"You still pushed her," the tall woman said coldly, throwing her under the bus without hesitation.
The short-haired woman turned on her. "You told me to scare her!"
"I said nothing of the sort!"
"You said she needed to be taught a lesson!"
The room went still.
Even the officer's expression changed slightly.
I felt my heartbeat quicken.
"So," the officer said slowly, "this was intentional intimidation?"
"No!" the tall woman said quickly, but her voice lacked its earlier confidence. "We were just talking—things got out of hand!"
"Talking?" I repeated softly, looking at them.
Both of them froze.
"You call that talking?" I continued, my voice calm—but colder than before. "Surrounding me. Insulting me. Closing in when I told you to stop."
The short-haired woman looked away.
The tall woman clenched her fists.
"You knew I couldn't swim," I added quietly.
That made them both look up.
Fear flickered across their faces.
