As expected, the school chose to play it cool regarding the clash between Mike and Kermit.
The principal's office simply had Ms. Elizabeth, the homeroom teacher, give Mike a slap-on-the-wrist punishment of one week of detention, and that was that.
This weak disciplinary action was clearly a move to protect Mike. Consequently, his reputation at school shot up even higher. Now, even the school's "tough crowd" knew there was a junior in the eleventh grade you definitely didn't want to mess with.
Meanwhile, ever since Mike had given her that private warning, Regina's jealousy had been burning hotter than ever, especially seeing Mike and Katie acting like a couple every day.
Finally, on Friday at noon while everyone was at lunch, Regina seized her moment. She scattered hundreds of pre-prepared flyers throughout the hallways and every corner of the academic building.
The content of these flyers was none other than photocopies from Regina's "Burn Book"—the notebook where she recorded everyone's dirty little secrets.
One could only imagine the chaos that would erupt once these private scandals went public.
The fallout was going to be so massive that even Regina didn't want to take the heat for it. To clear herself of any suspicion, the "Queen Bee" had ruthlessly dedicated an entire page to trashing herself, mixing her own "secrets" in with the rest of the rumors before spreading them.
When the students returned from lunch, they found the hallways littered with paper. As they realized what was written on them, the building exploded.
"I can't believe you were trying to steal my boyfriend!"
"You total scumbag! You were cheating on me this whole time?!"
"Oh man, look at this—Principal Tom's hair is actually a toupee..."
---
Amidst screams of rage and shock, the hallways turned into a battlefield. Best friends, "bros," and couples who had their secrets exposed turned into bitter enemies instantly, with some even coming to blows.
Regina's "leaks" generally fell into two categories. The first category exposed bad behavior: like someone "snaking" a friend's crush or someone playing multiple people at once. The second category exposed embarrassing personal secrets: like someone wearing a hairpiece or someone lying about their weight.
Of course, no matter the category, having your business aired out in public was a recipe for social suicide.
"Mike, your face is on this one..." Lena gasped, pulling a flyer off the hallway wall.
Most of the other flyers just listed names and bullet points of their "crimes." Mike's, however, was special. It featured a full-color photo of him, with the word "PLAYER" written in bold red marker across the top. Below that, in smaller print, were labels like "Heartbreaker" and "Womanizer."
Regina had clearly put in extra effort to target Mike.
Lena looked at the flyer and then turned to Mike with a very strange expression.
"Lena, I can explain..." Mike hadn't expected things to go this far.
"You don't have to explain anything to me." Lena shook her head, looking like she was suppressed a laugh as she pointed down the hall. "You should probably look over there instead!"
In the chaotic hallway, besides the students brawling over their secrets, there was a crowd of onlookers. Some of the girls had discovered Mike's "special edition" flyers and, instead of being mad, they looked like they were trying to keep them as souvenirs.
"Dammit!" Mike realized he didn't have time to explain to Lena. He dove into the crowd to start snatching up his flyers.
---
Just as Mike managed to reclaim a bunch of them, the school administration finally caught wind of the situation. Principal Tom arrived on the scene with a swarm of teachers in tow.
Right then, a flyer with Principal Tom's name on it drifted off the wall and landed right in his hand.
After reading it, the Principal's face turned beet red—he was so angry his toupee nearly flew off.
"Tim! Get everyone together and collect every single one of these flyers right now!" Principal Tom barked at the Dean of Students.
"Oh, right—on it!" Tim Meadows replied, looking a bit dazed.
He was holding a flyer with his own name on it, claiming that "Dean Tim" had a secret crush on Ms. Sharon. Tim was in his thirties and had never had a girlfriend; the school rumor mill usually claimed he wasn't into women at all.
From that perspective, this flyer wasn't exactly bad news for him.
He stole a quick glance at the expressionless Ms. Sharon, then led a group of PE teachers and security guards to start cracking down on the rowdy students.
After thirty minutes, Tim had collected a massive stack of flyers. The troublemakers were rounded up and forced to stand against the wall.
Seeing things finally under control, Principal Tom breathed a sigh of relief. He took the stack of flyers and whispered to Tim, "I'm leaving the rest of this to you. Do not let this get any bigger."
"Got it," Tim nodded understandingly.
But just as the Principal was about to leave, a team of law enforcement officers burst into the school.
"Excuse me, which one of you is Ms. Sharon?" the lead officer asked sternly. He was fully geared up.
"I'm Sharon. Is there a problem?" Ms. Sharon stepped forward.
"You are suspected of purchasing and possessing illegal substances. Please cooperate with our investigation." The officer signaled his team to surround her.
At the same time, a female officer began to search her.
"What is going on here?" Tim rushed to Ms. Sharon's side, questioning the officers.
The lead officer didn't say much; he simply pulled out one of the flyers. It listed Ms. Sharon's name and her alleged "crimes."
"This has to be a mistake! I'll stake my reputation on it—Ms. Sharon is not that kind of person," Tim said frantically.
Given Ms. Sharon's position, if she were actually linked to illegal substances, the consequences would be catastrophic.
"We are following standard procedure. Please do not obstruct us." The officer offered no further explanation as they escorted the bewildered Ms. Sharon toward the faculty offices.
"Wait!"
Seeing Ms. Sharon being taken away, Tim looked even more anxious and tried to follow.
"Stay here and handle the students. I'll keep an eye on things over there..." Principal Tom called Tim back with a heavy expression.
Principal Tom had run Medford High well for years. Even though he was getting older, he still had hopes for a promotion. With this kind of scandal hitting the school, he was the most stressed man in the building.
Not long after the principal left, Katie arrived at the scene with her two best friends, Damian and Janis.
When Katie heard the rumor that Ms. Sharon was being taken away because of "illegal substances," she immediately made the connection to her own past actions.
She realized with a jolt of horror that her own careless words might have accidentally framed Ms. Sharon.
Just then, the officers finished searching the office and led Ms. Sharon back out.
"What happened?" Tim rushed up to ask.
Ms. Sharon now understood exactly what she was being accused of. She looked much worse than when she had left a few minutes ago.
In response to Tim's question, Ms. Sharon just shook her head, looking utterly defeated.
It made sense—any teacher would be devastated to realize their own students had reported them for something so serious.