Amaya stiffened. "What do you mean?"
"Mason showed me the video before they edited it. I heard you screaming, saw them holding you down." Marina's eyes filled with tears. "I should have stayed that day. I knew something was wrong."
"Why are you telling me this now?"
Marina looked around nervously. "Because I'm tired of being scared and because..." she hesitated. "Because they've done this before. Not exactly this, but similar things to other girls, to kids they think don't belong."
Amaya studied her, weighing whether to trust her. "Are you willing to say that officially? To Principal Harrison?"
Marina's face paled. "I can't. Mason would—"
"Break up with you? Is that really worse than letting them hurt more people?"
Marina looked away. "You don't understand. It's not just about Mason. Brett's dad is the mayor. His family controls everything in this town. They could make life impossible for my family. My dad works for the city."
Amaya felt her anger rising but forced herself to stay calm. Getting angry at Marina wouldn't help. "What if you didn't have to say anything officially? What if there was another way you could help?"
"What do you mean?"
"You date Mason. You hear things, see things. All I'm asking is that you keep your eyes and ears open."
Marina hesitated, then nodded. "I can do that. And I'm sorry, Amaya. For what it's worth, I think what you're doing is brave."
After Marina left, Amaya felt a small spark of hope. Maybe she wasn't as alone in this fight as she'd thought.
Throughout the week, Amaya collected footage from the cameras, carefully reviewing each recording with her father in their makeshift war room. Most of it was mundane: students chatting, walking to class, complaining about homework. But occasionally they caught glimpses of Brett and his friends talking in hushed tones, looking over their shoulders.
"They're nervous," Elijah observed. "Good. Nervous people make mistakes."
On Thursday, Amaya was surprised when Lexi Parker approached her after school. Lexi, Brett's on-again, off-again girlfriend, had mostly ignored Amaya since her arrival at Westbridge.
"Can we talk?" Lexi asked, glancing around to make sure no one was watching.
Amaya nodded and they walked to a quiet corner of the campus.
"I heard what Brett did to you," Lexi said without preamble. "The real story, not the BS version everyone's talking about. And... and I've seen him do things like this before. Not as bad maybe, but the same kind of cruelty." Lexi's voice wavered. "He's dating Heather now, but he's still trying to control who I can talk to, who I can date."