A Scandal to Die For

It was a whirlwind of emotion for several high school students, but out of all of the students, none of them were as heartbroken and deeper in mourning than Elisa Peters. The person that the entire school was mourning was Jason Miller, who had been the school's English teacher for 20 years. He was beloved by many of the school's students, as well as a good bit of the faculty, but regarding Elisa, Jason actually helped her with her studies, and got her on the right track as far as her grades were concerned.

It was reported that Jason's death was a suicide, yet the school was visited by the police just a couple of days later. Elisa wasn't surprised to see them. From the moment she heard that Jason committed suicide, she couldn't believe it. She knew there was something on his mind, something that he wanted to tell her, but she would never know what it was. As bad as that feeling of incompletion was, what Elisa would hear later on would absolutely shock her: stories of a sexual relationship between Jason and another student.

Elisa couldn't believe it. She refused to believe it. Yet while all of this was circling in her mind, she was brought back to reality by the following question:

"Have you ever engaged in a sexual relationship with Mr. Miller?"

The person asking Elisa this question was Hugh Quinn, the lead detective on the case. Elisa had to catch her breath upon hearing Quinn's words, as she was still trying to process what was happening.

"Excuse me?" asked Elisa.

"It's a simple question, Miss Peters," said Quinn. "Have you ever engaged in a sexual relationship with Mr. Miller?"

"No, of course not!" exclaimed Elisa. "He was just my teacher, that's all. Who's making these claims?"

"I can't say," replied Quinn. "The investigation is still active. You're not a suspect, so you are free to go."

"You can't seriously believe that Mr. Miller was doing these sort of things, right?" asked Elisa.

"I'm just doing my job," said Quinn. "I want to get all of the answers, just as much as you do.

Elisa left her interview still feeling stunned over everything. The thought of Jason actually being accused of something like this was unfathomable to her, and she definitely didn't buy into it. Despite this, with word of her police interview hitting the school halls, Elisa was subjected to a few stares from other students. Some thought Elisa was actually Jason's illicit lover. A few others resorted to thinking that she may have killed Jason. However, she managed to find some support from a surprising source:

"Elisa, come see me in my office, now."

The voice Elisa heard was a familiar one. It belonged to the principal of her school, Lindsay Brock, who was also Jason's wife. Elisa entered Lindsay's office expecting more of the same suspicion that her peers gave her, but to Elisa's surprise, she was on the receiving end of a heartfelt hug from her principal.

"How are you?" asked Lindsay. "Are you OK?"

"I'm fine," said Elisa, "but I really should be asking you this."

"It's OK," said Lindsay. "I mean, I've been trying to process everything, and...I just don't know."

"The rumors?" Elisa asked cautiously, though she actually caught herself and suddenly realized what she was asking. She was actually expecting Lindsay to chew her out, but she saw Lindsay remain calm in the face of her questioning.

"All I can say," Lindsay said, "is that Jason can't speak for himself. But I'm certain that he wouldn't want his...transgressions to taint our memories of him."

Lindsay sent Elisa back to class, but the words of her principal stayed with her for the rest of her school day. Even as she was studying, they remained in her mind. What did Lindsay mean? Was it all true? Was Jason really involved with a student? Elisa thought Lindsay's words sounded strange; like she was reading from a script that wasn't there. Her train of thought was interrupted by the sound of her cellphone pinging, which bewildered Elisa.

"Who would be sending me a text this late?" Elisa thought as she picked up her phone and went to her inbox, later seeing the following message:

"If you want to know the truth about Mr. Miller, meet me on campus tonight."

Even more shocking, the text came from Demi Thatcher, Elisa's best friend. Elisa had to know what was going on, and more importantly, what Demi knew. She snuck out through her bedroom and rushed to the school, where she waited for Demi, who appeared after only five minutes of waiting.

"Hey, Lis," greeted Demi.

"What the hell, Demi?" asked Elisa. "Why would you send this to me? Is this some kind of joke?" Other than the text, Elisa showed Demi an attachment she received: a photo of Demi together with Jason.

"I can explain..."

"So it's true?!" exclaimed Elisa. "You were sleeping with Mr. Miller?!"

"No, I wasn't!" replied Demi.

"I am looking at a pic of you with our teacher!" shouted Elisa.

"It's fake!" yelled Demi. "I created that pic, OK?!" After making her revelation, Demi started to break down and sob, much to the immense concern of Elisa, who was actually talking to her friend for the first time in several weeks, though it seemed like forever.

"What's wrong?" asked Elisa.

"I'm in so much trouble, Lis," cried Demi. "I'm in over my head."

"What's going on, Demi?" asked Elisa. "It's been weeks since we've talked, and when I try to get answers from you, you avoid me."

"I know, and I'm sorry," said Demi. "I can't take this anymore. You need to know everything." Just as Demi was about to continue, she was interrupted by Elisa's screaming in panic.

"LOOK OUT!!"

At that very moment, a hooded assailant appeared with a gun and fired a shot at both girls. Elisa pulled Demi away, but as she discovered, she was not completely unharmed, as the assailiant's shot struck Demi. Elisa called 911, leading to Demi being hospitalized. Both girls' parents also arrived, with Elisa being on the receiving end of a relieving hug from her mother, while Demi's parents tended to their daughter. Demi was only shot on her left shoulder, so she would be in a sling for a good bit.

Even so, Elisa was happy that her best friend survived, and the two of them really talked for the first time in what seemed like ages. Demi remained in her thoughts while she was at school on the following day, and during her free period, she made a visit to Lindsay's office.

"Elisa!" said Lindsay. "This is a pleasant surprise."

"I just wanted to stop in and see you, Ms. Brock," said Elisa. "Especially with what happened last night with Demi."

"I heard, and I'm so glad she's OK," said Lindsay. "I assume that's why you're here."

"Yes, you're right," replied Elisa. "But don't worry, I'm OK. I'm just happy that my best friend survived this ordeal, and that we've been talking again. I've learned so much from her!"

"Really?" asked Lindsay. "Exactly what have you two discussed?"

"Our friendship," Elisa replied, "but then the conversation turned to Mr. Miller, and...well, I'll just leave it at that."

With the bell set to ring to mark the end of her free period, Elisa left the principal's office, with Lindsay showing slight bewilderment over Elisa's statements. Later that evening, Elisa and Demi were together at the latter's house, doing a little bit of studying but also watching some movies together, while Elisa was also helping Demi heal from her ordeal on the previous night. Their time together was slightly interrupted by some strange noises from outside the house, with Elisa going to check out what was happening. However, Demi noticed that Elisa was out for a long time, and that led to Demi, on one good shoulder, heading outside to check on her friend.

"Elisa? Lis?"

Demi's search ended with Elisa being found unconscious, but alive, as Demi felt a pulse. She also felt something else: her injured shoulder being grabbed by the same hooded culprit who shot her on the previous night, and Demi found herself screaming in intense pain and tossed into the living room, while also gazing her eyes at the face of her attacker--a face she recognized.

"Lindsay..."

Lindsay Brock, the principal of her high school, stood over Demi after removing her hood. Demi continued shaking in fear of her sinister principal, while also holding her shoulder in intense pain.

"You've been talking way too much, little girl," Lindsay said in an ominous tone.

"You ruined my life!" shouted Demi. "You kept me from my best friend!"

"All I did was love you!" exclaimed Lindsay. "You knew exactly what you were getting into when we started this relationship! You're nothing but a troublemaker. All you did was cause trouble at my school. I figured I'd finally use it to my benefit." Demi watched in horror as Lindsay took out a wire from her pocket, and clutched it with villainous intent.

"I warned you what would happen if you crossed me," Lindsay said as she walked closer to Demi. "Just like I warned Jason." At a sudden instant, both Demi and Lindsay heard police sirens drawing closer and closer, and as both of them turned around, they saw Elisa--fully conscious and holding up her cellphone, as she had contacted Detective Quinn and allowed him to overhear everything.

Elisa and Demi watched as their crazed principal was taken away in handcuffs, and it was followed by the attention turned to each other.

"I never even told you everything," said Demi.

"I know," said Elisa. "But the way Brock was acting after Mr. Miller's death was just...strange. I knew something was up. And when you sent that text and told me you doctored that photo..."

"I'm sorry, Lis," said Demi. "I wanted to tell you so bad, but Brock kept me from contacting you. I don't know what possessed me to even engage in a relationship with her; she appeared to dislike me for so long, and then she starts acting seductive towards me. I literally had no idea what she was even planning."

Elisa hugged her best friend in response, which was followed by Quinn asking the girls to join him at the station for more questioning. Demi gave her same statements to Quinn, with Elisa backing her up. As for Lindsay Brock:

"I gave Jason everything; love, affection, even a child! I even became principal just so we could spend more time together. Everyone talks about what a great man he was. No one knew him like I did. He loved his students more than he loved me. So I decided to show him how much he really loved his students...well, one of them."

"And that's when you seduced Miss Thatcher?" asked Quinn.

"No one was seduced; she wanted it!" snarled Lindsay. "And all I wanted was to make sure that I got sole custody of my six-year-old daughter in the pending divorce. It was perfect. Disgraced teacher accused of having an affair with a student? Absolute slam dunk. But then, my dear husband had to start digging. So I decided to go from becoming a divorced mother to a widowed one."

Jason Miller's name was posthumously cleared. Instead of being subjected to scorn and slander that Jason couldn't defend himself from, he would be known for what he really was: a dedicated teacher and a tragic victim of his wife's evil and murderous scheme. Lindsay Brock was sentenced to life in prison for her husband's murder, and the attempt on Demi and Elisa, among several other crimes she committed. As for Elisa and Demi, their close friendship was threatened by Lindsay's machinations, but their shared ordeal ended up making their friendship even stronger than ever.