That was the worst part of it. How pleasant he sounded. Do you have any idea what's in here? The boy started to speak. Something stumbled out.
Sorry. Accident. I didn't mean didn't mean to. The tall young man stood back up to his full height and nodded slowly like he was carefully considering this information. He looked around at his friends, then back at the boy.
His smile widened. You should be more careful, he said. Around people who know how to hurt you. Nobody moved. Avery grabbed Zoe's sleeve.
Her grip was tight. Don't. That's Brody Walter. His dad owns half this school. Zoe was already moving.
She crossed the distance without hurrying. She didn't say anything until she reached the bag on the ground, bent down, picked it up, and placed it back in Brody Walter's hands. Then she looked at him. Not up at him, though he had height on her, just at him. Level.
Steady. "He said he was sorry," she said. That was all. No edge in her voice. No performance.
Just a plain fact delivered plainly. The courtyard went a different kind of quiet. Brody Walter looked at her. Really looked, the way people look when they're categorizing. She could almost see him doing it.
Young, black, female, no one she recognized standing behind her. New. The smile came back, slower this time. "I don't think we've met," he said. "We haven't," Zoe said.
And she walked away. She didn't look back. She didn't need to. She'd seen everything she needed to see in his face. The flicker of surprise, the recalibration, and underneath both of those things, something that had nothing to do with a spilled gym bag.
Avery materialized at her side, voice low and urgent. What is wrong with you? Do you have a death wish? Zoe kept walking. "No," she said.
"I just really hate bullies. " That evening, the dining hall was loud and warm and smelled like overcooked pasta. Zoe and Avery took a corner table, trays between them, and Avery talked while Zoe ate and listened. "Three complaints," Avery said, keeping her voice low even though the nearest table was 20 ft away. Two years, three different girls. " She stabbed a piece of broccoli. "All three dropped.
All three just gone. " "Gone how? " "Gone as if nobody talks about them anymore. Gone as in the girls transferred or went quiet. " Avery set her fork down. "Dean Preston sits on the disciplinary board. You know who funded the new athletic wing? The one they're still building on the east side of campus? " Zoe looked at her.