THE BULLIES CORNERED THE QUIET NEW GIRL AT LUNCH… FIVE MINUTES LATER, THE ENTIRE SCHOOL LEARNED WHY THAT WAS THE BIGGEST MISTAKE OF THEIR LIVES

Tasha murmurs, “Don’t engage.”

You weren’t planning to.

Brad stops a few feet away.

For one long second, nobody moves.

Then he smiles, and the expression is so fake it practically crackles. “Heard you’re famous now.”

You shut your locker. “Fifteen minutes. You should be thrilled.”

The boys behind him snicker before they can stop themselves. Brad hears that, too. Every little fracture. Every disobedient laugh. He lives inside them now.

“You got lucky,” he says.

You shift your backpack higher on your shoulder. “No. You got warned.”

Tasha’s eyebrows rise a quarter inch. That is her version of applause.

Brad’s mouth thins. “There’s a school dance next month. Charity thing in the gym. Bet you won’t look so tough there.”

You stare at him.

This is new.

You can almost hear Coach Ramirez in your head again: When somebody changes tactics, ask why. He is not trying to provoke a hallway scene. He is laying track toward something public, something social. Maybe revenge. Maybe a prank. Maybe just a chance to restore status where fighting failed him.

“I’m not trying to look tough,” you say. “I’m trying to get to chemistry.”

You step past him.