“Yes, you did.”
“You walked into my foot.”
“Your foot was in the aisle.”
Tessa shrugged.
“Maybe look where you’re going.”
Several students groaned.
Someone near the windows had begun filming.
Zariah noticed.
She should have picked up the worksheet.
Returned to her desk.
Waited for Ms. Owens.
That would have been the best decision.
She knew it even while standing there.
Instead she said, “You’ve been doing this all year.”
Tessa smiled.
“Doing what?”
“Messing with me.”
“You think everything is about you.”
Zariah’s jaw tightened.
“You put food on my chair.”
“That was months ago.”
“You touched my jacket.”
“Prove it.”
“You keep putting things in my locker.”
“Again, prove it.”
Zariah looked around.
Students were listening.
Tessa loved the audience.
The realization made Zariah angrier.
“Why?”
Tessa frowned.
“Why what?”
“Why do you care so much about me?”
The question caught her off guard.
For months, Tessa had behaved as though Zariah were obsessed with her.
Nobody had asked why Tessa kept returning.
Tessa laughed.
“I don’t.”
“Then stop.”
“Stop what?”
Zariah shook her head.
“Exactly.”
She started to turn.
Tessa made a small engine noise.
“Vroom.”
The class reacted.
Some laughed.
Others groaned.
Zariah stopped.
Tessa smiled.
That smile became the final thing she remembered before making the choice she would later regret.
Zariah turned back.
She stepped forward.
Then drove one push-kick into Tessa’s torso and hip.
The red-haired girl’s chair tipped backward.
The attached desk twisted sideways.
Books flew.
Tessa hit the floor.
The classroom exploded.
Zariah immediately knew she had crossed a line.
Then Tessa got up.
Whatever chance existed for the situation to stop disappeared.
She rushed Zariah.
The first punch came high.
Zariah blocked it.
Tessa swung again.
Zariah moved backward between the desks.
Students scattered.
“Stop!”
Nobody knew who shouted it.
Maybe several people.
Tessa kept coming.
She grabbed at Zariah’s jacket.
Zariah pulled free.