Not forty.
One showed his first recommendation.
One showed his later letter asking the superintendent to reconsider.
One showed his 1989 reflection.
The final line under his photograph read:
A legacy is not honesty with the difficult parts removed.
Harper stared at the slide for a long time.
“That’s strong.”
“Too much?”
“No.”
“Too dramatic?”
“Maybe slightly.”
Nyla smiled.
“You’re supposed to say no.”
“I teach teenagers. I never say no to dramatic.”
The capstone presentations were scheduled for the last week of April.
Students would present before small panels of teachers, parents, and community volunteers.
Nothing public.
No school-wide assembly.
No awards.
No prize.
That made Brooke’s fixation even harder to understand from the outside.
Then Sarah Bishop finally talked.
She approached Nyla near the gym after school.
“I need to tell you something.”
Nyla waited.
Sarah looked terrified.
“Brooke thinks you’re presenting something that’s going to make everyone hate her family.”
Nyla sighed.
“I know.”
“No, like she thinks you’re going to ask the school to remove her grandfather’s name.”
“I’m not.”
“I told her that.”
“How do you know?”
“Because Cassidy said you weren’t.”
Nyla almost laughed at the ridiculous chain of information.
Sarah continued.
“She keeps saying once your presentation happens, social media will pick it up.”
“It’s a senior capstone.”
“I know.”
“She thinks county news is waiting outside?”
Sarah looked embarrassed.
“Kind of.”
Nyla stared.
“What does this have to do with you telling me?”
Sarah looked around.
“Because Megan said Brooke wants to ruin your notes.”
Nyla became very still.
“What?”
“I don’t know if she means it.”
“What did she say?”
Sarah hesitated.
“Something like, ‘Maybe she can’t present what she doesn’t have.’”
Nyla’s stomach tightened.
“When?”
“Yesterday.”
“Where?”
“Lunch.”
“Who heard?”
“Megan.”
“Anyone else?”
“I don’t know.”
Nyla thanked her.
Then went directly to Grant.
For the first time, administrators treated the situation as a credible threat to property.
Brooke was interviewed.
She denied planning anything.
She admitted saying she wished Nyla’s project would disappear.
“That’s different.”
Grant agreed it was different.
Without more evidence, they could not punish intent they could not establish.
They warned Brooke explicitly not to touch Nyla’s materials.
Christine Whitman came to school furious.
She said administrators were treating her daughter like a criminal based on gossip.
Grant explained no discipline had been imposed.
“Then why am I here?”
“Because your daughter is part of an escalating conflict.”
“Created by whom?”
Grant looked at her.
“Do you want the documented timeline?”
Christine did not answer.
The school increased supervision around capstone presentations.
Nyla’s parents asked her to keep the binder home.
She refused.
“I need it.”
“You have digital files.”
“I annotate on paper.”
Malcolm looked at Denise.
“This is genetic stubbornness.”
Denise said, “From you.”
Nyla smiled.
They compromised.
Nyla would bring the binder only when needed.