Everybody Knows

by Jordan Harper

Mae knows the rumors are always true. Even the false ones.

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Nobody talks. But everybody whispers.

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Don’t worry about the truth. It’s not that the truth isn’t important. It just doesn’t matter.

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A lie that is never believed by anyone can still have power—if it gives people permission to do what they want to do anyway.

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There’s all these invisible walls that keep everybody in line. And if you refuse to see them, they just aren’t there anymore. Once you walk through the walls, they never come back up again.

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The rules say never think too hard about whys.

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“It’s just got this feeling—it’s so warm and comfortable.” “Like the tub you crawl into before you slit your wrists,” Mae says.

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Helen’s strategy is a Cyrus Mitnick classic: Find a lead steer. The rules say the press are cattle. You find a big-name journalist, feed the story to them—the rest of the press will follow the lead steer.

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