Chapter Text
The plan was simple yet complicated, so complicated that Binky had to get Miss Langley involved to help. He told the computer teacher everything, and she agreed to host a fake award ceremony to get Maria to the event. Binky then did his part, turning to Muffy, who would invite everyone who had been affected by the app to the event. To fulfill her plan, she brought in Brain, who hacked the Cheaters website and sent private messages to every user letting them know about the event.
Miss Langley reserved the school's gym, which could seat over five hundred people, almost a thousand if they put chairs on the gym floor. Knowing people would flood the event, she requested just that. The clueless principal never thought anything of it and allowed this to happen, even agreeing to come to the event to watch.
The night everything was scheduled for, everyone dressed their best. Arthur drove Sue Ellen, Buster, Muffy, Molly, and Binky to the event in his mother's minivan. It was his first time driving so many people at once, but everyone was too quiet to be talkative.
Once at the school, they realized just how big things were. They managed to find seats high above the gym floor, but it was clear the place was going to be packed. The principal was onstage laughing with a vice-principal and Miss Langley. Maria was in the front row with her parents, the only other parents in the room.
Muffy shook her head, “This is about to get insane.”
Buster nodded, “Look, there's Francine over there. She looks furious, but things should correct themselves.”
“Too bad the man she lost is mine now,” Sue Ellen grinned.
“That's right,” Arthur nodded. “We were never meant for each other and this just proved it. At least now I'll clear my name.”
The gym doors were soon barred with a few lines of yellow tape. The fire department had come, forcing any new comers outside. The principal was warned and asked a janitor to put some sound equipment outside. Brain peeked out and saw hundreds of people gathered around the speakers they put out, all of them waiting for things to go down.
Finally the ceremony started. Music played, silencing the crowd. Miss Langley took the stage and followed the script of your standard high school award ceremony. She thanked everyone for coming then led into a long spiel about the award, rather the creation of a life-changing app. The only exception? This spiel just got darker and darker:
“I wanted to recognize you for your achievements as a female coder. As a woman myself, I know how difficult it is to be taken seriously. I always tell my students that despite this hardship of sorts, I never resorted to any behavior unbecoming of a gentleman. I wanted my fellow coders to see me as an equal, not a delicate flower or a vindictive person. I never wanted to use someone else's hardships as my step up to success...but it's been brought to my attention that you did just that.
“Maria created a website from scratch before ever reaching my class. I put her on advanced projects, specifically an app creation project that led the way for her personal project to do the same. As she worked for on an app to make buying tickets for school events easier and accessible across multiple devices, she improved on her own project, making it bigger and more menacing.
“I knew from certain events that you were the one behind this app, but I did not know until these recent days how far-spread your impact was. I must commend you on your ability to effect so many people in so little time, but now I feel you must apologize for your actions. Please, come up to the stage to issue your apology to the people of this school, of this community.”
Miss Langley stood to the side of the podium, but Maria remained glued to her seat. Her mother, furious, stood and stomped up the stage. She wasn't allowed to get to the microphone, but her screams were picked up anyway, “How dare you say such things about my daughter! She's never done a bad thing in her entire life, and implying she's a vindictive bitch in front of a room full of people is bullying!”
“If she really did create that app, she should have to apologize,” the principal argued. “I've heard enough to know that's what this is about. Do you know how many sobbing teenagers I've had in my counseling office in recent months? Some of them were on the brink of suicide because of that app! A few even needed to be admitted for their own welfare!” the principal exclaimed.
The microphone was forgotten as Miss Langley jumped back in, “Your daughter's intelligence isn't under attack here, only what she's done. She knew exactly what she was doing when she created that website and app, and I know for a FACT that she meant to destroy lives. I'm aware that some of these kids are no angels, but what your daughter did was cold-hearted. It was also wrong, and when I was approached, I knew I had to act.”
“Attacking her character in public is a criminal offense!” Maria's mother countered. “She's just a teen girl!”
“One who knew what she was doing,” Maria said into the microphone. The crowd watched her approach the stage but remained attentive to the dramatic show going on before them. Maria managed to silence the adults and any other murmurs in the room, “I did do this on purpose. So many of you made fun of my stutter. You ruined my life! I never went to dances, I never had any real friends. I did when I was young, then you took them from me!” Maria cried, shaking her head, “So I had to take action.
“You're all obsessed with your relationships, like who you're with makes you who you are. I wanted to ruin that as innocently as possible. The Cheaters app just encouraged you to make things public. You're the ones who took it too far. Having dinner or a meeting with a person who matches your preferences doesn't make you a cheater! I ran the numbers. Only five percent of the posts on the app and website were real cheating offenses. Everything else? Innocent.
“You're punishing me for what you did to yourselves! My mom's right. If you do anything to me, I'll sue this school. I'll ruin everyone's lives even more, and none of you will have a clue. Just look how long it took for you to confront me!” Maria exclaimed, a devious smirk on her lips.
“She's right,” Brain whispered.
Muffy nodded, “And she's rich enough to follow through with it. I can't believe I didn't realize before.”
The principal took back control, “No one will be punished, but I think it's fair that the app be destroyed.”
Maria refused, “The app did nothing wrong! You're all the ones who misused it.”
“Destroy it,” Miss Langley said barely loud enough for the microphone to pick up. “You know it'll just keep getting misused. You can keep the website, but the mobile version needs fixes. Improve it so that posts can be reported for misconduct or lies, then you can put it up again.”
“Miss Langley!” the principal cried.
Miss Langley shook her head, “You have to admit it's an impressive creation for a teenager, plus it does have some benefits. The students just took it too far, and judging by the turnout tonight, they know now to use the app more wisely. With Maria's improvements, they'll be able to report the pieces that are obvious fakes. Maybe there should even be tags for joke posts. I'll guide her through the process and make sure everything goes smoothly.”
The principal knew he had to agree. If he didn't, Maria and her family would sue the school system into the ground, and he knew they had the means to do such a thing.
As the ceremony ended, the gym slowly cleared out of people. Muffy and Buster left first to get dinner, but Arthur and Sue Ellen decided to let the crowd die down before leaving. Molly and Binky waited a moment too before heading outside for fresh air, leaving Arthur and Sue Ellen alone.
After a few minutes, a shadow fell over Arthur. He looked up to see Francine standing with her arms crossed, “I guess I should apologize for taking that app so seriously. It's nice being rid of you though.”
“Same,” Arthur nodded. “I wish we would've known sooner.”
“Same,” Francine said, looking to Sue Ellen, “I never believed that post. Why would you want to date Buster?”
Sue Ellen laughed, “Exactly. I don't know how Muffy puts up with him.”
Francine shrugged, “She's always liked him. I gotta go. I'm single right now, but I like it that way. Thanks for putting up with me before I realized that.”
Arthur merely nodded and watched her leave. When she was gone, the couple realized they were the only ones left in the bleachers. They took each other's hand and left, sitting in the parking lot a while to watch the last few people leave. Maria was one of them, walking with her head held high. She'd finally been noticed, plus she'd stuck it to her bullies. Arthur was still angry about what happened, but he couldn't help but be proud of her. She managed something no one else had, and it was so good that people didn't catch on for a long time. Now she'd have her app, plus people could get their lives back. That made it a good night.
~End