The Redemption of Jamie Sarah Potter
-3-
Social Media Firestorm

The news of all the school prefects turning in their badges spread like a Californian wildfire. It spread first through word of mouth then through social media. Soon the whole town knew about it. Then it happened, the cheerleaders all twelve of them turned in their pom poms and true to his word. Ben led the whole defensive line in walking off the field. There would be no Friday night football for a while it seemed. And the Head well, there was little she could do to punish us.

There was after all nothing in the handbook about a prefect returning their badge, nothing about a cheerleader quitting the team if she wished, and nothing about a footballer quitting if he wished. Word of our protest soon spread to the other team. The Girl's Softball team decided to join the cheerleaders and laid down their bats and refused to practice. That put pressure on the Boy's Softball Team to do the same. The Girl's Basketball team soon decided to join their sisters. The last holdout was the Boy's basketball team. But they soon caved in and decided to join in the fun.

All the while the first rising wisp of a fire storm on Social Media started to rise. It started first by somebody posting on 'Benton Real Talk' an Facebook group that Benton Academy's cheerleading squad had quit in protest for something. Soon the whole town wanted to know more. Then bit by bit the story started to leak out. The fact that Cerridwen was transgender was overlooked. Heck they even overlooked the fact that she was one of the few Gothic Kids at Benton.

Instead the post depicted Cerridwen as a charming Celtic beauty with raven hair and twinkling blue eyes. A shy, smart girl from the poor side of town who wanted to make something of her life. People fell in love with her and they wanted to know more about her. And the fact she had been bullied in such a manner caused many of the townspeople to shout for justice.

Then it happened. Somebody had posted on the group a two and a half minute video of the fight between Daisy and the school bully. That was at ten o' clock in the morning around two hours after I'd turned in my badge and about an hour after the cheerleaders turned in their pom poms.

By lunch time the video had been shared around five hundred times. By the end of the school day it had been shared thirteen hundred times. If somebody removed it, somebody else uploaded it again. By dinner it had been seen by sixteen thousand people. Then somebody put it on YouTube. I don't know who, but I would love to shake their hand. Because then the whole world had pretty much access to it.

I'd turned my badge in on a Friday, the next day was on Saturday. Saturday is when the manure hit the fan. Somebody, again I don't know who, uploaded the whole public caning video to Facebook. I saw the video myself. The video was hard to watch, but I found myself forcing myself to watch it. It was like reliving the whole thing again.

Like the other video this was posted on Facebook, and soon on YouTube. By Sunday afternoon, the video had been shared roughly ten thousand times and viewed a hundred thousand. I was both flattered and embarrassed that around a hundred thousand people saw me giving a canning. But then something happened. Something happened that I did not expect to happen, something that would have far, long lasting effects than just me and a handful of guys and gals turning in what amounted to a plastic toy badge.

You see a number of private, mostly mom and pop owned business sponsors Benton Academy. It was this funding that allowed Benton Academy to field a football team, a cheerleading squad. And sometimes even keep the doors open. Most of the small business owners of town even sent their own children to Benton Academy.

Anyway as the fire storm on social media spread, the business owners took notice. Lily, and her friend Robin were the first ones to act. In fact I'll go as far as to say they set a precedent for other small business owners to follow. My older sister and best friend Robin own a small coffee shop downtown, it's called 'Sweet Magnolia' it's an anime themed maid cafe with a southern flare. And when word reached Lily and Robin that one of their employees had been bullied, and another had been forced to give a cruel caning. They quickly pulled their support.

My mom and dad followed, and 'Potter Mercantile' soon pulled their support from Benton Academy. Pandora who was slow to the game was mad as hell when she learned what had happened to her daughter and quickly pulled her support from Benton Academy, Cerridwen's aunt did the same. Other businesses soon followed their example.

All of this transpired over the course of a week. I'd turned my badge in on a Monday morning and by Friday morning I once again found myself in the headmistress office.

“Miss. Potter, this game must stop!” The head said to me. “It's gone on far too long. Now, I'm willing to overlook a few things.” She said, taking a deep breath as she paced around the small room. “I'm willing to overlook a lot of things. And it seems you enjoy considerable popularity with the student body. I'm sure if you were to take up your post as prefect. And gently ask the other girls to rejoin the cheerleading squad. And get your friend..”

“No.” I said, shaking my head.Now, in the south it’s rude to cut somebody off in mid conversation. But I knew what she was driving at and I wanted no part of it. 

“Miss. Potter! Do you have any idea of the trouble you have caused me!” She bellowed. “Since that little stunt you and the others pulled at the start of the week, I've been dealing with one problem after another. First It's addressing the hellish firestorm brewing on social media. You might not know it, but you have tarnished the reputation of this school beyond repair! You have soiled the name of the class of two thousand and twenty four. It will forever be remembered as the class that ruined the reputation of Benton Academy. You have forever destroyed your chances of being Homecoming Queen or Prom Queen. You have ruined your chances of personal advancement in this school.”

“So?” I shrugged.

“So? Is that all you can say? So? Miss. Potter forgive me for being blunt here. But you are throwing away everything a girl dreams about becoming when she goes through High School. But fear not, I'm willing to overlook this, and restore your chances of becoming Homecoming Queen and Prom Queen if you just resume your duties as prefect and help me sew up this little problem. The Potter family has connections, you can use those connections to get back what you have stolen from Benton Academy.”

“No.” I said, taking a deep breath.

“Damn it!” She yelled as she brought her fist down upon the desk.

“What is the end goal here!” She bellowed. “I don't understand any of this! All I did was ask you to thrash a brat! You thrashed the brat, you beat him bloody! He could barely walk and had to be carried to the nurses office! What is it that you want! Miss. Potter, I've given you everything I can give.”

“That's the problem.” I said finally.

“What is the problem?” The Headmistress said with a hiss as she turned toward me and peered directly into my face.

“Daisy did not deserve to be canned. He did not deserve the punishment that was given to him. I did not deserve to be forced to cane him. You should have! You failed as a leader, you pawned off that little chore to me. And I want a public apology.” I paused. “To me and to Daisy. I want to see Daisy back in class tomorrow morning. And I want the guy who bullied Cerridwen gone.”

“Are you making demands of me Miss. Potter?” The Headmistress said as she peered right into my eyes.

“No. I'm asking you to make things right. I'm asking you to do the right thing. Or else.” I said taking a deep breath it was time to roll the dice again.

“Or else what?” The Headmistress said with a sneer.

“I will be forced to mobilize the full weight of what social, political and financial forces we Potters can command.” I paused. “You have no idea who Daisy is do you? You have no idea of his family connections. You also have no idea because you don't want to know. I made a mistake in thrashing him and I'm doing the best I can make up for that!”

“I should send you to ISS for the rest of the school year for that little speech.” The Headmistress said as she turned away from me. “But if I do, then I'm sure that will only add fuel to the fire. Go, get out of my office.” She said as turned her head away from me. “Get out of my sight you little trouble maker.”

“With pleasure.”

And with that I walked out of the office and started to walk to my next class. As I walked I smiled and reached down into the pocket of my skirt. After a few seconds digging around I pulled out a small, digital recorder. I'd recorded the whole conversation. And little did the headmistress know that that little conversation was about to go public. I wanted my fellow students to know we were still in this fight, that we were winning. That we were wearing the enemy down. And I wanted those still on the sidelines to know that we were winning, and that they could still join us.

As I walked to class though I passed Daisy, he was coming back from lunch. His eyes seemed dim, his school shirt hung off him. His face seemed sunk in. His skin seemed gray and he seemed defeated. He was marching in a line. There must have been about four students in that grim line that passed me, all of them seemed like the meanest creatures ever to walk the face of the earth. One looked at me and grinned a feral grin.

“Stay strong..” I said as I watched Daisy from my sight. “Stay strong! You hear me Daisy Isabella Bell! Stay strong!” I bellowed.

I could not help myself. I had to yell a name that would mean something to the boy. That name 'Daisy Isabella Bell' was the name that Daisy would have been given if he had been born a girl. It was a name I often called him when we were alone. It was the same name he wanted to use if ever decided to play Dotty in the monthly fundraiser. I don't know what made me use it.

Daisy turned around and smiled at me, a few seconds later he was pushed down by the boy behind him. My heart was wrenched. A few more seconds passed before he vanished from my sight. I then made a promise to myself that I would not stop until Daisy could breathe the free air again.