An ice pack pressed to his jaw, his breathing slow but steady. A growing bruise colored the left side of his face like a mark of divine justice. The nurse hovered nearby, worried, but not nearly as frantic as the boy standing in the corner with a phone clutched behind his back. Jace Rowan. His hands trembled, not from fear for his brother, but from the weight of what he was hiding.
The video on his phone was undeniable. It showed Beck instigating everything. The eggs, the shove, the attempted slap, and finally Zariah's devastating counter punch. But Jace couldn't let that be the story. Not when their family's reputation and Beck's status hung in the balance.
So when Principal Carlton stormed into the room with his polished shoes and rehearsed authority, Jace saw an opening. "What happened?" Carlton demanded, eyes flicking between the unconscious boy and Jace. Jace straightened, forcing tears into his voice. "It—it was Zariah Cole," he said, swallowing hard.
She attacked him out of nowhere. The nurse's eyebrows twitched. Carlton's did not. He leaned in, face tightening with manufactured concern. She attacked him.
Jace nodded quickly. Yes, he didn't even touch her. She just snapped. It was a bold lie delivered with the confidence of someone accustomed to being believed. And Carlton did believe it.
Of course, he did. Zariah was new, quiet, alone. Beck was a star athlete from a powerful family. For Carlton, the choice was obvious. The type he'd been making for years.
Where is she now? He snapped. In the hall, someone answered. Carlton straightened his tie and marched out, expecting to find a cowering girl ready to be punished. Instead, he found Zariah standing calmly by the wall, a small cut still bleeding above her eyebrow, her expression neutral.
"Miss Cole," Carlton barked. "My office. Now." Zariah didn't flinch, didn't argue. She simply followed silent, composed, terrifyingly steady.
As they entered the principal's office, Carlton shut the door hard, turning toward her with forced sternness. "Violence will not be tolerated at Brookside," he declared. "You are in serious trouble. Your behavior—" "I defended myself," Zariah said, interrupting him with the kind of calm that felt like a scalpel. Carlton bristled.
According to Beck's brother, you attacked without provocation. "Zariah met his eyes, unblinking. "Is that what he told you?"" Carlton folded his arms. ""It's what I believe."" ""Of course he did."" But before he could continue, the office door burst open. A breathless student, one whose face still showed the shock from the cafeteria, stood frozen in the doorway. Sir, the student gasped.
We've got video. Everything stopped. Carlton's expression wavered. Zariah did not. Jace, lingering near the nurse's office, felt his stomach drop.
What video? Carlton snapped though his voice faltered. The student held up their phone. Behind them, two more students appeared. Then three, then five.