The Principal's nostrils flared while she digested the information. Her eyes shifted across the room as she looked at the parents, trying to judge their reaction. Then, she asked, "Is there any reason the witnesses I have could be unreliable?" Luke shrugged, "Hard to say when you want to keep them anonymous, but if one of them is Millie's ex-boyfriend and the other is her former friend, then yes. There's a long list of reasons they could be unreliable." Again, silence. Coach Griffith took the cap off his head and scratched his bald patch. "Woah." ** The silence continued for a long time. The Principal agreed to call in the other onlookers who had been at the basketball court this afternoon to hear their versions of the story. We were not allowed to leave until then and Mr Dawson had to cancel his 4pm appointment. One by one we watched people enter the Principal's office, give their ten-minute account of what happened, and then leave. We sat beside our parents, not saying a word, while this took place. And every single person we watched walk in... was part of the basketball team. Luke was standing by himself, leaning against a wall. His arms crossed over his chest and, again, his expression did not reveal much of what he was thinking. He still looked calm about the whole situation, even though he'd delivered some very cold blows. The Principal's door opened, and we heard her voice say, "Thank you for your statement." "No problem," came the response before O'Conner walked out. O'Conner walked down the hallway, wearing his basketball jersey, and keeping his eyes straight ahead. When he passed Luke, I saw his right hand discretely move into the hook 'em horns sign. Luke's eyes glanced down at them and then away. Those boys... I had no words for what I was witnessing. I remembered earlier today when Cearra and I struggled to get into the basketball court in the first place. Two players were guarding the door, stopping anyone from entering. I also remembered Austin telling us not to stay. And then I remembered thinking how cruel it was of Luke to publicly humiliate Kaden on top of the unnecessary aggression. But now I understood. Luke had his team members sit on the stands, not as onlookers, but as witnesses. Because if Kaden tried to retaliate by getting Luke expelled, Luke would have back up. He's smart, there's no denying that. Luke's smart, strategic and he's subtle. But I don't feel comfortable because none of this felt right. ** I was staring down at my hands when the Principal's door opened again. A lot of movement ensued as everyone gathered around to hear what she would say, but I stayed still. I was so tired I could barely keep my eyes open. I felt awful. Partly because I drank alcohol this morning on an empty stomach. Partly because I watched my boyfriend beat someone up. And partly because I felt like a bad human. The right thing is for all of us to be punished – including Kaden. None of us are good people in this chain of events. Sure, Kaden started it but look how we finished it. And yet, here I was, incapable of doing anything about it. The Principal said Luke would lose his spot in college if he was responsible for hitting Kaden. And I couldn't do that to him. I love Luke too much to ever want to hurt him. So I was keeping my mouth shut... And that made me complicit. ** "Millie, come on. Come on!" Cearra whispered, nudging me up. I looked up around me and saw parents with happier expressions. My mom was talking to Doz and Cearra's mom was talking to Luke's dad. It seemed like the tension had lifted. I didn't feel the same way. Cearra yanked me along to join Chad, Austin and Luke, who were standing away from everyone else. As we walked towards them, we overheard their conversation. "Why is your dealer a grown man?" "He has the best sh*t at a good price." "Is it awkward if we go up to him and ask?" "Hey guys," Cearra said, entering the conversation with a grouchy me behind her, "I can't believe we got out of this. I was so sure we were done for." I avoided looking at Luke. I didn't know how I would react. I didn't know how to process this. And then I tried to hide my yawn behind my hand. After all the events of today, what I needed more than anything, was a bed. Any bed would do. Even a chair would be fine. It was so much effort to stay awake. Austin said, "Who came up with Chad's whip? I need to thank them." Cearra joked, "Maybe Kaden's kinky." "It was a skipping rope," Chad clarified, "Shame, we were having such a good time before someone came along..." He sighed and slowly turned to look at me. "I ruined it?" I asked, shocked that he would blame me for interrupting their bullying. Luke explained, "Millie wanted us to do a Q&A session with Kaden instead." Oh that little- "Can we leave now?" Chad asked, switching subjects pretty easily, "After the principal said we were innocent, I stopped listening. What are we waiting for?" "She didn't say that," Cearra answered, "She said that none of the new witnesses supported Kaden and Julia's version of the story, but there's still one person left to ask." "Who?" "Arturo," Cearra said, "Apparently, Kaden and Julia mentioned that Art had been bullied too. Principal Lee wanted to see if at least he sides with their version of the story." "So Art's in there now?" I asked, looking round the room to check.