The principal shifts uncomfortably in his chair, tugging at the knot of his tie as if it has grown too tight. His desk is stacked with neat files, but his voice wavers as he presses on. "I will need to speak with Steven’s family. I’ve already called your mother to pick you up—after I’ve spoken with the Hill's, we’ll decide what’s to be done regarding you. But for now, you’re suspended until further notice."

After that his voice fades like static, useless. Steve’s howl had carried more authority, more power, than this man’s entire lecture. Even the fluorescent lights overhead buzz more insistently than him.

The phone on the desk buzzes; he answers. My mother is there.

I stand, the itch still buzzing under my skin like a live wire. I grab my bag and walk out, the principal’s words fading into nothing. But the sound of Steve’s scream lingers, curling inside my chest like a secret pleasure, replaying sharper than any punishment they could threaten me with.

And now that the rot that’s been growing inside me for years—raw, hungry, violent—has been fed, I know it won't be contained again.