m sto

is inappropriate. If there's a disciplinary issue with my d

urmur of agreement started to build. For a s

olling a room. She held up a hand, sile

s no longer a private matter. This is about the culture of our school. This is about protecting

st as an opposition to the school's well-being. My mom, fluste

voice losing its patient facade. It wa

with sand. I kept my eyes on the floor as I walked down the aisle, the silence in the auditorium a roaring in my ea

anded me the letter. The paper

she said, her voice a sickly sweet whispe

e dark sea of faces, a faceless mob waiting for their entertainment. I unfolde

trembling thing wh

rcing the words out. "Chloe, I don't know if I'll ever have the courage to say this

like a violation, like I was tearing open

get to a good part. I see you in the cafeteria, sharing your lunch with Sarah when she forgets hers. I see you in chemistry class

n't the salacious, gossip-worthy confession they were expect

ng according to her script. She had expected something crude,

ttacked

forward an

ow this happens? The distraction. The obsession. While this young man should have been focusing on his own chemistry homework, he was inst

turning his quiet affectio

" she proclaimed, her voice filled with manufactured passion. "The kind of behavior I would nev

failure, while unknowingly boasting about the author himself. The irony was suffocating. She held up her so