They were on their phones or leaning against the wall, chatting quietly between each other. They all looked up now. I guess Luke and I were the last ones to be found. Makes since, since we were out in the parking lot. Luke picked up two chairs from the side of the room and dropped them next to where the others were sitting. He offered me one and sat further away. The look he gave me wasn't as warm as I was used to. We both didn't know how to handle this limbo. We needed to talk, but right now we physically couldn't. His unapproachable vibe was back, and I couldn't help but feel like the invisible girl whose name he never remembered – that's how I used to feel at the beginning. I guess we had to put aside our personal feelings right now because this was a big deal. Expulsion is a big deal. I couldn't believe Mr Laghari threatened us with that. "My parents are going to kill me for this," Cearra said, sitting nervously on her hands, "Whatever you guys say, make sure you tell everyone how I did not participate in this." She was wearing a blue shirt that matched the blue ribbon twisted in her box braids and I wanted to tell her how good she looked... but this didn't feel like the right time. "Are we sure this is about Kaden anyway?" Chad asked, "Maybe they called us here to elect us to student body council. This school needs a facelift." "It is about Kaden," Arturo scowled from his corner of the room, "That nerd has done nothing but drag me into messes." Arturo had once been the up-and-coming basketball player that Luke was mentoring. Since his 'jersey deal' with Kaden, all of that fell apart and he's faced nothing but a cold shoulder from the entire team. "We all saw how fast that snitch ran out of there," Art continued, "He probably came straight here to report it." Luke was leaning back in his chair, texting with one hand resting against his lap. I was always drawn to him. Who was he even texting right now? Didn't he realize he was in the most trouble out of all of us? Chad laughed, "I keep forgetting Millie dated this guy." Luke paused in mid text and looked at him. Chad apologized. I don't get how Luke was so calm about this. He punched another student on school grounds. He tied Kaden up, threw basketballs at him like he was a net and then punched him – in front of a dozen witnesses. Luke was not only facing expulsion, but he could also lose his college acceptance. His whole dream would crash in front of him. His future... I was finding it so hard not to hyperventilate. It looked like Cearra was right on the edge with me. "I need water," she pulled her hands out from under her legs and looked around, "Water?" Austin checked his bag. He pulled out my empty whisky bottle, "Uh... no, sorry." "Austin!" I gasped, "Put that away! We're in the principal's-" The door opened and the Vice Principal walked in with an incredibly angry look on her face. Austin zipped up his backpack and, with the back of his shoe, nudged it under his chair. She announced, "We have a zero-tolerance bullying policy at Preston Oakes and you have all been reported for violating that policy." "Well I'm shocked," Chad spoke out, "And we're going to need our lawyers present." Our lawyers? Who else has a lawyer on speed dial? That Chad... never mind. I'm not surprised anymore. "Mr Chadwick, there will be no need for lawyers, only parents," the Vice President said, "We will be asking you about an incident that took place today in the basketball courts. The student will remain anonymous as we get to the bottom of these claims." "There's nothing anonymous about it," Luke replied. The Vice President was taken off guard. "Unless you don't know his name," Austin said to the VP, "But we can call him Kaden for short." Sometimes, I don't understand these boys. Chad, Luke and Austin's reactions had completely surprised her, and she did not look pleased about it. Luke had dragged us all into this mess and now he and his friends were playing up to it, like it was no big deal. Some of us don't get second chances. The flustered VP started pulling files out of her large binder, "My assistant has collected all your files here. When I call your name, please stand up." "Roland Chadwick the third," she said, pulling her pages in order, "I have your transfer files from Callington Prep here somewhere..." I leaned over and whispered to Austin, "What's Callington Prep?" "It's a really posh school that Chad used to go to," Austin replied, "He transferred sophomore year." Why? "Austin Taylor," she pulled out a second file that was much thicker than the first and struggled to balance it with the other papers, "OK, one second, bear with me. Your file is very heavy." What was in there? Austin didn't seem surprised by her comment. She had to place his file on the table to continue and I saw pages and pages bound together. It felt odd to me that even the Vice Principal knew who these boys were. She was saying their names before she even got to their files. "Luke Dawson, I'm surprised to see you being called in here. You are, after all, a symbol for the school," she said, flicking through until she got to his, "It will be a shame to have to take that away." This was not going to be easy on him. I saw my name on the next file she pulled out and I braced myself for what she would say. She picked it up and read out loud, "Mildred Ripley-" Chad burst out laughing in the most obnoxious way possible. Everyone was laughing. Even Luke had his lips curved up in amusement. "Sorry, why is that funny?" I asked, feeling my face heat up with embarrassment. "Mildred..." Chad repeated between his laugh, "Was everything a lie?" I cleared my throat and said to the Vice Principal, "It's Millie." "Right," she dismissed it, flicking through my file as she was noticing my existence for the first time, "I can see here that you're quite accomplished at math and... well, not much else. You applied to be a tutor-" "That's long gone," I muttered. I'm on the brink of being expelled, so that has to be the final nail in the coffin. My dreams of becoming a tutor were long gone.