We were still talking about the note when Amelia rushed in.

"Guess what! Guess what!" She shouted as someone who'd just won the lottery.

"What?" Aurora asked and looked up through tear stained lashes.

I was also eager to know. Maybe they'd finally found out that the video was edited.

"We're famous. Instagram and Facebook famous!" She screamed. If I say we were shocked, that would be an understatement. I can't quite find the right words to express what we felt after hearing that. Even Aurora was staring at her with her mouth hung open.

"Famous? Like the video's spread that fast?" Cameron was the first to find his voice.

"Yeah. Dhurr. Everyone's saying my ass is bigger and.." She stole a glance at Aurora. "No offence, but it's true."

If the dictionary needed a word dumber than dumb, she'll be it.

"Rory," she continued, not minding the stares she was getting. "Aren't you hearing a word of what I'm saying? Last time I checked, you had close to a million followers."

"A million?!". It took me a few seconds to realize that came from me. But a million followers for a strip video, who wouldn't exclaim?

"I have almost a million followers? For that video?" Aurora was saying to herself but we could hear her.

"Yass babe. You do." Amelia went to hug her but she pushed her away.

"Lots of people have seen it." She was beginning to sweat. "I didn't think that would happen. Eric said..." She stopped talking immediately Eric walked in. He rushed straight to hug her.

"I'm sorry babe. I just got news about the video. I swear I told mike to take it down but some other people already have it."

"Mike?" Aurora laughed, bitterly if I must say.

"Yes. Don't worry, all this is going to pass. Look at the bright side, you have lots of followers now."

"That's what I was trying to tell her." Amelia crossed her arms.

"You're all wanted in the principal's office." Cindy walked in.

"Why?" Cameron asked before I could do so.

"Dunno. A teacher asked me to call you all."

____________________

I used to think our principal's office was small but now, looking at the number of people in this office and nobody's fainting, I'd say the whole class could fit in here. Sitting opposite our principal are Aurora's parents. I'd seen her mother angry the day we thought she went missing but I'd never seen her father angry.

"Can someone explain what kind of expensive joke you think you're playing here?" The principal shouted, banging her fist on the table.

"Principal blueberry, I can explain." Eric cleared his throat. Blueberry? I never knew her name was blueberry.

"Go on." She urged him.

"I believe the whole think was photoshopped."

"Exactly. Because I can't think my daughter would ever do a thing like that." Mr Lance frowned.

Eric cleared his throat to continue. "Yes Sir. Although I know who might have done it." He turned to face me, slowly so everyone could see who he was looking at.

"What?" I folded my arms, not getting his point. Until I saw the look Aurora's mother was giving me.

"Yes. You." Eric faked a hurt tone. "You've been having beef with her for a long time now. Who else hates her so much to ruin her reputation?"

"How could you?" Mrs Lance was about to give me a slap when Aurora shouted.

"She didn't do it!" That made her mother pause. "The video is real though it's edited. It's me." She started crying.

"Don't cover up for her." Eric held her. "You and I know she's the only one who can do it."

"That's a lie Eric! You did it and forced me to keep quiet."

I wasn't surprised that he was the culprit. But I was surprised that she said it herself.

"What! Me?" Eric exclaimed as though he was being framed.

At this point, everyone else was silent and all eyes were on the both of them.

"Yes you Eric." She closed her eyes and let her tears fall. "You blackmailed me."

Her mother stood up and went to hug her. "That's enough sweetie."

"Ahem!" Principal blueberry called our attention. "This is a great shock to me. Right under my nose, you've been doing all this. I'm sorry miss Aurora but you should have reported him rather than complying. And we also saw other nude photos on your page."

At the mention of the word 'nude', her father's eyes widened in shock. I bet he didn't know about that.

"Were you also forced to do that?"

She nodded.

"And who can attest to that?"

Surprisingly, Amelia raised her hand.

"And you are?" Principal blueberry looked at her sternly.

"Amelia. The other girl in the video. Look, I did mime willingly but I overheard him threatening her to do same."

"And you can say this at the station?"

"Station?" We all exclaimed. She just nodded.

"And if I don't do that? I'll be arrested?" Amelia asked.

"Yes."

"Fine. I'll do it."

I looked sideways at Eric and saw that he'd been staring at his feet the whole time. Ha! He thought he was going to get away with it. I felt bad for Aurora though. She'd been blackmailed all this while. But why?

"Aurora, I'm sorry for that. I think you need time to get over all this. You and Amelia are given one week's suspension."

"Why?" Amelia shouted. "It's not like I stripped for your husband."

"Two weeks Amelia." Principal blueberry was very angry. "Eric, you'd be given indefinite suspension. And then whatever the Lances decide to do to you. The rest of you can leave my office."

We nodded and walked out.

"That was pretty intense." Cindy breathed.

"Yeah." Cameron agreed. "You okay Barbara?"

"Yes. I think. But why didn't she tell anyone?"

"You know what a blackmail is?" Cindy rolled her eyes. "She couldn't have told anyone if she was blackmailed for fear of whatever it was."

"That's true." I sighed.

"Barbara!" Aurora screamed my name, making us all stop in out tracks. "Can I talk to you? Alone?"

_____________

"You've been pretending all this while?" I couldn't still believe what she was saying.

"I did it for you."

"But you should have told me. I thought you just left me like that. I thought you just hated me."

"He was watching me. They were watching me. Barbara, he threatened to post a video of you."

"The video that was fake? It wasn't that bad. I was only sad because I thought you didn't believe me."

She let out a loud laugh. "Not that. He had a video of you having your bath at your old house and threatened to post it if I didn't do all that."

"Why? Why was he threatening you? I thought the both of you were so into each other. "

"I was. Until I knew what he wanted. Then I found out about the video and I couldn't leave. I'm sorry I didn't tell you Barbara. You were the best friend I ever had. I'm sorry I was a bitch to you."

"I'm sorry too. And you are the best friend ever. You went through all that just to protect me. Wait! Did he ask you to be a bitch too?"

"He said I had to make you hate me so you wouldn't find out. He had all my passwords
If he ever saw me communicating with you, he'd post the video through my account. The bathroom video was something he planned to give me an excuse to be bitchy to you. I'm sorry."

"Wait again! You said a video at my old house. How did he.... Did my step sister's do that?"

She nodded. "They're classmates and mutually hate you."

"This is all too much. So you never hated me."

She shook her head. "I finally managed to delete the video from his laptop yesterday. Luckily, he had only a copy and he made your sisters delete theirs after he paid them.  But he'd already done mine."

"I'm so, so sorry, Dory."

She smiled. "You're calling me Dory again."

I immediately thought of Cameron. What if he knew all along ? "Does Cameron know?"

"No."

I opened my mouth to speak but tasted something salty. Was I crying? I wiped my eyes.

"Why don't we take things slow. We'll talk more tomorrow."

"There's no tomorrow. That video was the last straw. I can't endure much."

"Please don't tell me you're killing yourself. Dory, please." I knelt in front of her. I could never forgive myself if she did that. After all she'd endured for me.

"No. Silly. I'm moving. My parents are super mad at me but they won't let me stay here. Eric's going to be taken care of but your sisters, there's no proof. You have to be extra careful."

"Where are you going?" I let the threatening tears flow.

"I don't know. But I promise to call you. Bye." She gave me a quick hug and ran outside.

Me, I couldn't run. I couldn't even move. I just stood rooted to the ground.

"She's leaving. Isn't she?" Cameron put his hand across my shoulders. I simply nodded.

"I'm sorry."

"She was my best friend. She did it all for me." I sobbed.

"I understand."   No, he didn't. He didn't know anything. But I wasn't wiling to tell him anything.

"I want to go home."

"We'll take you." When he said we, I had to look up. I didn't realise Cindy was still there. She smiled at me and held up my bag. She must have gone to get it from the class because I didn't take it into the principal's office.

"Thank you."

As we walked out of the school compound, I saw Dory waving at me from the back seat of her dad's car. I waved back and looked away before the tears spilled.

I once saw a book; the danger's of a single story. This had been a single story. From my perspective alone. I never knew what she was thinking. I'd thought she changed. That she was the bad one. But I was. She'd only been protecting me all along. She was my best friend.

I'd really like to know what you all thought about this chapter as this is the beginning of the end if this story.

Something you don't still understand about dory and Eric, ask and it shall be answered.

I forgot to celebrate this. 10k reads people. People are actually reading this and it makes me so happy. I know happy may sound too mild but I'm out of bigger dictionary words. Thank you all😘😘