I stood outside the conference room in the Athletic's building, waiting for Faith to finish her interview before taking my turn. I was decked out in university varsity apparel from head to toe. I'd been told to dress in line with the team, so I'd worn almost every item the school had given me. Faith and I were posing for some photos before I was interviewed. I was a little nervous about talking to the reporter with so much at stake, but I was also determined to somehow either find out the source or get some hints at who might have leaked the information to the press.

The door opened and Faith came out, somber, but otherwise okay. When we made eye contact, she winked at me, and there was a whoosh of relief in my chest. It couldn't be that bad.

"Elizabeth?" A short, pert woman with dark brown hair and eyes thrust out her hand. "I'm Nadia Zemini – thanks so much for agreeing to talk to me."

We went out to the pool deck to get some shots with the pool as the backdrop. Once she was satisfied that at least one of them was probably good, we headed back to the conference room. As Faith was leaving, she called over her shoulder, "Call me later."

"You two are friends?" Nadia asked, taking a seat at the conference table.

"Yeah, we are. The team is really great, even with all this going on," I said, taking a seat across from her.

She gave me some easy questions to start, about the team, about my role in the team dynamics and then she started the questions about initiation. I gave her all the relevant details, and she just kept nodding her head as she was writing.

She asked a few questions to clarify things that happened that night and then she said, "So, what do you think should happen to those students who were part of organizing this hazing?"

I frowned, unsure how I was supposed to answer that. I already knew that Mark was going to be punished, but I didn't know if that was common knowledge. I thought about what the director had said about commenting on my experience.

"I can't speak for anyone else, but I don't know that a big punishment is warranted. I understand the university wants to prevent this from happening again and that it's against the school code of conduct, but it was a fun night. I always felt capable of stopping or not participating."

She cocked her head to the side and put the pen to her lips. "Do you think everyone who was there felt that way?"

"I wouldn't know," I admitted. I was tempted to add more, but I didn't want to dig a hole for myself. I couldn't defend anything beyond my experience and opinions.

She nodded and made a few more notes. "Do you have any questions for me about the flavor of the story or anything? I know you're a journalism major, so you might be curious."

I pretended to think for a minute. This might be easier than I thought. She'd opened the door to my curiosity rather nicely. "I always wonder how these stories come about. I mean, you must have a lead or a tip or something, right?"

She didn't look up from making her notes, but she nodded again. "Yeah, tips can come from all over the place. It can be anonymous or a source can want to be known or you can track them down."

"I'm guessing this lead would be pretty easy to figure out. It had to be a student, right?" I used my best 'well, d'uh' voice and hoped she might give a little more detail.

She looked up at me and smiled. "You'd think so. This tip was a weird one – anonymous but from a Senator's office number. We didn't bother to chase the source, there was enough detail to start the ball rolling with the university and to put some pressure on people here for the story. We don't want to bury anyone – many of the people who work in our office went to this school – but hazing is an outdated practice that can put students at risk. It was important that we investigated and followed up."

My brain was ticking away and I'd lost the thread of her conversation. When I looked up to meet her gaze, she looked concerned.

"Are you okay? You just went really pale. Don't worry – I don't think the government is involved in any sort of investigation. It was probably just a student who works on Parliament Hill."

A student who works on Parliament Hill. A student who works for a Senator on Parliament Hill. I rubbed my head, feeling a headache coming on. "Do you need anything else from me?"

"Depending on how the other interviews go today, I may have a follow-up question. I can reach you in your dorm room?" she asked, rattling off the number.

"That's right," I confirmed, standing up and moving towards the door.

As I walked back to my residence, I felt drunk. I wasn't sure if the feeling was from rage or sadness or disbelief. Lark was the source; I was sure of it. She worked about ten hours a week for her senator and was often there during the day on a weekend. She could have easily popped in after dropping off Cal at the airport to make a phone call or two. She'd promised that Tricia and I would regret messing with her. I bet she thought we'd never find out. If I didn't have such a great opening with Nadia, if I hadn't been chosen as one of the people to be interviewed, her secret would have been safe.

She must think we're so stupid. Rage started at my toes and moved like a fire through my body. Coach Burton might be fired. The football program might be canceled. Mark was being suspended, possibly expelled. I might not have a chance to go to nationals. All of this – all of it – because Lark couldn't keep her hands out of other people's pants, and blamed everyone but herself when she was caught. I thought there was a distinct possibility that I might kill her. The old adage of 'seeing red' seemed suddenly so appropriate.

I threw open the door to our floor and knocked on Rob's door. I was praying he was home. I needed to get myself under control before I faced Lark. I also needed someone else to confirm that what I thought was true.

Tom pulled open the door and looked me over. "You alright there, Lizzie? You're looking a little hot and bothered. Rob's not here."

I looked around him and saw that Jill was also in the room with him. "Can I use your phone?" I asked, pushing the words out of my mouth with some difficulty.

Tom stepped away from the door, and I walked in, not acknowledging Jill. I dialed my own phone number.

Tricia answered. "Jeez, Rob – you're getting lazy. Liz isn't back yet," she said, and I could hear the grin in her voice.

"It's me, Tricia. Can you meet me in the study room?"

"What? Why? Just come to our room."

"I can't – I might do something I regret if I come there now."

"Okay, sure," Tricia said carefully and hung up the phone.

"You alright?" Tom asked. "Is Rob being a tosser?"

"Nope, not him," I said curtly and called over my shoulder as I left the room, "thanks for letting me use the phone. If Rob comes back in the next few minutes, can you ask him to come to the study room?" I didn't wait for his reply, I just shut the door behind me with a firm click.

When I got to the study room, Tricia was already there, sitting on one of the desks. "What's up?" she asked as soon as I'd closed the door.

"Lark did it," I said, feeling the rage dissipating and disbelief taking over. "She's the one who called in the tip."

"Liz, you can't know that. We talked about this," Tricia said, shaking her head. "The reporter told you it was Lark? She said Lark's name?"

"No, she didn't—" I started.

"Then, you don't know it was her," Tricia said, hopping off the desk.

"The tip came from a Senator's office," I said, holding up my hand to stop her from leaving.

"What? The reporter told you that?"

"Yeah, Nadia told me that. She must have thought it wouldn't mean anything to me anyway. We were talking about how they get their tips. She said this one was an anonymous tip that came from a Senator's office number. They didn't chase it up because there was so much detail included in the tip."

Tricia sat back down with a thump on the top of the table. "Well, shit." Then as it registered she went ashen. "She ratted out the football team because of my feelings for Josh. She was making sure he wouldn't be here next year."

"She is literally ruining lives because Cal found out that she cheated on him – because we accidently told Cal that she was cheating on him. We didn't even do it on purpose," I said, gesturing wildly and feeling like I could easily punch someone.

The door to the study room opened. Tricia and I froze. Rob popped his head around the edge. "What are you two birds doing in here?"

I looked at Tricia as Rob came in and closed the door behind his back. Then, I told Rob everything I'd told her.

Rob sank into a chair and leaned back, thoughtful. "What do you reckon should be done?" he asked, looking at both of us.

"No idea. I don't want anything to do with her. I will happily take Jill over this sort of intentional, life ruining bullshit," I said, wound so tight I wasn't sure I'd ever unwind again.

"I'm going to get Josh," Tricia said, jumping down off the table and disappearing out of the room.

"You alright?" Rob asked.

I bugged my eyes out at him. "Am I alright? No, no, I'm not alright. I'm so angry I really worry that I could kill her."

"Cup of tea?" he suggested and I could tell from his expression that he was only partially joking.

"Contrary to popular belief, a good cup of tea does not fix everything," I shook my head and then felt myself relenting a little. "Just a lot of things."

He laughed. "I know this is serious stuff. But, tis done. Now the question is where do you go from here, yeah?"

"Well, I'm no longer going to be friends with her," I said as Tricia came back in pulling Josh behind her.

She sat him in a chair and perched herself on his lap. He looked up at her with adoring eyes, and she shook her head. "You're going to be really, really, really angry in a minute. I need to hold you down."

Josh looked at me and Rob in bewilderment. "I don't think it's possible for these two to piss me off that much. I might have this gagging feeling whenever I look at them, but no rage. I'm just happy they're happy."

I couldn't help a smile at his somewhat adorable ramble. I knew that was going to change pretty quickly. "We're not the problem," I said and then I told him what I knew.

Josh's face went very pale and then very red. Tricia watched him carefully as I talked and tried to keep him in check.

"You're sure?" Josh asked finally.

"That's what I know," I said, feeling myself somewhat deflated now that I'd related the story several times. "It's not for sure, but it's pretty damning."

Josh nodded. "Then, we confront her and kick her fat ass off our floor."

"Josh!" Tricia exclaimed as he stood up, almost toppling her to the floor.

He grabbed her elbow and bent down to kiss her on the cheek. "Babe, you know it's true. Her ass had gotten out of control. Your ass, however, is as fine as ever." He leaned back to take a look as Tricia hit him on the arm.

I stifled a laugh and glanced at Rob, who also seemed to be holding in a chuckle.

"This is serious," Tricia said.

"Don't I know it. We have a floor meeting tonight – everyone might as well know what a lying, conniving bitch is living on the floor," Josh said, opening the door. "When we get to the any other business, I am blowing this up." He looked at me. "Liz – I can trust you to back me up?"

I gawked at him. "I'm the one who just told you about it. Of course, I am going to back you up."

"Just checking – it's a bit like a trust fall. I'm trusting you to catch me," he said, yanking open the door and leaving, pulling Tricia behind him.

I looked at Rob. "What's his problem?" I asked.

Rob shrugged. "He plays football with his hands."

I burst out laughing and collapsed onto his lap. "Oh, my God, I love you."