What Happened To Rachel Riley?

Content Warning: This section discusses sexual harassment.

“I also hope you learn that when asking a complicated question, you should prepare for that question to shake and quake into a thousand more. Because people, like fires, can surprise you. And lies, like flames, can spread faster than we can put them out.”

Anna explains what she hopes her teacher, Ms. O’Dell, will take away from her “un-essay’” on Rachel Riley. Anna uses the image of a fire figuratively here. It points to the girls’ anger about the situation, signifying how if these feelings are repressed for too long, they can unwittingly transform into something dangerous and destructive. This is what happened at the barn: Jordan accidentally started the fire, and it destroyed several things, including Rachel’s social life and her friendships with the people in her class. The fire also, as Anna mentions, symbolizes the lies that spread about Rachel, which Jordan also started.

“Then Principal Howe read the next name: Rachel Riley. And nobody did anything. Not a single person clapped for her! It was so, so weird—like, total silence. Nobody was even talking…I mean, it was so strange. She didn’t have a single person who would even pity clap for her? Even though there were people who would cheer for me?”

Anna describes the moment when she is first drawn to the mystery of what happened to Rachel—when she discovers that her classmates are willing to acknowledge her birthday, despite being a newcomer, but completely ignore Rachel’s. Anna’s curiosity also underlines her inherent sense of justice. Even as she wonders what happened to Rachel, she also feels strongly that nobody, including Rachel, deserves this kind of treatment.

“Peace begins with us, after all.”

Maja reflects on the school motto in her email to Anna’s social issues teacher, Ms. O’Dell. The phrase “Peace begins with us” is a