Piper folded her arms. “She has some obsession with proving people wrong.”
I almost laughed, but my throat hurt too much.
“I found the source row,” I said.
The words made her freeze.
Ms. Ward turned to me. “What source row?”
I looked toward the first-aid supply spreadsheet still open on the classroom laptop. My name was highlighted in one column. A missing supply count sat beside it. At first glance, it looked like I had signed out boxes of gloves and antiseptic packs for myself.
But I had checked the source.
The original entry wasn’t mine.
Someone had copied my name into a row attached to another student ID, another login, another time.
I pointed at the laptop.
“Before Piper hit me, I told her I wouldn’t erase the original source detail. The sheet was changed to make it look like I stole supplies.”
The air shifted again.
Mr. Bell walked to the laptop.
Piper whispered, “Don’t.”
It was so quiet that only the front row heard it.
But I heard it.
And so did Ms. Ward.
Part 4: The Name Hidden Under Mine
Mr. Bell didn’t touch the keyboard at first.
He looked at Piper.
Then he looked at me.
“Nell,” he said carefully, “show me what you found.”
My legs felt weak as I stepped toward the laptop. The workshop room seemed too bright, every fluorescent light buzzing against my skin. Someone had turned off the training video on the projector, leaving the screen blank and white like a wall waiting for a confession.
I clicked the spreadsheet history.
Piper scoffed behind me. “Anyone can fake that.”
Mr. Bell didn’t look at her. “Let her show it.”
The version history opened.
Names and times lined the side panel.
At 8:56 AM, before school officially started, someone had edited the first-aid kit checkout row. The visible version showed my name. Nell Diaz. Student volunteer. Emergency supply count discrepancy.
But when I clicked the earlier version, my name vanished.
Another name sat underneath it.
Piper Lockwood.
The room exhaled all at once.
Piper’s voice cracked. “That doesn’t mean anything.”
I clicked again.
The source detail expanded.
Student login. Device ID. Draft note link. Video title.