The boys were not overpowered by a random student. They were overpowered because they chose to attack someone who refused to be victimized. Nadira swallowed hard. Gratitude and exhaustion pooling behind her stern composure. Pierce closed the folder.
Based on the evidence, the boys' shifting testimonies, and Miss Cole's clear account, this case is escalating beyond school authority, she tapped her pen against the table twice, firm, decisive. I am officially requesting school resource officers and district police involvement. The boys stiffened, horror spreading from one to the next like a virus, Zayn whispered. "Police." Milo's jaw shook.
"We're getting arrested." "Not necessarily today," Pierce replied coldly. "But this is now a criminal matter." Assault, harassment, conspiracy, endangerment, and potentially a hate crime. In You will be questioned again with legal oversight, Riker's lawyer slammed his folder shut.
"This is outrageous." "No," Pierce said with finality. What's outrageous is four boys nearly causing the death of a student and attempting to lie about it in front of thousands of viewers. The lawyer had no answer. Nadira lowered her head briefly, allowing herself a single breath of relief, but not victory.
Not yet, Pierce stood. "This meeting is adjourned." As Pierce exited the room to contact district law enforcement, one truth hung in the air. Nadira Cole was no longer just the girl who survived the rooftop attack. She was now the key witness in a criminal case that could dismantle the school's athletic empire.
Within the hour, school district police began assembling documents and preparing officers because Grantville High was about to face consequences far beyond suspension. By the time the first bell was still 20 minutes away, Grantville High's campus was already buzzing like a hornet's nest, struck by a bat. Students clustered in tight circles across the courtyard, whispering, gasping, passing phones back and forth as if they were trading contraband. Word had spread, not slowly, not quietly, but like wildfire, fast, bright, unstoppable. The district office had issued its statement at 7:4 a.m. Effective immediately.
Riker Hail, Zayn Whitlock, Trent Duval, and Milo Ashford are suspended pending criminal investigation. One sentence, four names. An earthquake. Posters of the Blaze Jackets undefeated season had been taped over with sticky notes reading accountability. Another read, "No more cover-ups."
Someone even scribbled justice for Nadira in marker across a bench. But not everyone agreed on what justice looked like. Near the main staircase, two groups had already formed, one furious, one proud. "Good," a girl snapped, tossing her hair. "They almost killed her."
A boy in a football hoodie shot back. "They didn't almost kill anyone. This is overblown. They carried our team. We're screwed for regionals now."
Another girl cut in sharply. "So your playoffs matter more than a girl being drowned?" The boy's smirk faltered. "That's not what Iβ" "Oh, please." Someone else mocked.
"You'd defend Riker if he burned the school down." The debate escalated so fast. Half the student body drifted closer. Phones lifted. Recordings started.
Someone went live on Instagram, someone else on TikTok. Everywhere Nadira walked, eyes followed, some soft, some sharp, some full of curiosity, admiration, or resentment. She stepped onto the courtyard with her backpack snug against her shoulder. A faint bruise along her temple peeked out beneath her hair. She kept her breath steady, chin forward, even though walking into that firestorm felt like stepping on stage in front of a stadium.