CHAPTER 79

THE MAGNITUDE OF THE MESS he’d created didn’t fully hit Hudson until he’d completed his Captain’s Log recording of the day’s events.

What’s done is done. Hudson told himself that a million times. There was no undoing it. Not now. But he had no peace, either. At least not the kind that came from deep inside. The peace only God could give. He lay on the top bunk and stared at the stars glowing faintly on his ceiling.

But he could undo things, couldn’t he? He could march into his parents’ room, wake them up, and spill his guts. They’d find a way to reverse this before it turned into an absolute train wreck. Mom would go back to City Hall. Get the policeman at the night desk to let them in, and Hudson could take the message off the City Hall sign. Then they could send an email to the news networks explaining it was all a hoax.

Hudson turned that scenario over in his mind. But it wasn’t a hoax. The bullying was real. People were getting hurt —like Maggie and Pancake. And they’d keep getting hurt if someone didn’t stop the pack and the litter.

And if keeping his friends from getting hurt meant going big and getting huge publicity, then only a coward would try to undo it. There is always a way if the desire be coupled with courage. This was the way to fix things. The only way. He just couldn’t let fear take over and start making the decisions for him.

Pancake had edited the clips like a pro. The guys from the pack were history. This video would rip the fangs right out of their mouths. It would make the litter look pretty bad too. Giovanna, anyway. But she deserved it for turning against Maggie.

What would happen to Giovanna when the video went public? The litter would likely dump her. And everybody else would avoid her like she was a paint-slinging maniac —which she was. She’d be destroyed and completely alone. But that wasn’t Hudson’s fault. She’d done it to herself, right?

Hudson checked the time. After midnight. He found the North Star on his ceiling.

“I need a little direction here, God. What am I supposed to do?” After asking the question, he should shut his mouth and listen. That would be smart. But his brain was stuck in high gear.

He’d done his best to stop the bullying, hadn’t he? He’d fought back. He’d tried social pressure. And now he’d opened the door to expose the bullies for who they really were. He was reporting them. Wasn’t that what all the school posters said he should do?

Operation Show and Tell was the ultimate power play. Carrying this through to the end was the brave thing to do, wasn’t it? It would create some real change. It had to.

But everything he’d done at City Hall was so . . . wrong. Sending a fake message out as if it were really coming from the mayor was totally dishonest. Was it a criminal offense? He didn’t want to know.

So it came down to this. Either he kept the plan on autopilot, or he had to stop it fast. Like right now. The morning would be too late. Pull the plug or play it out. He lost either way. Either he was a coward or a criminal. Terrific.

He checked his alarm: 5:30. There was no way Hudson would get out of the house before 6:00 undetected. But Pancake would be at the City Hall sign to be sure the message actually appeared, and Hudson wanted to be ready for his call. That was the plan.

Some plan. Who came up with such stupid ideas? You did, idiot.

He wrote the email to Mrs. Jackson. Told her everything —even scanned in some pages he’d printed from OneInAMillionMaggie.com so she’d really understand. He saved the draft. He’d send it just before he left for school.

His mind drifted back to his dad’s story. It was the way Denny treated others that helped turn Dad around. Hadn’t he said that? Denny was kind or strong or secure enough to treat others the way he wanted to be treated. It didn’t matter if the others were in the social box or total outsiders.

And the story about that enemy army. It wasn’t a superior weapon that won the day. By being kind to their enemy, they created a heart change —and the bullying stopped. But there were heart changes on both sides, weren’t there? The Israelites had their enemy trapped, but instead of killing them, the Israelites had a change of heart. So it was their heart change that started the ball rolling.

Well nobody would accuse Hudson of being kind after what he’d done tonight.

Get out of your bunk, Hudson. Talk to Dad and Mom before it’s too late.

But he hesitated for a minute. Then two. And then he wasn’t so sure that talking to his parents was the right thing to do.

What’s done is done.