She frowned. “They were pushing people.”
“What people?”
At that, she winced. “Disadvantaged people. Disabled or whatever you call them.”
Kate sagged in her chair. “So, you’re talking about people in wheelchairs or like on crutches?”
She nodded. “Yes, and some with diseases or tumors or not smart or whatever.”
“So these people, who already have enough of a challenge getting through the day, now have to deal with shitheads like you guys deliberately making it harder?”
Candy just stared, her bottom lip trembling.
“Yeah, I’m including you in that group,” Kate said, “if you’re doing it with them.”
“I don’t want to be a shithead,” she said.
“Did you push one of them?”
She started to bawl. “I did, but not one of them.”
“Why not?”
“I couldn’t. They wanted me to pick on a blind woman.”
“Wow, really nice friends you have.” Kate shook her head. “Did they hurt anybody seriously when they did this?”
She nodded. “They pushed one woman down some stairs. She broke a leg, but, of course, they got away with it.”
“And what about the others they picked on and pushed?”
“I don’t know about all of them, but they really like to do things like that.”
“I don’t care if they really like to do shit like that or not. That’s really not cool, not allowed, and it’s assault. And, if somebody broke their leg, that’s even worse.” Kate thought about the woman at the corner on the bike. “Did you see the woman hit by the vehicle recently at the intersection?”
She shook her head. “No, we really didn’t.”
“Yeah, right. Not sure I believe you. After all, I can imagine you didn’t want me to find out about all the bullying your little group does around campus.” Kate was completely exasperated. “That just goes to show what shitty people you all are.”
The other woman gasped at the hard insult.
But Kate wouldn’t hold back. “Seriously? They wanted you to push a blind woman? Who won’t even have the chance to know where that blow comes from? Do you think she hasn’t grown up with other little shitheads just like that? But that would have been years ago, like grade school, possibly even high school. But this is the university. This is about being an adult, in an adult world—or not. You get to make that choice now. Every day, it’s your choice to be a good person or a shithead,” she snapped. “Congratulations for proving yourself to be in the shithead category.”
The other woman looked at her, shocked.
“Yeah, don’t even go there. Why should I take any pity on you? You pushed somebody, didn’t you?”
She nodded. “But she was healthy at least.”
Kate snorted, totally disgusted. “And that makes it better, right?” Candy just bawled again. Kate shook her head. “Wow, now I have all that shit to get through, as well.”
“What will you do?”
“You’lltalk to your dean for one thing.”
“No, no, no. You don’t understand. They’ll kill me.”
“And so, do you meankill meas infear for your lifekill me?” she asked. “Because now I have to wonder just what kind of shitheads these guys really are. I mean, for all I know, they’re into murder.”