That's Not What Happened

Content Warning: This section includes discussion of school shootings, death by gun violence, trauma, mental and emotional health concerns, substance use disorder, and grief.

A cross necklace is typically a symbol of the Christian faith, but in That’s Not What Happened, it also symbolizes the unfair and biased judgments at the heart of Lee’s conflict. Though most peers, community members, and the wider public believe that the cross necklace in Sarah’s school picture was the one found in the bathroom, Lee knows the truth: Sarah’s school picture cross was a necklace she did not care about and only wore because her grandmother gave it to her. The necklace in the bathroom was not Sarah’s at all—but the strength of the false narrative spread first by Ashley, then others, connects that cross necklace to Sarah so inextricably that it is given to her parents to be buried with Sarah’s body.

Kellie eventually confirms what Lee suspects: The cross necklace in the bathroom was Kellie’s, but no one believed her; she attended a distant church, but since no one in their small town saw her attend, they assumed she did not attend any church, anywhere. The contrasting stereotypes that people believed based on assumptions about Sarah and Kellie led to impactful false narratives.