Chapter 2 - THE GIRL WHO THOUGHT MY FATHER COULD SAVE MEDad took me to the nurse.
I changed into gym clothes.
My sweater went into a plastic bag.
I hated the jacket around my shoulders.
Not because it was Dad’s.
Because the entire school now knew.
By third period, I was no longer Hannah.
I was:
The principal’s daughter.
Exactly what I had tried to avoid.
Dad sat across from me in his office.
“I’m sorry.”
I frowned.
“For what?”
“For saying it publicly.”
“You had to.”
“No. I could’ve handled it differently.”
I thought about that.
Maybe.
But I didn’t blame him.
Then he said:
“I need to ask you something difficult.”
“Okay.”
“Has this happened before?”
“The bucket?”
“Bullying.”
I looked away.
Dad’s face fell.
“How long?”
“Since September.”
“Hannah.”
“It wasn’t this bad.”
“What happened?”
I listed it.
Clothes jokes.
Lunch jokes.
Anonymous messages.
A rumor that my father was unemployed.
Someone putting a fake charity flyer in my locker.
Brooke once left a grocery-store coupon taped to my desk.
Dad’s jaw tightened with every example.
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Because then you’d be the principal.”
“I am the principal.”
“At home you’re Dad.”
That stopped him.
“I didn’t want you solving every problem because I’m your daughter.”
He leaned back.
Then said:
“You realize asking for help would not have made you weak.”
“I know.”
“Do you?”
I didn’t answer.
Then he added:
“And if I punish Brooke now, everyone will say it’s because of you.”
I nodded.
That was exactly what frightened me.
Dad pressed the intercom.
“Please ask Dr. Warren to come in.”
Dr. Elise Warren chaired Crestwood’s independent student conduct committee.
Not my father.
Good.
Dad looked at me.
“I’m recusing myself from discipline involving you.”
I blinked.
“Really?”
“Yes.”
“Even after what happened?”
“Especially after what happened.”
That mattered.
May you like
Because I didn’t want Brooke punished for humiliating the principal’s daughter.
I wanted her held accountable for humiliating any student.
