Fear clenched my chest, squeezing out every trace of breath until all I could do was gasp. Of course I could be held liable if something went wrong. I hadn’t thought of it, because it’d started out as some fun. I’d felt protected by my anonymity. And no one had raised any concerns to me before.

Not that many people had exactly known.

“What are you proposing?” Mom asked in a grim voice. This was her boss she was talking to, I remembered. I was sure she didn’t want to throw me under the bus, but she wasn’t at liberty to scream or swear or say he was being ridiculous. Especially when I was the one in the wrong.

Stan turned his attention to me now. “Darcy, do you have anything to say for yourself? Is there anything I might be unaware of?”

I swallowed thickly, and tipped my head back to try to suck the welling tears back into my head. “I’m sorry. I was just trying to help people.”

Stan sighed and clasped his hands together on the desk, on top of a notepad. “Usually, when a student has a record as clean as Darcy’s, we would be willing to let it go with a warning or detention. But not only has Darcy breached multiple rules, she has put the school’s reputation at risk, and has put other students at risk. At this stage we have no choice but to recommend a two-day suspension, effective immediately. Darcy can collect her things. We’ll see her here again on Monday.”

Suspended.

It almost sounded fake to me. Like this was a really bad dream I was about to wake up from. I couldn’t be suspended. I’d never even been called in here to be scolded before. I was always so aware of what the teachers wanted from me, of not embarrassing Mom. Of not being the scholarship kid dragging down the standard.

But no one laughed. No one said, “Actually, no, that’s too harsh.” Even as the bell sounded to signal a change of period, and Mom walked me out to my locker, I half-expected her to whisper that I needed to just wait in the car while she sorted this out.

But she didn’t. She just stood there, teeth gritted, while I filled my backpack with everything I’d need for the next couple of days at home.

The disappointment radiating off her settled over me like a fog, clouding my brain and blurring my vision. My back burned with the stares of passing students. I could hear their whispers. No one stopped to ask what was wrong, though. Not that I blamed them, with my mom standing in her power stance, arms folded and jaw set.