Adam nodded again. “Agreed.”
“It doesn’t matter,” I cut in. “I’m going to Headmaster Sanders on Monday and telling him I’m quitting. Then I’ll never have to see Hunter again or worry about his stupid motives for blacklisting me.”
They both turned their faces to me. “Don’t do that,” Adam said, eyes beseechingly wide. “You belong at RFA, even if those assholes don’t think so. I know it’s hard, but I really don’t want to see them push you out.”
“Me neither,” Trina said. “Besides, I think it will get better.”
I arched an eyebrow. “Really? After what happened tonight, you think it will get better for me?”
“Just hear me out,” she said, lifting her palms. “Most of the students at school fall in line and join in with the bullying because they’re scared they’ll be next if they defy the Princes’ orders. But that doesn’t mean they want to do it.”
“They certainly seemed to want it tonight,” I muttered, twisting my hands on the table.
“That’s not entirely true,” she said. “Remember that guy who apologized to you at the drinks table earlier? His name is Penn Bergman.”
“He was lying,” I replied with a sigh. “They were all saying sorry tonight to lull me into a false sense of security.”
She shook her head. “Penn meant it,” she said.
“How do you know that?”
“When Talia revealed that the envelope was filled with fake money, he was standing near us. Some people started laughing and acting like it was a genius prank, but I heard him muttering to one of his friends. He said ‘This is fucked up. What did she even do to those guys?’. He didn’t laugh or cheer, either.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes. So I think there are people on your side. They’re just too scared to take a stand against the Princes.”
I sighed. “How does that help me?”
“Think about it. There are some really nasty people out there, like Talia and Jessica, and all of their minions, but on the flipside, there are people at RFA who are actually decent deep-down. They only go along with all the shit when the Princes are there to see it. But they don’t actively join in. They don’t laugh. They don’t bully you or mock you. They just stay quiet. Sure, it’s shitty that they don’t defend you, but we know why. They’re too scared of the blowback.” She paused for a deep breath. “Anyway, my point is: they won’t actually do anything to you. At worst, they’ll just ignore you.”
“That’s true,” Adam said, nodding slowly. “Think about today at school. You said your classes were mostly fine.”
I shrugged. “I guess so. The bullies are mostly sticking to nasty texts or insulting me in the halls. Oh, and yesterday someone came into Blair Hall and stuck a trash sign from a recycling can on my door. But everyone leaves me alone in class. Even the ones I don’t share with Trina.”
“Also, we had our first Model UN club meeting yesterday afternoon,” Trina said. “People weren’t actively nice to you there, but they weren’t mean either. Remember? They just accepted that you were there.”
“That’s true.”
“And what about rowing club? Or astronomy club?” Adam asked, leaning forward with his hands knitted together. “You went to those this week, didn’t you?”
I nodded.
“So how did they go?” he asked.
“Astronomy club was okay. No one spoke to me, but they still let me participate.”
“What about rowing club?”
“Same thing, I guess. Most of them acted like I wasn’t there. Coach Reilly made a couple of them show me the shells and help me try them out on the water, and they didn’t seem thrilled, but they weren’t nasty about it. They were just a little curt in the way they spoke and explained things.”
“See?” Trina said, voice tinged with enthusiasm. “This is what I mean. Most of the kids at RFA will be okay with you as long as the Princes aren’t around. They might not go out of their way to be friendly and invite you to their parties, but they won’t hurt you, either.”
“I guess. But that doesn’t change the fact that there are others who are going out of their way to bully me.”
“Well, I hate to sound like a giant cliché and tell you to just ignore the bullies, but… if you do, they’ll probably get bored of playing with you and stop doing it so much.”
“You don’t know that.” I sighed and slowly shook my head. “You told me that when someone is blacklisted, the bullies don’t stop until the person is gone.”