The Thrashers(87)
What do you say to someone who swam to the bottom of a river for you and did CPR?
She thought maybe she should just pull him aside at school, but the idea of it twisted her stomach in knots. She couldn’t imagine looking into his smug hazel eyes and saying thanks, like he’d offered her gum.
Ultimately, she decided to wait until the moment felt right.
When she got home from school the next day, she had an email waiting for her from Greg Thrasher. The subject line just said You were right …
When she opened it, there was an attachment called “Vanessa Jones.” She opened it quickly and found paperwork with the Sac High logos on it, but blacked-out names and addresses.
April 2, 2023
After speaking with [REDACTED] in extensive detail, it is my recommendation to separate [REDACTED] and [REDACTED] for future classes and extracurricular programs. [REDACTED] has been bothering [REDACTED] and repeatedly inserting herself into [REDACTED]’s personal life, including showing up unannounced to her house, using [[REDACTED]’s passcode to open her phone and snoop around, and stalking friends of [REDACTED] if she brings them up in conversation.
[REDACTED] no longer wishes to associate with [REDACTED] and would like any action by the school to be discreet at this time.
Jodi scrolled to the next document, her mind spinning quickly to fill in the redacted names.
May 18, 2023
The parents of [REDACTED] are considering filing a restraining order against [REDACTED]. The behavior has not improved and [REDACTED] has made her boundaries clear. I suggest a meeting with Principal Hughes and the [REDACTED] and [REDACTED] families to resolve and/or to consider disciplinary action.
Jodi read it over ten times, her heart pounding as she put herself in Vanessa’s shoes.
Vanessa had wanted a restraining order against Emily. She obviously hadn’t filed it, or else the defense would already know about it. But it was bad enough that Emily had to switch schools.
Staring at her ceiling that night, Jodi wondered if Emily would have gotten that bad with her eventually. She thought about the photo she’d edited together of the two of them.
Maybe it was already that bad.
Case No. 4512420
Excerpt from the journal of Emily Mills
Entered into evidence 6.08.2024 by Det. Chelsea Harding May 10, 2024
TOMORROW NIGHT IS PROM! I CAN’T EVEN BELIEVE I’M EVEN GOING. THERE AREN’T A LOT OF SOPHOMORES GOING TO JUNIOR/SENIOR PROM.
LUCY HASN’T SAID ANYTHING ABOUT THE SODA BOTTLE THING. SHE’S ACTING NORMAL—WHICH MEANS SHE’S IGNORING ME.
I CASUALLY MENTIONED THAT I’VE NEVER SLOW-DANCED BEFORE, AND ZACK SAID HE’D DANCE WITH ME. I ALMOST FAINTED. I KNEW IT. I KNEW WE WERE GOING TO BE TOGETHER. HE TOLD ME NOT TO SAY ANYTHING ABOUT WHAT HAPPENED OVER SPRING BREAK, BUT I THINK HE’S READY TO TELL HIS FRIENDS. WE’RE BASICALLY GOING TO PROM TOGETHER, SO IT’LL BE OFFICIAL SOON.
PEOPLE HAVE SEX ON PROM NIGHT ALL THE TIME, SO I’M GOING TO TELL ZACK I WANT IT TO HAPPEN AGAIN. AND AGAIN AND AGAIN AND AGAIN AND AGAIN …
Chapter Twenty-Five
MAY
There was a somber cloud over New Helvetia High as prom inched closer. Paige was surprisingly the first one to suggest not going.
Jodi sat silently through weeks of waffling over group texts as they talked through the pros and cons of just riding around in a limo or staying in at Zack’s to watch a movie. Jodi didn’t care. High school was ending. The trial dates were looming, and nothing was right.
Going to prom wouldn’t be “going to prom,” no matter what they did. She focused on finishing the backdrop for West Side Story, which would open the weekend after prom.
Surprisingly, it was Julian who burst into the group chat a week before the dance and said, fuck it guys. let’s do this, with a mirror selfie of him trying on his tux.
The picture appeared as Jodi was in the kitchen waiting for water to boil. She felt her skin itch in irritation at how good Julian Hollister looked in formal wear. His bowtie was undone, loose around his neck, and he had one hand in his pants pocket, leaning back on his leg. She scoffed to herself, shaking her head at how unfair it was to all of humanity that Julian Hollister knew how to wear his clothes.
Her eyes were tracing the long lines of his legs when a splashing sound caught her attention, and she realized she’d been staring at the picture long enough for the water to boil over. Jodi turned down the burner, swallowing down her mortification.
Not fair, Jodi texted back. You have 10 tuxes in your closet im sure. the girls have to scramble now.
Lucy was quick to agree with him that they should go, and she told Jodi she could wear last year’s dress no problem.
Jodi frowned down at her phone as Paige and Zack got dragged into agreement, then ran downstairs to tell Rosa the good news. Her aunt had been sending her links to dresses for the past month.
They’d decided against a limo this time. Greg Thrasher allowed Zack to go to his senior prom, but only if he didn’t draw attention to himself. Which Jodi found to be a hilarious caveat because Zack drew attention to himself wherever he went.
Cheryl Montgomery swung by Rosa’s in her Land Rover at eight, and Jodi squeezed into the third row behind Zack and Lucy. They went to pick up Julian next—his tux perfectly pressed and shoes shined. When he dropped into the seat next to her, she felt that pull again—that need to say thank you that bubbled so close to the surface. He barely glanced at her before buckling his seat belt and asking Zack about a new video game release that had been announced. Jodi stared forward, feeling immensely idiotic for holding out hope that they could go back to what they had before the car drove off the bridge. That wasn’t even their “normal,” so there was no reason to think it would continue.