CHAPTER 91

GIOVANNA WIPED HER MOUTH with a wad of TP, tossed it into the toilet, and flushed. She watched the butterflies from her stomach circle the bowl in a frenzy and disappear. Just like all her hopes. Her dreams. Every one of them was gone now.

All but one. She would make a statement. She would strike a blow against bullying that would be seen across the country. Kat, Alexa, Wolfe, Zattora, Skirt —all of them were about to get a firsthand lesson on the price of pushing others around. And with the news crews already at the school, that message would have phenomenal reach. She should thank Hudson and Pancake. Two of the bullying clips they posted would set everything up perfectly.

She had more regrets than she could write across the bathroom stall partition with a pack of markers. But right now, the one that rose to the top was that Maggie had come to school. She didn’t want Maggie getting hurt more than she already had. But Giovanna couldn’t do anything about that now.

Her stomach felt better. Steadier. Too bad she couldn’t do something about her shaking hands. She unzipped the backpack and pulled out the Don’t Tread on Me Glock. That was definitely the right weapon for what she needed to do. She listened for a moment to make sure nobody had walked in. Then she pulled back the slide and chambered a bullet. The sound ricocheted off the metal stalls. She quickly did the same with the black Glock. She leaned against the stall door to steady herself and carefully set the guns in her backpack. She took a couple of deep breaths and fumbled with the stall latch.

“Dear God,” she whispered, which was weird because before today she had never prayed, aloud or silent. Now she’d prayed twice. “God, if you’re real, save me somehow. And if you can’t save me . . . forgive me for what I’m about to do.”