"Thanks a lot for turning me in to the principal," Tanya hissed through her teeth as we walked down the stairs toward the parking lot. "Once my mother finds out, forget about the New Year's ball."
She pulled her hair out from under her scarf and let out a tired sigh, puffing out her cheeks.
"And what did you expect?" I said, feeling triumphant that justice had been served. "You came up with a solution, huh? Did you even stop for a minute to think about the consequences? Now the whole school thinks I'm a slut, and that stigma will stick not just until graduation but all the way through college. The town's small, and there are even fewer reasons for anyone to gossip.
"Your own fault," she said, squinting. "I told you to stay away from Stas."
"Or what? You'd send another mass message?" I asked defiantly, imagining Tanya again unable to string two words together in her defense while standing on the principal's carpet. The principal had coldly and directly asked whether Rostova had spread the rumor, and after some thinly veiled hints about possible changes to the honors student's transcript, Tanya had confessed, hoping to save her grades. It had ended without a serious reprimand or even a major punishment; the principal decided to leave that to the parents, thinking disciplinary matters were better handled at home than in the walls of a prestigious school. Next time it could have been much worse.
I didn't care what punishment Rostova would get. The important thing was that she left me alone—one less problem. Although the rumors would probably linger for a while, I could only hope the principal would find a way to redirect the students' attention.
Tanya glared at me, and, as far as I could tell, couldn't think of a reply, so she redirected her anger at an easier target. Confidently, Rostova caught up with Dasha, who had tried to stay ahead. Dasha clearly didn't want to be caught in the crossfire of the argument. She practically trembled when she saw the principal and nodded to the questions addressed to her. Unlike Tanya, Dasha's parents couldn't afford her tuition. If she hadn't been as smart as she was, she would never have earned a scholarship. If she got caught up in a scandal, or worse, started one herself, her place at school would have been at risk. Perhaps that's why she always behaved more quietly and modestly than the others, afraid of losing what she had gained through hard work that neither I nor Rostova could even imagine. I hadn't thought about that when I named Dasha to the principal, so now I felt guilty and tried to give my friend time to either forgive me or at least process what had happened. But Tanya didn't seem to have that thought.
"I thought we were friends!" Rostova accused Dasha, who couldn't even meet her eyes, studying the snow at her feet. "How could you blab?"
"There was no other way to find out if you were telling the truth, so I took the risk," Dasha said softly, as if the words themselves hurt.
"And how, satisfied with the result? Listen to me: if my mother forbids me from going to the ball, I'll make sure everyone knows what happened!"
"Don't drag Dasha into this. It's not her fault you had that idiotic idea," I intervened, seeing how uncomfortable Dasha was under Tanya's pressure.
I least of all wanted Dasha to feel bad when she had done the right thing. Even if the consequences lingered for me in the form of ubiquitous snickers and stupid comments, I could at least stay strong knowing the instigator had answered to the principal. Surely, I would still feel every lie sharply as it spread like a snowball thanks to classmates' and other students' imaginations, but now there were people who knew the truth. People who would reject every rumor and not join the stinking chorus of gossipers.
"No way! Friends don't do that. She put herself in the middle. If you'd stayed quiet, Dasha, none of this would have happened."
"And what about the fact that Dasha is my friend too?" I shot back, and Tanya scowled and shrugged.
"How convenient," Rostova said with biting sarcasm, "all your friends, Asya. Dasha, Nikita, Stanislav… Who's next? Maybe Artur? I wonder what Violetta will say about that?"
"Artur has a mind of his own, and it's none of your business who he chooses as friends," Violetta's voice rang across the parking lot deliberately loud, and I turned, startled. Violetta was standing with Stas and Diana at the foot of the school, a little further away. I must have missed it, caught up in the argument with Rostova, when they came out too.
Tanya stretched her lips into a fake smile, though her eyes still radiated anger and contempt.
"Let's see how you sing when it really happens."
"Tanya," Stas cleared his throat dramatically to draw Rostova's attention. "Shall we step aside and talk?"
Stanislav nodded toward the forest edge, indicating the direction, and Tanya moved that way. Violetta and Diana joined me and Dasha. For a moment, there was an awkward silence, as all the girls, like me, seemed to wait for the showdown between Smirnov and Rostova. I wished I could hear what Tanya and Stas were saying, but, of course, the guys kept walking away. Surely Smirnov wanted to make sure not even a fragment of their conversation reached the sisters, Dasha, or me. Even reaching the forest edge, Stas didn't stop; he took Tanya's hand and led her into the woods. Had I known him worse, I might have worried about Rostova's safety, but what Tanya didn't realize actually protected her in the situation. Would I have preferred not to know? To forget the terrifying side of Xertoni and the creatures that comfortably inhabit its surroundings? There was no clear answer anymore, even though inside I longed for a normal human life.
Diana suggested we all stop for a snack and take a short break after a tough day at school before heading to the university open day, and I agreed willingly. To keep Violetta from going alone, Dasha got into her car, still showing sadness from the recent events. On the one hand, I didn't want to leave her alone with the strict and straightforward Violetta, but I wasn't ready to switch places with Dasha either—who knew what thoughts Violetta could have developed even jokingly with Rostova's influence? I had no desire to find out, so I silently followed Diana to her dark sedan.