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The teacher calls up to the office and they send one of the police assigned to the school down to the classroom to walk Sammy to the office.

When she gets there Principal Landis walks her into his office.  "So, we're looking into what happened."  He says, motioning for her to sit down.  "Obviously someone was recording the rehearsal with the cameras in the auditorium, and then set it to play back this morning over the school closed circuit system.  I know this must have been embarrassing for you, but you told your teacher you thought it was a threat of some kind, I don't understand."

"I said that because Nick Hurley was beaten up over the weekend because of that stage kiss.  Rumor has it that Elrod Janush's friends did it, but I don't know how true that might be; they never seemed like that kind of idiots before,and I don't believe Elrod would want that either.  I say it because I know that Torrance Shipman (OOC, I'll correct this if its wrong) is jealous that I am dating Elrod, and I know she'd like to date him herself.  She made comments to that effect where friends of mine could hear her.  I say it because Elrod's sister was also the target of one of these recordings, and maybe this is all aimed at him somehow.  I say it because I had a stalker in this school just a month ago and maybe it gave somebody else ideas."  She looks grimly at him.  "Is that enough to start?"

"I'll look into this.  In the meantime, I'm going to send you home for the day and we'll see if we can get this sorted out.  Alright."

"Nick too?  I don't want him to get hurt any more, or Elrod either.  He's going to be upset by this, and I don't want him ridiculed by idiots who think they understand what they saw."  She looks down at the floor. "Please tell Mrs. Sherwood that I think it might be better if I wasn't in the Winter Concert this year.  Too much of the wrong kind of attention."

She gathers her belongings and heads for her locker to get ready for the long walk home.

As Sammy leaves the building she sees Logan Darklighter on his bench across the street.  He sees her and waves her over.

She pauses for a moment.  Sylvia sees something worthwhile there.  He doesn't look hostile...  Head held high, she walks at a measured pace across the street.  "Hello, Logan Darklighter." she says.  "Are you here to collect first hand gossip or to make sure I get home without any trouble?  The Purity Patrol might be waiting for me in the bushes with rocks and scarlet paint."

"I hadn't realized there was risk to life and limb."  Logan gets up, "I'll walk with you.  If nothing else you'll have a witness."  He lets her lead the way.  "You got a pretty bad public black eye, but I wanted to clarify something before things go any further.  The people that broadcast Lisa Janush and her sexual exploit all over the school are not the people that did this.  I wanted to tell you so that that you could tell your cohorts to save time investigating that avenue."

I never knew Sylvia was so chatty.  How much do you know about my cohorts? She walks along at a casual pace.

"I'll keep that in mind.  Do you have any idea who might have done it?  Maybe Torrance Shipman pulling a copycat maneuver?  Or some of Elrod's friends trying to 'protect' him from me?"

"The people Elrod keeps close are his musician friends, and most of them can barely use a cell phone so running the AV network would have been beyond them.  Torrance on the other hand seems to get anything she wants, and word is she wants Elrod.  Broadcasting that kiss could be seen as a means to an end and the people with the technical know how could easily have been persuaded by a pretty face and some well played flattery.  If she is the culprit though it will come out that she is behind it because she'll confess.  She'll have arranged for it to have been a plausible accident, and people will believe her because she confesses.  She's very smart, and there is something else about her, something beyond mere intelligence and cunning."

"Something predatory that is very hungry?" Sammy asks.  "A giant, person shaped venomous spider that can't get what it wants directly so it has to lay traps and then pounce.  Something that doesn't think twice about draining the life out of something else and leaving a dried up little heap behind, so long as its own ends are served."  She shakes her head at her own words.  "I don't like her at all, and trust her even less.  I can't undo what has happened, but I'm not about to let her hurt El.  He's already been hurt enough.  Those idiot friends of his might have beat up Nick Hurley, then the video..."  She evaluates Logan out of the corner of her eye.  "What the vid showed was true, but not was not complete.  It didn't show the part after, when I told Nick sorry, but I'm dating Elrod, and when Nick acknowledged that and backed off.  That's the part that nobody wants to see because it ruins the scandal.  And that's the part Elrod's going to have to believe.  I'm not so sure he will.  I'm not so sure I would if things were reversed."  She laughs a sharp little laugh.  "Dumb old Torrance might have successfully bumped me out of the picture, but I'm not sure she knows exactly how much he dislikes cheerleaders.  She might have achieved a very hollow victory here.  Just because I'm gone doesn't mean he'll be open to dating her.  That's why I think she'll wind up hurting him directly.  That whole 'woman scorned' thing."

"Well, assume the video clip that was shown was only part of a whole.  They made sure there was no audio, so maybe you should see if you can get a hold of the whole thing."

"I can try to do that.  I'm not sure it will matter though.  It's more important to me that I'm believed and trusted.  If, without hard evidence, I can't get that much from somebody who claims to be totally into me, why should I hang around?  But I'm jumping ahead again.  Its not like I've actually spoken to Elrod about any of this."  She stops sharply, then starts walking again.  "It just occured to me that I have to  change my summer plans.  I was supposed to be in El's band.  If those guys really did beat up Nick... I can't tolerate that, even if El didn't ask them to do it.  Somebody is going to have to go.  If its them, I just broke up the band.  I never thought I'd be a Yoko."

"I'm sure she didn't think she'd break up the band either."  Logan says, his voice seems to have trailed off.  "They don't strike me as the traditionally violent type."  He seems to be speaking and following some other train of thought.  "Out of character."  He's silent a moment.  "If, after you do speak with Elrod, if you could convey to me weather he actually did ask them to do it or not I would appreciate it."

"Sure, I guess.  I'm having trouble believing El asked someone to beat up Nick, or that it was really any of them either.  That's why I keep saying "If".  And if it was them... I dunno, I'd be willing to believe they got polluted with something like Hate Goo.  I got a dose of the Love Goo.  It's totally cheating to do that to a person, but I can easily see how chemicals that affect emotions could be used to manipulate people.  There could be a lot simpler explanation too.  Maybe I ought to see if Torrance was going around chatting up El's band members...  or you should ask.  If I ask, people will lie or exaggerate for effect, and gossip will claim that I'm stirring up trouble.  If you ask... well, you seem to know a lot anyhow.  One more piece of information will hardly be noticed."  She looks him dead in the eye.  "I'll tell you if Elrod ordered the hit if you find out about Torrance."

"Those two things are in line with one another, so I can easily agree without seriously jepordizing my neutrality.  Speed is of the essence here though, so perhaps you should talk to Elrod tonight, and I'll see if I can find out about Torrance as well."

"If he'll talk to me..." She looks sad.  "He might not want to.  Got any suggestions there, Mr Neutrality?"

"Elrod seems too reasonable not to want to hear your side of events.  If he doesn't, then suspect foul play."

"Yeah.  You're right."  She shuffles along silently, deep in her own thoughts.  "So what exactly does your neutrality mean?  And why does what happened to me matter?  We don't cross paths.  I might be a weirdness magnet, but I don't go out of my way to start trouble; I'm usually trying to stop it."

"Like I said, I don't want you wasting what might be precious time following a logical line of thinking that I know is wrong.  And my neutrality meant that I stay out of the muddy waters of helping one of the main factions of the school against another.  I observe and don't take direct action usually."

"OK.  We'll drop that path for now.  I want to find an excuse to dance Torrance around the block anyhow."  She thinks for a moment, and can't help herself.  She smiles and says,  "So you have a Prime Directive.  Are you native to Earth-now, or did you fall out of the sky, or is it something else completely?  That would explain so much, and pretty much any good story you feel like making up will distract me from moping about my problems, at least until I get home and have to explain it all again to my mom and a hundred other people."

"I'm a native.  It's just that I've realized any side I help gains a distinct advantage over the others.  I'm an upsetting influence in the course of events.  And, as a neutral observer I get to see more than someone entrenched in a camp."

"Then you're a lightning rod too.  Must be something in the air here."  More cautiously, she proceeds.  "Is that why you and Dave are... disagreeing with each other?  Things got tilted too far in his direction, so you went away, and he got hurt?"

"Dave got the impression that I'm some kind of sell out to image.  I don't hold it against him.  After my acne cleared, and my voice changed and I learned how to use a comb, I found people became interested in me that wouldn't have given me the time of day before.  That fascinated me, so I began to explore it.  I also became somewhat isolated from my former friends.  I couldn't tell them what was going on inside my head without risk of it getting out.  Nothing ruins a social experiment faster than the fact it is an experiment getting out.  By then the damage was done.  Dave had formed his opinion, based on his observations.  Now, he's one of the camps.  So, to keep my neutrality I stay away from him."

"Ok."  She's silent for a moment. "So whatever's happening around that vid is a threat to that greater neutrality?  It must be, if you stepped out of it to contact me now rather than wait for me to figure out I was going the wrong way."

"Well, no.  The Usual Suspects recently offered me access to the information they have about things at school.  I'm simply returning the favor.  For all I know, this is just someone trying to steal your boyfriend.  But, there is a chance it's something bigger."

"The Usual Suspects, or just Sylvia?" Sammy thinks to herself. "I don't recall there being a vote.  But its too late for that now."

"Information is good," Sammy says.  "So in the future, do I find you or will you find me?  Because there are always questions to be answered.  Right now there's the interesting question of why Megan Howell's family really left town so quickly.  She's the one who warned me about Torrance, so if something is wrong with her, I owe it to her to find out.  That balance thing.  If you know anything about that, I might be willing to trade you for something you want."

"And all of those things are why I am talking to you.  If you need to talk to me, I'm usually not hard to find.  I'm sure Dave can get my schedule, and I have lunch on that bench every day."

"I'm not going to ask Dave for your schedule!" she exclaims.  "Aside from the fact that he might accuse me of something awful, I'm possessed with the totally inappropriate, nagging little fear that he might be an evil mastermind hanging out with us for his own entertainment.  He doesn't need to know about this."  She laughs.  Mostly.  "If I need you... I don't know, I'll find a way to deliver the message."  She pulls out her phone. "Or I could just tell you my cell number and get yours for myself while I'm at it."

Next time I'm kidnapped, I could give you a shout.

"Reasonable."  Logan says, and they exchange phone numbers.  "As for Dave being an evil mastermind, that would certainly be an interesting yet out of character development."

"Yeah, I know.  But what else is new around here?"