He clicks on it, waiting for the thumbnails of all the photos to load. One is a picture of Jacob Griffin, others appear to be screenshots of articles. I share a worried look with Mason, my pulse kicking into gear. A flicker of doubt nudges my mind, and for a fleeting second, I wonder if I really did have something to do with what happened to him. Having a folder dedicated to the incident certainly doesn’t look good.

But then Mason enlarges one of the screenshots, and the main image is a picture of Jacob standing next to Zoe. He’s grinning proudly, holding a large trophy, while Zoe looks robotic, clasping a smaller, silver trophy. Close race between Pender Falls High juniors to be top of the class, the headline reads.

Wordlessly, we scroll through the rest of the photos, which all detail similar situations, with Jacob and Zoe duking it out to claim the title of the brightest in the class. If nothing else, this proves she could’ve had a motive if she was the one who intentionally harmed Jacob. I remember the way she framed it when she rationalized why it could’ve been me, trying to make it out like I wanted to get rid of the competition when I wasn’t even competing with him in the first place.

“This looks like it’s a conversation between you and Zoe,” Mason says, voice low.

I lean closer, squinting at the screenshot. The grey bubbles of text appear to be Zoe, and the first message is either a plea or a demand, sent at midnight.

Delete the video

Allie

I’m serious

You know what I have on you

My reply came a couple of hours later.

This is worse, Zoe

But she was undeterred.

You were there, too, Allie

And I can make them think it was all you

That’s all the screenshot shows of the conversation, and I sit back, exhaling, unsure if I want to see any more. Mason hesitates before moving to the next photo, seemingly trying to gauge my reaction. I run my clammy palms down the length of my jeans, my knee bouncing nervously.

“It’s like I was trying to build up a defense against her.”

“Or a prosecution.”

“But why? Who was I going to give this to?”

He shrugs. “Maybe it was just blackmail to have on hand. Look, this must be the video she was talking about.”

The thumbnail is a blurry image of what looks like the floor of the cafeteria. After Mason hits Play, I catch sight of my Blundstones before the camera pans up to Zoe. Judging by the angle of the video, she doesn’t know she’s being filmed.

“What are you doing?” I hear a furious whisper that sounds like mine, but it’s hard to make out over the buzz of the crowd in the room.