oom. The sound made my chest hurt. "Mia, why are you awake so early on Monday?" she asked. "School," I said. "I have test." I lied again. That is the third lie this week. I hate lying to my m

the school loudspeaker made a loud noise. *"Mia Parker and Jace Carter to the Principal's office NOW. Immediately."* The whole hallway went silent. All SS2 students came out of their classes to look at me. I walked to the Principal's office. My legs were shaking. My hands were still bleeding small small from the locker. Jace was already standing outside the Principal's office. He was wearing his uniform, black trousers, white shirt, perfect. But his eyes were red, like he didn't sleep. He looked at my locker from far. He saw the marker. "Did they do that to your locker?" he asked. "Not your business," I said. "Mia-" "Did you tell Principal about me?" "What? No. I was in Abuja with my dad all weekend. I just came back this morning and Mrs. Henderson said Principal wants us." So he didn't know about the picture yet. Mrs. Henderson opened the big brown door. "Inside, both of you. Principal is waiting." We went inside. Principal's office was always cold. AC blowing too much. It smelled like coffee and old books. Principal Davis was sitting on his big chair. He was not smiling. On his desk, his phone was showing the picture. He looked at me first, then at Jace. "Do you know why you are here?" he asked. We said nothing. He turned his phone to us. "This picture. It is everywhere. Parents are calling me. They are saying Rosewood is now a school where poor girls chase rich boys on basketball courts. Do you know how bad that is for our school name? Rosewood is the best private school in Abuja!" "Sir, it's not what it looks like," I said quickly. Tears were coming. "I was studying on the basketball court because library was noisy. Tyler, Jace's friend, stepped on my Biology book. I was angry. I threw Jace's ball over the fence. That's all. Jace only held my wrist to stop me from fighting Tyler. He didn't-" "Hold on," Principal raised his hand. "You were studying on basketball court during school hours? Why not in class?" "Because it was lunch break, sir. And library was full." "And you, Jace?" He turned to Jace. His voice became small and soft, like he was talking to his own son. "You were shirtless on school court? Holding a girl's wrist on an empty court? Your father donated this court, Jace. What would he say if he saw this picture?" Jace clenched his jaw. He does that when he is angry. "Sir, it was after PE. I was hot. I removed my shirt for one minute. Mrs. Henderson saw us from far. She didn't see Tyler step on Mia's book. She only saw me holding Mia's wrist. But I was stopping her from fighting. I was helping." "Helping?" Principal laughed small laugh. "By touching a girl? Jace, you know school rules. No boy should touch a girl alone, especially on empty court. People can misunderstand. And these scholarship students-" He stopped himself, but I heard it. These scholarship students. Like we are different species. Jace heard it too. His fists tightened inside his pockets. "Sir," Jace said, voice low but clear. "Don't call her 'these scholarship students.' Her name is Mia Parker. She is the best in Biology in SS2. She did nothing wrong. Madison and Lauren poured glue into her locker, wrote on her locker, posted this picture. If you want to punish someone, punish them. Not Mia." Principal's eyes went wide. He looked at Jace like Jace was a stranger. "Are you defending her? Over Madison? Madison's mother is in PTA." "Yes, sir. I'm defending her because it's the truth." Silence. The AC was buzzin