IT HAS TO BE TERRENCE.

He has to be the one to end the Revolution. I don't know how I didn't draw that conclusion the day he sat down next to me on the bus, with his intimate knowledge of the school, of Brittany, his unbreakable good spirits, and his tenacity to vie for my friendship even when I shot him down at every turn.

Terrence and I had spent the remainder of our Home Ec. period hashing out how to disband the Monarchy, discourage anyone else from taking the mantle next year, and end the Revolution, once and for all. His change in demeanour from defeated to hopeful was certainly welcome, if unexpected. We communicated via call and text for three days, tuning our plans.

Except, now it's Saturday and I've been waiting for an hour at the Stereo Shack. It's official: I've been stood up. No-one's ever stood me up. At least, not before today.

Though, I suppose I should have seen it coming. My 'date' is with the four Monarchs, after all. Last night, I slept confident and well-assured. But now I wonder if Terrence crapped out. I'm sitting alone in a six-seater booth, fending off suspicious glances my way, painfully surrounded by happy couples and friends.

Though, being embarrassingly alone is my own fault really. The option of having my friends come today was present. Delaney was actually vehemently against leaving me at the mercy of those cold-blooded snakes today — her words, not mine — but I convinced her.

It's enough of a long shot without five revolutionaries thrown into the mix. With only me, I'm sure the Monarchs will feel less threatened, thus more at ease, thus more likely to acquiesce.

In an attempt to appear occupied, I chew slowly on my custard doughnuts. The second I finish, I know I will officially become that lonely girl in denial who's eaten through all her illusions and has to face the harsh truth: rejection.

And I don't want to be that girl. Not today. I pull out my phone and text Terrence. Where are you?

No reply comes. A sigh of frustration escapes me. It is, disappointingly, the seventh text I've sent Terrence this morning questioning the Monarchs' whereabouts. When it comes to something as high-stakes as this, I have no shame. Anger, however; now, that's something I have in spades.

Slowly, the roiling, heated fury in my gut builds and builds until I cannot take it. At this point, I'm livid, disappointed, and humiliated. I don't know if I'll ever see Terrence again — being as close to graduation as we are — but for his safety, he'd better pray I don't.

I've had enough. Slinging my handbag over my shoulder, I clear my table and dump the rubbish. My intentions are to hightail it home and try to erase this disastrous day from memory, but apparently, the universe has other plans.

The bell rings before his tall frame appears in my line of sight. Terrence locks eyes with me as he enters the Shack, his face contorted into a guilt-ridden expression. Madison, Derek, and Reece are behind him, looking far from enthusiastic.

My mouth is suddenly bone-dry. A strong impulse to make a run for it and abandon our plans tugs at me, deliciously offering me the prospect of ending this already-torturous day. But in the end, I have to ignore such impulses.

This meeting has the potential to end it all, so for the Revolution's sake, I have to see it through. As I draw nearer to Terrence, the blatant apology in his eyes becomes brighter, like a lighthouse's beacon blinking outwards.

He fastens his pace, pulling ahead of his friends to murmur quickly under his breath, "Sorry, sorry, sorry. I was here on time, but after ten minutes when no-one showed, I went looking. Turns out Reece slept in, Madison chickened out and Derek was outside the whole time but too nervous to meet you without the rest of us, so, here we are. Sorry."

My head is whirring. I feel stretched between a hundred different emotions, ranging from anger at waiting for an hour, to joy because they actually came through. I can't decide whether to slap him or hug him. And I barely have time to process Terrence's word regurgitation before the rest of the Monarchs catch up to us.

Each of them looks uncomfortable but in their own ways. Madison looks mildly disgusted, Derek bored and Reece awkward. Believe me, I share their sentiments. My resentment towards waiting for so long hasn't alleviated in the slightest, and it's manifesting itself as bitterness towards the Monarchy.

It's the last thing I should be feeling, especially considering that we're supposed to be diplomatic today, but I can't help it. I look at them and see the faces of bullies still, but only for a second. The image fades until I behold mere human beings once more.

Thankfully, to my pleasant surprise, Terrence saves the moment. "Well, we're all here after several setbacks—" He eyes the three Monarchs suggestively.

They all mutter a sheepish, united, "Sorry, Sophie."

"—and ready to talk."

The four of them slide into the booth I reserved. Terrence gently touches my arm and murmurs under his breath, "I'm sorry you waited so long. Are you okay?"

"I'm fine."

Meeting the Monarchs in this setting is doing all kinds of things to my composure. Apart from the rollercoaster of emotions I've ridden this morning, the entire atmosphere is tense and unfamiliar, balanced precariously on a needlepoint. "I guess, I should thank you for coming today, even an hour late," I address the four schoolmates around me. "Better late than never."

Reece coughs, visibly uneasy. "Yeah, I'm so sorry about that. My alarm didn't go off."

Forcing a relaxed, forgiving smile onto my lips — which is far from what I really feel — I assure him it's long forgotten. I'll have to get over being left waiting soon enough because in the larger scheme it's unimportant.

What's important is that Madison, Derek, Reece, and Terrence are all here today. I don't know if they are as willing to fight as I am, or if they were even willing to be here, considering how long it took Terrence to round them all up. But this meeting is a step in the right direction.

It gives me hope for the future of Carsonville High School.

"So let's get down to business." I retrieve my phone, in which I stored a note. "I have some questions for you all."

Madison arches a streamlined brow, her lips puckering amusedly. "You wrote them down?"

"Yes," I don't miss a beat, "I had heaps of time this morning to do so."

The judging expression shrivels up and falls off her face at that, an emotion reminiscent of guilt replacing it. "Right," she mutters. "Go ahead then."

"Well, I would like to know how long Brittany has been blackmailing you." Around the table, several thoughtful looks erupt. I thought it was an innocuous question, but clearly not.

Terrence eventually elaborates, "For me, I was in Brittany's debt as soon as Cassie was conceived and she offered a way out for Suki, which was nearly three years ago. But, for these guys, it's kind of hard to tell."

"When . . . Cameron left," Reece pipes up, his voice thick with emotion, "I really leaned on Brittany. She helped me get through it, but her 'support' eventually turned into pressuring me to not make Cameron's mistakes, and then to blatant blackmail. She knows some of the harsh words my parents said to Cam when he decided not to pursue sports, and she knows they omitted that when they talked to the police."

Derek, Terrence, and Madison all turn to stare at Reece. Surprise flickers in all of their faces. Reece, oblivious, continues, "It might not be a huge deal if she goes to them now, but just dragging it up again would tear them apart. It was so gradual. I can't tell you when it started exactly, but it's been six years since he left, so make of it what you will."

I nod soberly, acknowledging how painful a topic Reece's late brother is to him. "What about you two?"

"I think Brittany is, well, not as evil as you think," Madison begins. "She just values loyalty. I recognise that. So she's never forced my hand much, but the moment I knew she would if she had to was in freshman year. When I saw her do the same to other people."

From the curious expression in the three boys, as they swivel their heads to watch Madison speak, I gather that none of them confided in each other.

"When I got my job at the elementary school, I wasn't legally allowed to work. And then a year into the job, the school really hit a rough patch with funding. So I've been blackmailed with either my job or my students' welfare for, I think three years," says Derek.

"Did you know this was happening to each other?" I've been wondering if they shared their secrets with each other since I found out there were secrets in the first place. If they banded together. If they suffered together.

Derek coughs. "No. We just suspected."

"Interesting," I murmur, my throat tight.

Imagine four years of school with no-one knowing the things you go through. No-one to comfort you when you lose people you love. No-one to defend you when people harass you. No-one to support you chasing your dreams. No-one to talk to about your family.

At least, they had no-one who would do those things unconditionally. Every ounce of support that Brittany doled out seems to be demanded back, with interest. "That's really intense." My voice is laden with sympathy. "What was it like?"

"Not too terrible actually," Madison reasons, shrugging nonchalantly. "If you stay in your lane, Brittany is a fiercely loyal, light-hearted, and generous person. You could almost forget you don't have a choice in being her friend. But if we ever step out of line, then that's when shit hits the fan."

"You kind of have to numb yourself. That's what I had to do to allow the bullying we did without hating myself," Derek adds. "And even still, I hate myself a fair amount. Because of Brittany, I don't want to remember high school at all. I want to forget the guilt."

Reece nods. "It's been lonely. You can't be yourself when you feel trapped like that. And along with how unattainable we seem, no-one wanted anything to do with us. I thought high school would be great if I had popularity and respect, but in hindsight, I would have liked just one true friend."

Madison's eyes widen surprisedly at his soliloquy as if she's never witnessed this level of sensitivity from Reece. I chuckle internally because I remember the first time Reece actually talked about his emotions with me. Needless to say, it shattered my perception of him — in a good way.

None of them are who they appear to be, though I can't believe even their supposedly closest friends couldn't see beneath the image. Reece notices Madison staring doe-eyed, and coughs awkwardly. "Cheesy as fuck, but, uh... yeah."

"I think they pretty much summed up my experience, too." Terrence says, "I felt trapped. Lonely. Like a loathsome person. But, where I failed as a peer and a friend, I tried to make up for it in being a father. I can't hate these last three years when something so precious came from them."

Unable to contain my pride, I beam radiantly. The three others also do the same. Reece clasps a hand on Terrence's shoulder when his eyes start to glaze over. He grunts in surprise, attempting a smile. Terrence has really come a long way from the troublemaking teenager whose seat I took at the start of the year. He's matured significantly. They all have.

Even though Derek said none of them knew the intricacies of the blackmail, I know they all feel a common bond. They share what they can with each other. Terrence came to me after I spoke with Reece in his car, and Derek knew about both those encounters when I approached him. They didn't need to know the exact details to care about each other. And neither did I.

I know it took great personal strength to come here and lay it all on the table. But I also hope they have a little more strength and courage tucked away because I need more than just dusty memories from them.

I need action. "And the last question, would you be willing to change that?"

"Of course," Madison scowls.

"What would you be willing to do?"

The answer is unanimous. "Anything."