Prof. Friedman’s eyes met mine as Damien yanked me out of the room. He looked afraid. The rest of class seemed to barely notice. I suspected most had already gotten bored with Damien and my drama. I was getting pretty tired of it too. 

Once out of the room, Damien flung me across the hall. The back of my head bounced off the wall, causing a headache. I reached up and massaged the sore spot, wondering if a bump would form. Damien panted across from me. 

“What is your problem?” I exclaimed. I was upset now.

“You will not speak to Noah Nash anymore! When I tell you to do something, you will do it!”

“No, I’ll talk to whoever I want. You have no power over me, so just quit it.”

Damien’s face twisted in rage. He threw himself at me and pinned me to the wall. I looked past his enraged face to the classroom door. I could see Prof. Friedman through the door’s window. He had a cell phone to his ear. I wondered who he was calling. 

Damien grabbed my chin and made me look at him. “You are mine!” he shouted into my face.

“Oh, get over yourself,” I said and then I kneed him in the balls. The action was so simple. It was almost automatic like when the doctor hit a person’s knee with the little hammer. My knee came up and crashed into Damien’s groin. His face went blank and a little squeak escaped his mouth. I pushed him off me and he crumbled to the floor cradling his crotch. Prof. Friedman was still at the door’s window. I looked at him, wanting to share my triumph, but his face was frozen in horror. I didn’t understand, and then I heard the rapid approach of combat boots. 

As the group of six black clad security officers rounded the corner, I got down on my knees and laced my fingers behind my head. Damien still lay curled in a ball on the floor. The team of security guards surrounded us. They didn’t have their guns out at least.

“What happened?” one of them demanded.

“He attacked me. I defended myself.” A strange calm had come over me. I fully expected to be hauled away and put in shackles. There was no point protesting.  

The lead guard crouched by Damien. “Mr. West, do you need medical assistance?”  

He let out a low groan.

“All I did was knee him in the balls. He’ll be fine,” I said.

The lead guard looked at me sharply. I shrugged. He coughed uncomfortably and turned away. He said something into his headset and got some response. When he turned back, he motioned for the others to pick up Damien. 

“Sarah, you may go back to class, but once the last bell rings, you are to report to Dean Crowe’s office.”

I could feel the blood draining from my face. Dean Crowe was the big boss. What he said was law for the employees at Noble Academy. Had I gotten my parents in trouble? 

“Sarah, go back to class,” the security guard repeated. 

Numbly, I nodded and stood. I watched the guards unfold an emergency stretcher and set Damien on it. They were going overboard. He could walk. I was sure of it. He moaned pitifully the whole time, but as he was raised, his eyes opened fully and looked directly at me. There was murder in his gaze.

Everything was going to Hell, so why not have fun? That’s what went through my head as I stuck my tongue out at him. Damien’s eyes widened in fury, but security swept him away before he could respond. I turned and found Prof. Friedman still at the door, waiting for me. He let me in without a word. 

I slipped in with a quiet thank you and retook my seat. Everyone was staring at me. I felt self-conscious and ducked my head, but it flew up when the first clap sounded. The room swiftly filled with applause. 

“Damn, Smith. You gave it to West good!”

“Do it again!” someone else cried.

One guy, who I realized was Joshua of the bloody nose, grabbed my arm and held it up high like I was some sort of victorious boxer. “And the world championship belt goes to Sarah “Iron Knees” Smith!” A cheer went up around the room.

I couldn’t believe it. I kept turning around to see face after face smiling at me. Everyone was jubilant. Man, nobody liked Damien. 

Prof. Friedman held up his hands. “All right everyone, excitement’s over. Let’s finish up shall we?” 

I looked down at the floor at my shredded worksheet. “Here, Sarah. You can work with us,” Joshua said. I cast a quick glance at Prof. Friedman and he nodded in approval. I scooted over to the bench table of the two guys and piggybacked off their work. Their names were Joshua Pierre and Hank Spelman. They were okay. I found myself smiling a number of times at their quips, though the way Joshua kept crowing about how I’d kneed Damien in the balls made me uncomfortable. It wasn’t that awesome. 

Gym was next. I went to the girls’ locker room and began changing. A couple of girls had been in Earth Science with me. They were quick to tell the others what I had done in the previous class. Angela came in and everyone went quiet. I looked at her closely. Her eyes didn’t look red or puffy, but it had been a couple of hours since lunch. 

“Hey, are you okay?” I asked.

She nodded, but didn’t verbally reply.

I took a deep breath. I had to tell her. Better she heard it from me now than overheard it later, or worse, heard whatever version of events Damien dreamed up. 

“I hurt Damien,” I blurted out. 

Angela froze and turned to me, mid-undress.

I raised my hands. “It was self-defense. He’d gone off the deep end, screaming I belonged to him and that I had to do whatever he wanted. He had me pinned to the wall. I didn’t know what else to do. So I kneed him in the balls.”

Angela continued to stare at me. 

“I know you care about him, but you gotta know that he has serious issues. He got kicked out of four different middle schools.”

“No, he didn’t,” she said softly.

“What?”

She resumed changing. “He didn’t get kicked out of four. It was only three. The fourth one burned down so everyone had to find a new school.”

I bit my tongue, but Damien had to have been suspected of arson. Shit, even if it were caused by lightning, it could still be his fault, maybe Damien had pissed off God, and He’d hurled a thunderbolt in frustration. I wouldn’t blame Him. 

“Okay, so only three schools. Still, I’ll say I’m sorry to you, but not to him. He doesn’t deserve an apology.”

She blinked and turned to me. “But he’s the one you hurt.”  

“He hurt me first.”

“Violence begets only violence,” she said.

“Tell that to Damien. He needs to hear it more than me.”

Angela shook her head silently. I followed her out, though I was pretty sure she wouldn’t want to have anything more to do with me. Coach had us run laps and circuit train. It was boring and tiring. Angela and I didn’t talk, but then again no one did. We were too busy panting for breath. I was relieved when we were released to the locker room, until I remembered my after school appointment. I stopped and sank to the bench to stare into my locker blankly. Angela peered at me and touched my arm in concern. 

“What’s wrong?” she asked.

I blinked, surprised she’d ask. I slipped on my blouse and said, “I have to go see Dean Crowe now about what happened today.”

Her mouth formed a silent ‘O’. 

“Yeah, I think I’m getting expelled.”

Her face darkened. “Surely they wouldn’t do anything that extreme.”

“I hurt the heir of West Industries. I’ve had multiple run-ins with him in two days. I’m sure they’re deciding the swiftest way to get rid of me. Maybe they’ll have a helicopter ready on the pad to send me off. I’ve never ridden in a helicopter.”

“It’s not all it’s cracked up to be,” she muttered. She took my hands. “Should I go with you?”

“What? Why?”

“To argue your case. My father is a federal judge. I’m pretty good at arguments.”

I blinked at her again. “You’d do that?” 

Angela squeezed my hands. “We’re friends, aren’t we?” 

Were we? I’d known her for exactly two days. I knew next to nothing about her. I hadn’t known her father was a federal judge until ten seconds ago. I didn’t know what her mother did. She was Damien West’s girlfriend. And that just boggled my mind still. And I hadn’t answered. 

Angela’s face fell. 

“I don’t know why you’d want to be friends with me,” I rushed to say.

Now it was her turn to stare. In a small voice, she said, “Because Damien likes you.”

I couldn’t stop the guffaw that erupted from me. “Are you serious? He despises me. I’m pretty sure he’s texting a hitman even as we speak to have me eliminated.”  

“He likes you,” Angela repeated, her voice firmer this time. 

I shook my head. “Yeah, he likes me. He threatens me, humiliates me, and straight up scares me because he likes me so much.”

Angela crossed her arms and looked away. “He chose to take all of the same classes as you.”

“To torment me! Once I’m kicked out, I’m sure he’ll start stalking some other poor student until they’re gone from Noble, too.”

Her mouth twisted. “Then I guess we better make sure they don’t kick you out. Come on.”