miss Wood has disrupted classes and assaulted several students, including my daughter and her own cousin.”

“What is she talking about?” Celia whispered to Mom and Dad.

Mrs. Bling-Bling picked up a remote control and pointed it at the screen behind her. “I present you with Exhibit A.”

Five seconds of security video played on a repeating loop—Mason grabbing me by the jacket. Me hitting him in the face. Blood draining from his nose.

The audience inhaled a gasp.

“Shocking, isn’t it?” she said.

Where did she get this? How did she know?

“Hey!” Brave Mason stood up from his chair in the row behind me. “She couldn’t help that. It wasn’t her fault.”

Mrs. Bling-Bling snapped at him. “Sit down and be quiet, young man. Has no one taught you respect?”

Aunt Kiki pulled Mason back down into his seat.

So far . . . so bad.

Mrs. Bling-Bling smiled again to the committee. “It has also been determined by the board that Miss Wood’s assistants have been completing work on her behalf, leaving the school open to accusations of fraud.”

My head, my shoulder, my neck, and my arm jerked as if I was being hit by stones.

Mrs. Bling-Bling continued. “This is particularly disturbing in the case of Miss Wood’s research paper for English class, which was found to contain several plagiarized passages. In spite of all this, she is eligible to compete for a spot on the school’s honor roll and on their basketball team. She is, frankly, a first-class embarrassment for the school. Is this the way we want Lincoln represented?”

“I object. That is not true!”

I turned to see Stuart pointing his finger at her. The room hissed, but my mind focused on her words.

First-class embarrassment . . . Is this the way we want Lincoln represented?

Could it be her?

I looked over at Darcy. Her face frowned. I saw her reach into her mom’s purse and pull out a sparkly phone. Darcy scrolled and tapped, scrolled and tapped her mom’s phone.

Was it her all along?

Mason poked me from behind.

“Those are the same lines. The exact same lines from the gossip app!”

Fear leaked sweat through every pore. Bright lights pierced my closed eyelids.

If Darcy’s mom was Sassygirl72, there was no way for me to prove it.

My body rocked hard.

Rockrockrockrockrock.

I let out