He's not a grade A student either. Principal Lee was getting disoriented by the interruptions, "You were called here to settle the dispute between the children. I was unaware there were issues at the parental level also." Issues don't even begin to cover what we have. The Principal picked up her notepad and scribbled something down. "What are you writing?" my mom asked. "She's judging us," Mrs Dawson gasped. Luke leaned back in his chair and covered his hand over his mouth to hide his smile. At least he was enjoying this. The Principal hadn't expected our parents to be... our parents. At this rate, I'm surprised Luke and I ended up so normal. Actually, did we? From the other side of the room, Cearra's mother spoke up now, "I've listened patiently and have yet to hear how my daughter is involved in this mess. If she is not a participant, then I don't see the need to be here." She stood up from her chair and grabbed Cearra by the wrist to pull her along. Austin backed well out of their way. "Cearra was on the court," Principal Lee said, "Standing with Austin Taylor and Roland Chadwick the III. By all accounts, she was on their side." Cearra's mom slowed before she reached the door. "What accounts?" Chad glanced over at Austin, "Any of your friends? You're the most well-liked person here." Austin waved Chad's question away and crossed his arms, still not saying anything. To me, it seemed like Arturo and his dad were the only smart people in this room. They had stayed quiet throughout this entire exchange. I guess they were also worried about what would happen after reality set in. I wanted to walk up to the Principal and say that I had nothing to do with this, and that I had tried to stop the whole thing. But that would implicate Luke. And I didn't want to do that. If I said I tried to stop it, that means there was something that had started. Principal Lee tried to regain control of the situation. "Here are the facts. In this room right now, there are three seniors and three juniors. I am deciding between suspension and expulsion. In either case, we will have to notify the colleges that have accepted you and they may rescind your offer." Luke. His basketball scholarship would be taken away. I looked over at Luke, feeling my heart race at the idea that he was about to lose his dream. But he was sitting very still, not giving off any emotion. She had just threatened to take away everything he had worked towards, but he stayed calm. Luke may have looked calm, but his mother was shaking. Then a voice no one had heard before said, "That seems harsh." We all turned to stare at Doz. I forgot he was here, since he'd remained very quietly near the door. When he realized his comment had gotten everyone's attention, he stopped leaning against the Principal's bookcase. Principal Lee raised her pen, ready to write into her notebook again, "And who are you?" That's the million-dollar question. "I'm Doz," he said. The legend. We all looked back at her. She paused awkwardly in the silence and then let it go. He's Doz. The Principal returned to the photos of Kaden's bruised body. But before she could speak, Doz opened his mouth. Chad was already nodding his head, encouraging Doz to speak up. "I know these kids a little," Doz said, "They have good characters-" Chad muttered, "We do pay on time." "Sorry?" Principal Lee frowned, confused by everything going on now, "Uh... whose parent are you again?" "No one's," Doz admitted and then said, "Should I wait outside maybe?" The Principal nodded, "I think that would be appropriate." I was disappointed to see Doz go. In the five minutes I've known him, I've grown to like him. He made a noble attempt to save us. "Hey kiddo," he said to me before he left. He stuffed a hand into the pocket of his ripped jeans and pulled out something white. "Take one." Is he giving me drugs in the principal's office? "You look exhausted. It'll give you some energy," he encouraged me. I stared at the little white square in his hand. Is my mom just letting this happen right now?! "It's gum," he clarified. "Oh!" I exclaimed, quickly taking it and feeling guilty for doubting. Doz stuffed his hand back into his pocket and walked out. I was exhausted. I hadn't slept in days and I tried covering the bags under my eyes with concealer, but I guess I wasn't fooling anyone. Being this tired made everything harder to handle. The door hadn't fully shut behind Doz when it swung open again and Coach Griffith walked in. He was wearing the team's basketball jersey and a whistle around his neck. "I got your text, Luke," he announced to everyone in the room. That reminded me; while we were waiting for our parents to arrive, Luke had been texting someone. I guess he did have a plan after all. "Coach Griffith, this is a personal matter," Principal Lee sighed, confused why all these random adults who were not parents were getting involved. "It doesn't get more personal than this," Coach replied, "Anything that involves my players, involves me." "Let's take this outside," Principal Lee said, walking to the door with her notebook in hand. She didn't want to be seen disagreeing with one of her staff in front of parents. But Chad Senior swung round in the principal's chair and stood up, "I practically donated the damn basketball court, and this is how I get repaid? We're not wasting more time here." He followed the Principal and Coach out the door to interrupt their conversation. The door swung shut behind them, closing a scene I wish I could've seen. ** ~Ten minutes later~ Coach Griffith walked back into the room with gusto. "I'm taking my players," he said and pointed one hand at Luke and one at Art, "Let's go." "And me," Chad said, getting up. "Sitting on the bench doesn't count," Austin commented, before quickly avoiding Cearra's mom's gaze. Chad looked back, "You couldn't resist that one, could you, AT?" he then glanced at Cearra's mom, "Even when I hold the key to blowing this whole sham i-" "That's enough," Luke said, stopping the conversation with a hand on Chad's shoulder. Cearra was already looking terrified, and Austin didn't add any more comments - he didn't want Cearra's mom to recognize his voice. But she was too busy watching Art's father and the Dawsons get ready to leave. "What in the privilege is this?!" she exclaimed the second the Principal walked back in with Chad's dad, "You're telling me the athletes and the rich kid are off the hook?" "Ha!" my mom commented from beside me, "You sound surprised." "I'm not surprised," Cearra's mom replied, grabbing her bag and swinging it over her shoulder, "I grew up with privilege being shoved in my face, but am I going to accept it for my daughter?! Hell no. Cearra, get your phone out and record this." "Look," Roland Chadwick tried to calm everyone down, "I'm sure there's a practical solution here for everyone." "I don't know how things work over in Sweden, but you and your son getting off free while the rest of us are stuck here is not how this is going down." Oh, we're in it now. Luke's jaw clenched. He saw it coming too. My head moved like a ping pong from watching one side of the room to the other. "Sweden?" Chad's dad replied, "What does that have to do with anything?" Austin lowered his head in his hand. Cearra stepped back as if she wanted to walk through the wall. And Chad tried to help the situation, "It's a figure of speech." "It's not," Cearra's mom responded, "I'm dead serious." Cearra whispered, "And I'm just dead."