Square One

Part of me couldn't believe what was happening, that the headmaster was trying so hard to spring Micheal, Decker and Kyle off the hook as much as she was.

But then, part of me felt like this had always been inevitable.

"I do not think that he is lying, no," The headmaster said, "But when someone is under pressure from their peers, it does become possible to… embellish… certain events. To see harassment when there isn't actually any at all. We want to ensure that these boys get fair treatment."

"Do I-" I started to snap back, but my mum squeezed my hand and I bit down hard to shut myself up.

"My son deserves fair treatment too, does he not?" My mum said, "If even one in ten of the events written on these sheets actually happened, then wouldn't it still speak to an ongoing campaign of severe abuse. Would anyone disagree with that?"

"Now, Andrea, abuse is such a strong word," Chris said, "And besides, you still haven't proven-"