The Thrashers(22)

Paige’s voice broke through the tense quiet. “How will we know if they have evidence? Will they arrest us?”

“Not necessarily. I think Zack’s arrest tonight was for show. They wanted it announced before the vigil. They wanted to get you all on camera, and they got it.”

Jodi thought back to Detective Harding scanning the crowd tonight. The news crews covering a vigil for a girl who’d been dead over three months. There was something about the smirk on Harding’s face when Greg came to pick up Zack that night at the police station. This was personal to her. This was a game.

“There’s nothing in the public record on you four right now,” Greg continued, “but once it’s entered, you may receive notice about a hearing.” He rolled his shoulders back and lowered his voice. “Is there anything you can think of that the DA may be using against you? Eyewitness accounts, texts, emails—I know you don’t really email, but…”

Jodi tried to think. They’d never been cruel to Emily. Did they want her around? No. Did they make that known? Maybe? Lucy had a habit of rolling her eyes whenever Emily joined them at lunch without an invitation, and Julian had started walking away from her whenever she brought up topics that were irrelevant. But never Zack. He nodded and engaged and encouraged her to keep talking.

It was something Paige had warned him about often. Don’t encourage her. Don’t make her feel like she’ll always have you in her corner.

Jodi glanced around the table. Paige was bouncing her knee and chewing on her cheek. Zack’s elbows were on the table, his head dropped into his palms. Lucy was looking straight ahead at Greg.

“We didn’t like her,” Julian finally said. “We talked about it. Maybe someone heard, or saw texts, or took a fucking hint because we were dropping them all over, and still that girl didn’t get it.”

“Did anyone ever get physical with her in any way?” Greg said. “Throwing things, tripping her, stealing books—”

“This isn’t the ’80s, Dad,” Zack said, the first words he’d said all night. “We don’t knock books out of people’s hands anymore.”

“Online?” Greg continued. “Do you have chat rooms or … I don’t know, forums where you would be using aggressive speech with her or about her?”

Between Discord, TikTok, Snapchat, Instagram, and even X, there were a lot of places where it could have happened, but Jodi couldn’t think of anything.

“How can we find out what they have on us?” Lucy asked.

“You can’t. Not unless they want you to know about it.” Greg took a deep breath. “Okay, here’s my suggestion. And I say this as a lawyer and as Zack’s dad. Get your parents involved. Get a lawyer involved. If you get called in for an arraignment, you’re going to want a lawyer ready.”

Jodi saw dollar signs. She rubbed her palm.

“My next piece of advice—and I know you’re not going to like it. It’s time to un-clique. Zack told me what Principal Robbins said tonight. Expulsion. Cracking down on bullying.” Greg cleared his throat. “I’m aware that you all hold a lot of power at that school, but this is not the time to show off. The news is already calling you the Thrashers. This is going to spread through Sacramento fast. The last thing you want to do is to return to school this Monday as a group.”

“What do you mean?” Paige asked, her brows drawn in concern.

“I mean, it’s time to make some new friends. Sure, you all can hang out, just not as a group. Split up your class schedules. Invite more people with you when you do things.” He leveled a direct stare at each of them and said, “But do not continue to exist as the Thrashers while the DA’s office is investigating you as bullies and criminals.”

“Dad. It’s our senior year.” Zack pulled his head from his hands and looked over at him.

“No, he’s right,” Julian said, his expression unreadable. “We need to split up. No more than two of us seen hanging out at a time.”

Jodi felt dark clouds rumbling over her horizon. Splitting up for the five of them usually resulted in Paige and Lucy on one side of the line and Zack and Julian on the other, with Jodi as the floater. If they made “teams of two,” Jodi wasn’t sure she’d ever get picked.

“Does this go on his record? The arrest?” Julian asked.

Jodi’s attention snapped back to Greg as he nodded.

“Will that affect college?” she asked.

“It will if this spins out of control. It’ll affect all of you.”

Lucy cracked her neck, and Paige wiped a tear off her cheek as inconspicuously as possible.

“Yeah, okay.” Zack sniffed. “Whatever.”

Jodi’s chest ached for him. He looked like he just wanted to go to bed.

“I’ll call tomorrow and change my schedule,” Lucy said. “I have a few classes with Reagan I’d like to get out of anyway.”

“We won’t meet under the bleachers on Thursdays anymore,” Julian said. “And we should cancel our trip to Tahoe on Labor Day.”

“Why?” Paige said. “Can’t we just … hang out without pictures?” She looked as scared as Jodi felt. “Why can’t the five of us just … be discreet?”