What They Chose Not To SAY

The walk to Mr. Smith’s office felt longer than the school’s football field. My mind wouldn’t shut up — what had gone wrong this time?

Usually, being summoned here meant you’d done something worth writing your name in the school’s Hall of Shame or fame.

When Andrew and I stepped inside, the room was already staged like a courtroom. Three staff members sat in a neat row beside Mr. Smith, pens poised over open notebooks. He sat in the middle, silent, watching us the way a hawk watches a field mouse. If this were a trial, he was the judge.

And in the far corner, there was Nora.

My stomach flipped. That girl was a walking, talking pot of trouble.

“Nora, step outside. You’ll be called in shortly,” Miss Jane, our English teacher, told her. She gave Nora a look I couldn’t quite read — part pity, part warning.

The door clicked shut behind her.

“Alright,” Miss Jane said, her eyes moving between Andrew and me, “you’re going to be asked some simple questions.”

I muttered in my head, Let those questions be in my favour.

I glanced at Andrew to read his expression. Nothing. He stood there calm, like he was at roll call, not facing a disciplinary committee. Well, two could play that game. I straightened my back and locked my nerves down.

“Good day, sir. Good day, ma,” I greeted, my hands clasped behind me. My voice came out steadier than I felt.

Miss Jane folded her arms. “Olivia, you may be wondering why you’re here. The principal may have concluded your earlier case, but… further allegations have been raised against you. It’s now a matter for the staff committee.”

Allegations? My chest tightened.

She turned to Andrew. “In your written statement, you said Nora attacked you because you confronted her about something she said in the class group chat. Is that correct?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“And what exactly did she say that made you confront her?” another staff member asked, leaning forward.

Andrew’s gaze flicked to me. “When the whole class discovered why Olivia was suspended, Nora started calling her names.”

The curiosity in the room sharpened. Miss Jane’s voice was firm: “What names, Andrew?”

He took a breath. “She said Olivia was paying teachers off and… offering them favors for high marks.”

The words hit me like cold water down my spine. My jaw clenched before I could stop it.

The staff exchanged loaded glances. Mr. Smith rested his chin on his hand, studying me like I was a riddle he wasn’t sure he wanted to solve.

“Does she have any proof?” he asked.

Andrew shook his head. “No, sir. Olivia works hard, does all her assignments… even comes to school when she’s sick.”

The compliment barely softened the blow. Miss Jane’s voice turned sharp. “So, Olivia, have you ever given a teacher money, gifts, or… favors in exchange for marks?”

I stared at her. “No. Never. And if you’re going to ask Nora where she got that story, I’d like to know too. And which teachers she’s accusing, because this is beyond embarrassing.”

Mr. Smith sighed. “So, the group chat meant for schoolwork has turned into a gossip market?”

Miss Jane added, “Where some of you bring phones to class, spread lies, and even resort to violence?”

Their pens scratched over paper while Andrew and I stood there under the weight of their disapproval. Finally, Mr. Smith waved us toward the door.

“Go back to class. Nora will have her turn.”

*******

Back in the classroom, Mr. Ben’s disappointment hung heavier than the afternoon heat.

“We do not defame. We do not bully. And we do not take the law into our own hands,” he said. “Hopefully, by the time Nora returns, she’ll have learned her lesson.”

By the end of the day, word spread fast: Nora had been suspended on the spot.

I should’ve felt relieved. Instead, a bitter taste stayed in my mouth. The damage had already been done and it wasn’t Nora who had done the worst of it.

********

By the time the school gates came into view, I’d already decided I wasn’t speaking to either of them.

Footsteps caught up with me.

“Olivia!” Andrew’s voice, low and hesitant.

Lola was right beside him, her eyes flicking between my face and the ground like she couldn’t decide which was safer to look at.

They fell into step with me, but I didn’t slow down.

Andrew finally tried again. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you what happened.”

“We both are,” Lola added quickly. “We just… we thought it would hurt you more to hear it.”

I stopped so abruptly that they almost bumped into me. The street noise faded into the background; it was just the three of us now, standing in the sun’s dying light.

“You thought this”—I gestured vaguely toward the school behind us—“would hurt me less?” My voice was quiet, but the kind of quiet that made them freeze.

Andrew’s jaw tightened. Lola shifted from foot to foot.

“I don’t care what Nora or anyone else says about me,” I said, staring at them both. “I care that my friends, people I trust, looked me in the eye and lied to me.”

Lola’s lips parted like she wanted to explain, but nothing came out. Andrew shoved his hands in his pockets.

“I’m lucky my grades speak for themselves,” I went on. “Lucky this time it was enough to drop the case. But what happens next time? Do I have to guess whether you’re telling me the truth?”

No one spoke. Even the breeze had stopped.

I took a step back from them. “I don’t need friends who only fight for me. I need friends who trust me enough to let me fight with them.”

Their faces said they’d never seen me this cold before.

Before they could find the words to fix it, I turned and kept walking. I didn’t look back to see if they followed. Some silences are better left unbroken.