We ducked into a nearby alcove. I crossed my arms and waited.
“I know you think I’m the one who sent in those tips about you to Earl’s Whispers, but I’m not,” Hana said. “I would never do that to you.”
“Okay. I’m not sure why I should believe you, though,” I said.
“You don’t have to believe me, but it’s the truth. No one sent in a tip this time. Earl’s Whispers discovered the stuff about your boyfriend herself. I know who she is.”
“Who?”
“Kavita.”
I blinked.Kavita?I barely knew Kavita. She was in the guild and the game-dev team, but she was in grade eleven, and I’d never had a class with her. Why would she do that? “Holy shit.Kavitais Earl’s Whispers? How did you find out?”
“She told me after the post went up today. She thought I’d—I don’t know—be on her side or something.”
“Butwhy? Why would she do that to me? I’ve never done anything to Kavita.”
Hana shook her head. “It was just gossip, Samaya. She wasn’t out to get you. She was doing it for fun. You were apparently prime gossip fodder. She gossiped about me, Devin, and the rest of the school, too.”
I felt like I was going to throw up. She probably got a high off the likes. That account had caused me so much hurt going back to last year. When those pictures went up on Whispers in June of me crying and pleading to Devin not to break up with me, people were mocking me in the hallways until the last day of school.
And Kavita had done it all not to hurt me or anyone else, but just for fun. I didn’t know what to say.
I really, really hated this school.
“Devin told the principal,” Hana said.
“What?”
“Devin turned Kavita in. She’ll probably be suspended for cyberbullying.”
“Devindid.”
Hana nodded. “He was so pissed when I told him it was Kavita. Like ... he was going to punch someone. He said he never wanted to see you hurt like that, and he’d do anything to go back and do it differently.” She blinked, looking up at the empty stairwell.
“Seriously?” I couldn’t believe he would say that to Hana—his actual girlfriend. I was over Devin—was it possible he wasn’t over me?
Hana nodded. “He said, ‘We used to be duo goals, now look at us.’ I have no idea what he meant by that. He told off Jayden, too.”
I frowned. I was glad that he’d reported Kavita, at least. “Why did he tellJaydenoff?”
Hana met my eyes. “It was Jayden who sent in the picture of you at game dev. He apparently sent more than one tip to Earl’s Whispers about you. Jayden told Devin all about it today. I have no idea if Aimee knew.”
Aimee. My so-called best friend.
“I’m sorry, Samaya,” Hana said. She sounded sincere, at least.
I looked at Hana. “Thanks for telling me.” I did feel bad for her—she clearly thought her boyfriend still had feelings for me, yet she still told me all this. But I wasn’t about to comfort her.
I turned away and walked right out of the school.
I spent the entire bus ride home reciting pi in my head. I knew I would need to deal with everything, and I had every intention of telling Daniel about the Whispers post, but I just needed to escape it for a little while. I texted Daniel as soon as I was home, and told him I needed to talk to him. He called me right away.
“What is it? Did something happen in your game-dev meeting again?”
“No. Hang on, let me show you.” I sent him the screenshot of the Whispers post.
“Shit,” was all he said. I agreed wholeheartedly with his sentiment.
