She sighed hard. "I've called your parents. We know you're a good kid, but this is getting out of hand. It's not looking good."

I panicked. "Can we not tell my parents? I can handle this!"

Ms. Roberts got all serious again. "You can't shut everyone up by yourself. This rumor-spreading is cyber bullying. It's serious. The school wants to clear things up for you."

She wasn't budging, so I just sat there, numb.

A few hours later, my parents ...