Time dragged on until school was technically over, but Tim, sitting up front, showed zero signs of letting anyone leave. This made the students in the auditorium genuinely anxious.
It was Friday, after all. If they stayed stuck here any longer, they were going to lose a chunk of their precious weekend.
Desperate to end this nightmare, many students started spontaneously hunting for the culprit again, hoping to speed things up.
Just as the room was devolving into another chaotic witch hunt, the double doors pushed open. Ms. Sharon, who had been taken away earlier, walked back in.
"Ms. Sharon, is everything sorted out?" Tim rushed over to greet her.
Ms. Sharon's vibe was even icier than when she left. Hearing his question, she gave a curt nod.
"I knew it! I knew you'd be okay!" Hearing her confirmation, Tim let out a long breath, a huge weight finally lifting off his shoulders.
Amidst Tim's fussing, Ms. Sharon looked out at the sea of students. "What's the situation here?"
After Tim filled her in, Ms. Sharon frowned slightly. "Let's just drop it."
As mentioned before, while Ms. Sharon looked strict and unapproachable, she wasn't actually that harsh on her students. Since the misunderstanding regarding her was cleared up, she didn't want to make life difficult for anyone else.
"We can't just..." Tim wanted to argue on her behalf. But when he met her calm, steady gaze, he folded. "Alright, I get it."
Honestly, just having Ms. Sharon back safe and sound put Tim in a much better mood. Otherwise, these kids probably would have been tortured for quite a while longer.
Understanding Ms. Sharon's intentions, Tim walked to the front of the stage. He looked at the students, seeing the suspicion and distrust in their eyes. "Alright everyone, quiet down!"
Once the room settled, he continued, "It looks like the person responsible for this mess isn't among you. However, I still have to say this: the fact that you're all here proves that you've all got something on your conscience.
"So, if you don't mind, I want to play a game with you. A little game about trust.
"You can use this opportunity to spill your guts and say what's really on your mind..."
Because of today's events, walls had naturally gone up between everyone. If this kept up, it wasn't going to be good for anyone. Tim was using this 'truth game' to help rebuild a bridge of trust.
After explaining the plan, Tim dragged a desk over and climbed on top of it.
Beckoning the students closer, Tim looked like he was throwing caution to the wind. He shouted, "I admit it! I have a crush on Ms. Sharon! So what? Everyone has the right to pursue happiness!"
Hearing Tim actually speak his truth so bluntly, the surrounding students were shocked for a split second before erupting into cheers.
Standing at the edge of the crowd, Ms. Sharon saw the burning look in Tim's eyes. For a rare moment, she looked flustered and quickly turned her face away.
Seeing her reaction, a grin spread across Tim's face. He turned his back to the students, spread his arms wide, and yelled, "I'm coming!"
Amidst a wave of gasps, Tim fell backward off the desk without a shred of protection.
Luckily, Mike was quick-witted and strong enough to step up and catch the Dean of Students single-handedly.
Standing back up, Tim laughed and patted Mike's arm, looking satisfied. "You're good. Alright, you're up next. Show everyone how it's done."
"Don't worry, I'll catch you," Tim added, thumping his chest to show he was reliable.
The whole point of this trust game was to place your back—and your safety—completely in someone else's hands.
Mike hadn't expected to get roped into this, but the atmosphere was already hyped, so he hopped onto the desk without complaint.
Looking at Cady, Karen, Gretchen, and the others gathering around, Mike said, "I admit I'm a little selfish. I just want to give happiness to everyone I love. But really, is that so wrong?"
The room went quiet for a beat, and then a few guys let out knowing laughs. That was followed immediately by enthusiastic cheering from the girls.
From the girls' perspective, Mike being a player wasn't exactly a dealbreaker. Who didn't want a boyfriend as hot as Mike? Even if they couldn't have him, just dreaming about it was enough.
Meanwhile, in the crowd, Tim looked shocked once he processed what Mike had actually said—wearing a 'kids these days are wild' expression.
But before he could dwell on it, he was shoved aside by the swarm of girls rushing forward.
On the desk, having finished his manifesto, Mike turned and fell backward.
He fell like a drop into the ocean, "swimming" a lap as he was crowd-surfed by the dense mass of students.
Watching Mike get escorted to the side by Cady and the others, Tim stepped up again and shouted to the excited crowd, "It's still game time! Who's next?"
After two demonstrations, the students pretty much understood how this trust game worked.
"I'll go!" Janis, the punk girl who thought this whole thing was actually kind of fun, pushed through the crowd and climbed onto the desk.
Once up there, she didn't speak immediately. Instead, she shot a meaningful glare at Regina, the "Queen Bee," who was hiding off to the side.
Everyone knew they had bad blood. Now, a chunk of the room was watching, waiting to see what Janis would do.
"I admit... I like girls way more than I like guys!" Janis started, immediately drawing cheers from the crowd.
Then, she stared right at Regina and screamed, "So, Regina! Bitch, I love you to death!"
After some internal struggle, Janis ultimately chose not to expose the Queen Bee's true colors right then and there.
Looking like she'd blown off some steam, Janis spun around with a cool flair and did a trust fall into the crowd.
"Janis, you seriously need to lose some weight..." came a weak protest from Damian in the crowd.
Looking over, Janis had landed squarely on top of Damian, using him as a human cushion.
Amidst the roar of laughter, Cady quietly climbed onto the desk.
"First, I want to say 'I'm sorry' to Regina. Even though she's mean, bossy, and loves talking behind people's backs..." Cady rambled off a long list, sounding like she was publicly roasting Regina.
On the outskirts of the crowd, Regina's face was getting uglier by the second.
But quickly, Cady shifted gears. "I admit that to fit in with The Plastics, I pretended to be just like her. I absorbed all those bad traits. So, I want to say 'I'm sorry' to everyone."
Cady's genuine confession earned her a round of applause.
Just as everyone thought she was done, Cady continued, "Secondly, I need to apologize to Ms. Sharon. I shouldn't have started that rumor about her pushing drugs."
If there was one thing that had been the most intense part of the day, it was Ms. Sharon being taken away for investigation.
Now that the culprit who framed Ms. Sharon had revealed herself, the room instantly fell dead silent. Dozens of eyes turned to look at the other person involved in the scandal.