And the damage was already done.
The principal's eyes swept the room slowly, white flour covering desks and uniforms. Rosaline was cradling her wrist and sobbing, putting on the whole show, the blonde Daphne was on her knees gasping for breath, and phones are still frozen mid-record.
Mr Franklin placed a palm to his forehead, his mouth slightly apart. " I just asked a question." he said quietly.
The principal's gaze finally settled on them. " Get to my office Immediately, all of you."
Daphne released Rosaline completely. Her fingers trembled as she stepped back, adrenaline draining from her limbs all at once. The moment her hands were free, the weight of everything crashed into her chest and her hand started shaking.
What had she done? In the moment she had not been thinking. Her mother will be disappointed if she knew she was involved in a fight. She had always warned her against it.
Tessa reached for her wrist briefly, muttering a silent I've got you.
Ernest hovered near the wall, face pale. "Sir, they were being-"
"That will be discussed later," the principal cut in.
The walk to the office felt endless.
The girls were lined up in the principal's office, tight tension filling the air. All covered in flour like they were cosplaying for Halloween. Ernest stood a little in front of them, arms folded behind his back, his posture stiff and unyielding, liike a soldier guarding a fragile ceasefire.
Daphne stood slightly behind Tessa, her shoulders drawn inward, and eyes fixed on the floor tiles. Rosaline leaned against a cabinet, one of her heels resting lazily against the wood. Sharon stood beside her, her chin lifted with defiance etched into every sharp line of her face. And the blonde Daphne sat on the arm of a chair she hadn't been invited to use, her legs crossed with a bored expression as if this was all an inconvenience and not a consequence.
Mr. Franklin arrived late. They heard him before pausing in the corridor, his faint jovial voice as he addressed another teacher. When he finally entered his office, he shut the door with a deliberate firmness and let out a long breath, as though already tired of them.
He didn't look at the girls immediately. Instead, he walked to his desk, rearranged a pile of files, took off his glasses and set them down carefully. Then an uncomfortable silence stretched.
"What you did today," he said at last, voice calm but edged with warning, "has consequences that go far beyond this room."
No one spoke.
Mr. Franklin raised his head slowly, eyes sweeping across them. "You are students of this humble school. Your actions reflect on your teachers, your classmates, and yourselves. And yet.." he paused, "not one of you seems eager to explain why we are here."
Still no one said a word.
The principal's jaw tightened. "What started all of this?"
Tessa stepped forward immediately. "Yesterday," she said, pointing sharply at Rosaline, Sharon, and the blonde Daphne, "these three cornered my friend and poured milk all over her, and tore her uniform this morning."
"That's a lie," Sharon cut in at once. "Absolute rubbish, sir. You were the one who stormed into the class today while she was trying to throw someone out the window."
"We didn't touch her," Rosaline added smoothly.
"That's not-" Ernest began.
"And you!" the blonde Daphne snapped, pointing at Tessa. "You lost control like a mad person. Everyone saw that."
Tessa laughed, in a sharp and humorless way. "You touched her chest!"
Mr. Franklin raised a hand. "Enough-"
"She ripped her button off!" Tessa pressed on. "I saw it!"
Daphne grabbed her arm. "Tessa, stop," she whispered urgently. "Please."
Rosaline smiled. "See? Even your friend knows when to stay quiet, you're being overly dramatic."
The class president stepped forward cautiously, raising his hand in a placating gesture. "Sir, if I may-"
Rosaline shoved him aside with her shoulder. "No one asked you."
He stumbled back, startled. " Rosaline that is an unacceptable behavior," He snapped.
"And what about hers?" Sharon shot back. "She threatened to push someone out a window!"
"She wouldn't have if you hadn't touched her!" Tessa yelled.
Mr. Franklin slammed his palm against the desk. "I said enough!"
For half a second, the room froze. Tessa seized the moment, tugging at Daphne's shirt and holding it up. "Sir, look. Her button was torn. I saw it happen."
Daphne pulled back , her eyes suddenly starting burning. "I'm fine," she said quickly. "I don't want this to turn into something else."
Rosaline laughed. "How noble."
Tessa took a step forward again, rage spilling over. "You don't get to humiliate her and pretend nothing happened!"
Rosaline shoved back. The movement was sudden and violent. Their struggle knocked into the desk near the window. There was a sharp crack, followed by glass splintering, and fragments scattering across the floor as the window shattered.
The sound silenced everyone.
Mr. Franklin snapped. "ENOUGH!" His voice thundered through the room. "Sit. Down. All of you. NOW."
The door opened abruptly, and their homeroom teacher rushed in with a pale face, eyes darting from the broken window to the girls.
"Oh my God," she breathed, hand brushing her hair back.
Mr. Franklin straightened. "Call their parents." He was so done with their tantrums.
The wait was unbearable, nobody mentioned a word, just constant exchange of glares. Minutes stretched into an hour. Daphne's knee bounced uncontrollably. Tessa cracked her knuckles as shevpacedcupband down. And Rosaline whispered something to Sharon and she laughed softly. The blonde Daphne kept staring at her nails.
When their parents arrived, the room was filled with overlapping voices. Excuses, denials, Justifications.
"They're good girls…" "This is being blown out of proportion…" "This will affect their records…"
Mr. Franklin didn't budge. "I will not negotiate," he said coldly. "What happened was dangerous and disrespectful. All involved will be suspended for the rest of the week."
Outside, Daphne's mother brushed her shoulder sharply, like she was dusting flour off fabric.
"I told you to compose yourself," she said in a tight tone "You're a girl. You don't go around inviting trouble. Was that too much to ask?"
"I didn't, -ah!" she yelped as her mother hit her hard.
"I didn't raise you to cause scenes," her mother continued. Then she stopped, hands settling on Daphne's shoulders, eyes softening despite herself. "And what is this nonsense about sleeping with a teacher? Daphne… did anyone harass you?"
Daphne looked up. Her mother's face was drawn with worry, real and raw worry.
"You know you can tell me anything," she said quietly. "Keeping quiet doesn't protect you."
"The girls are just saying whatever. It's nothing like that." She reassured, walking ahead.
Across the parking lot, Tessa waved exaggeratedly, laughing as her brother opened the car door for her. You look ridiculous with all that powder, she mouthed.
Daphne laughed back weakly. " Whose fault?" She mouthed.
Her mother glanced at her. "Is suspension funny to you?"
"No," Daphne said softly, sliding into the car.
As they drove toward her mother's store instead of home, her mother kept talking. Daphne listened, watching the road blur past, already dreading the questions she'd have to dodge at the shop. But she didn't complain.
She just wondered, Why did being a girl always come with rules, but never with explanations? For how long can she stay quiet before silence starts to erase her? And if she kept choosing peace over truth, who would she become in the end?