Invisible To Her Bully (Jessa and Noah) novel Chapter 247

Chapter 247

Jackson

The walk to the administration office felt longer than it should have.

Not physically.

Mentally.

Because every step there felt like I was dragging the entire school’s stupidity behind me.

Mariah walked beside me, quiet in a way that wasn’t normal for her. Usually she filled space with something–sarcasm, commentary, a jab at someone’s outfit.

Today she was just… there.

Calm on the outside.

I knew her well enough to know that meant she was pissed.

Behind us, Noah had peeled off toward class after making sure we were actually going to the office and not just starting a hallway brawl. One of the assistant principals had seen the whole locker situation and told us to come down.

So here we were.

The administration office smelled like stale coffee and printer ink.

A woman at the front desk barely glanced up.

“Name?”

“Jackson Lombardi.”

She typed something slowly.

“And?”

I gestured beside me. “Mariah Morales.”

More typing.

Then she pointed down the hall. “Mr. Caldwell can see you.”

Great.

We walked into the office.

Mr. Caldwell looked exactly like someone who had spent twenty years sitting behind a desk dealing with teenagers he didn’t actually care about.

Mid–fifties. Half reading glasses. Expression permanently stuck somewhere between tired and bored.

He didn’t even look up at first.

“Have a seat.”

Mariah sat.

I stayed standing.

He finally glanced up.

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“Yes?”

I crossed my arms.

“The coach said something about talking to administration about the cyberbullying going around school.”

He leaned back in his chair slightly.

“Oh yes,” he said in a tone that made it sound like someone had reminded him he forgot to buy milk. “Coach mentioned something about that.”

Something about that.

My jaw tightened.

Mariah shifted slightly in her chair but didn’t say anything.

Mr. Caldwell folded his hands.

“The school will handle this.”

That was it.

No urgency.

No concern.

Just a sentence.

Something inside my chest snapped.

“Handle it how?”

He looked mildly confused.

“We will look into it.”

My laugh came out sharp.

“Look into it.”

“Yes.”

I reached into my backpack.

Mariah glanced up at me, sensing something coming.

I pulled out the crumpled paper I’d shoved in there earlier–the stupid ultrasound picture someone printed from the internet.

Baby Lombardi.

I tossed it onto his desk.

It slid across the wood and stopped right in front of him.

His eyes dropped to it.

“What is this?”

“Apparently something you’re already handling,” I said.

Mariah inhaled quietly beside me.

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Mr. Caldwell unfolded the paper slowly.

He stared at it for a moment.

Then he sighed.

“Students can be immature.”

That did it.

“Immature?” I snapped. “That was taped to her locker this morning.”

Mariah’s hands tightened in her lap.

“This rumor started from a joke,” I continued, anger pushing every word out faster now. “Now people are posting fake pregnancy announcements online, printing fake ultrasounds, and sticking them on lockers.”

Mr. Caldwell raised a hand slightly.

“Mr. Lombardi-”

“No,” I cut in. “This joke is getting out of hand.”

The room went quiet.

Mariah touched my arm lightly.

“Jackson.”

But I wasn’t done.

“People think this stuff is funny,” I said. “They think it’s entertainment. But it’s not. It’s harassment.”

Mr. Caldwell looked at Mariah now.

“Miss Morales, are you feeling harassed?”

Mariah blinked.

I stared at him.

Seriously?

Mariah sat up straighter.

“Yes,” she said evenly. “I am.”

He nodded slowly like he’d just confirmed something on a checklist.

“I see.”

He set the paper down.

“We take cyberbullying seriously.”

“Do you?” I asked.

Mariah’s hand squeezed my sleeve harder.

“Jackson.”

But my blood was still boiling.

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Because this guy looked like he was about to file paperwork and move on with his day.

“Because from where I’m standing,” I said, “this school seems perfectly fine letting people destroy someone’s reputation for

fun.”

Mr. Caldwell leaned back in his chair.

“Mr. Lombardi, you need to calm down.”

That phrase alone almost made me laugh.

“Calm down?” I repeated.

“Yes.”

I gestured toward the ultrasound picture.

“She’s got people walking around school saying she’s pregnant. That she’s easy. That she slept with me. You don’t think that deserves more than a ‘we’ll look into it“?”

He studied me now.

For the first time, he looked mildly interested.

“You are aware rumors spread quickly in a school environment.”

No kidding.

Mariah spoke up before I could explode again.

“We’re not asking you to control rumors,” she said calmly. “We’re asking you to stop people from actively spreading them.”

That landed better.

Mr. Caldwell folded his hands again.

“The I******

‘m page you’re referring to–Ridgeville Gossip?”

Mariah nodded.

“Yes.”

“We are aware of it.”

“Then shut it down,” I said immediately.

He gave me a thin smile.

“It’s not run by the school.”

“So?”

“So we cannot legally remove an account run by students outside of school property.”

Of course.

“But,” he continued, “if students are using school resources to create or distribute harassment, that becomes a disciplinary issue.”

Mariah leaned forward slightly.

“So if someone printed that here…”

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He nodded.

“Then we can investigate.”

I crossed my arms again.

“So what now?”

He slid the paper back toward us.

“Leave this with me.”

Mariah picked it up instead.

“I’d rather not.”

He didn’t argue.

“Fair enough.”

He sighed.

“I will speak with the coach again. We’ll review the situation. If we determine who created the material, disciplinary action will follow.”

His tone made it sound like paperwork.

But at least it was something.