"Come on man let's go to the track you need to calm down," Darius says as he drags a seething Kaden away from the Cafeteria.

"I could break her neck right now." That is the first thing Kaden said the entire walk. He is still irate as they walk outside the building to the track.

"Well, it's a good thing I got you out of there," Darius replies. Kaden doesn't bother to respond. He also doesn't run around the track as Darius intended for him to do. He instead shifts and runs straight to the woods next to the school. Glad that no one was around to see, Darius heads to Kaden's car to get him a set of spare clothes.

~

When Marie left the cafeteria she didn't have a place in mind to go. She just wanted to get as far away as possible from that scene. She ended up running to the bathroom on the other side of the school. Once she got there she went into the first stall she saw and locked it. For the first time in years, she let herself cry. Years worth of tears came out as she sat in that stall. Unsure how much time has passed Marie hears someone enter the bathroom. She quiets down her cries in hopes they don't hear.

"Marie, are you in here?" Cleo calls out. Marie was surprised to hear her friend's voice. She lets out a sniff to alert them of her presence.

"Marie please come out," Cassandra says softly outside the door.

Marie was hesitant but she still opened the door of the stall. Cassandra pulls her out of the stall and into a tight hug. The other girls join the hug and hold her until Marie stops crying. She pulls away from the hug and wipes her eyes.

"Thanks guys." She blows her nose into the tissue Millie hands her. "How did you find me?"

"We figured you'd go to a bathroom and then we checked every bathroom until we found you" Keandre replies.

'Are you okay?' Millie signs with a sympathetic look on her face.

"I feel better than I did earlier.' Marie answers with a weak smile. She hates that Bianca's words made her cry after being strong for so long.

"I can't believe Bianca said that. I know she is a bitch but that is too far." Cleo suddenly says visibly angry.

"Yeah, the nerve to bring up something that is none of her business. Or anyone's business for that matter." Cassandra chimes in, arms crossed.

'I am sorry she told everyone. What are you going to do about Kaden?' Millie signs.

"It's okay. I am not even mad about her telling him I am an orphan. Or even her insulting me about being an orphan." Marie says nonchalantly "I am used to it anyway." The girls share a shocked expression. "What got to me was when she brought up my parents. I just ..." Marie choked up not being able to finish her sentence.

Millie hugs her again as the tears fall from Marie's eyes. She rubs her back to comfort her and the girls whisper kind words to her. She sobers up and pulls out of Millie's embrace.

"Sorry about that. I just don't talk about my parents, it hurts too. I haven't let myself cry in years, so it's all coming out like a flood." Marie wipes her tear-stained face. She shakes her arms to collect herself. She walks over to the sink and washes her face. It looks awful now that her makeup was ruined by her tears. Go figure the one day she wears makeup she cries and ruins it.

"There is no need to apologize. It happens to us all" Keandre says. The girls crowded around Marie at the sink. "I don't like to talk about my mom either so I get it."

"It is still messed up that Bianca said anything in the first place. We should go to the principal." Cassandra urges. They can't let Bianca get away with that stunt.

"That is a good idea. We should go right now." Cleo chimes in more than ready to bring Bianca down a notch. Given her past with principals, Marie doesn't want to bother. She takes her flip phone out of her pocket and checks the time.

"No that's fine I don't want to make a big deal out of it," Marie says and then puts her phone back in her pocket. "Plus lunch is about to be over and we should head to class."

The girls don't like that she wants to push it off but it is her decision. They all leave the bathroom and head to their respective classes but not before giving Marie another hug. Marie gets to her fourth-period class just as the bell rings. Before she can reach her desk her English teacher calls her over.

"Hi, Marie. I need you to go to the principal's office." her teacher says surprising Marie. "You aren't in any trouble but he does want to talk to you about what happened at lunch earlier." He picks something up from his desk and hands it to her. "Here is your pass and I will give you anything you missed in class tomorrow."

Marie takes the pass and thanks her teacher. She walks out of the class confused. Even though her teacher said she was not in trouble, she couldn't help but feel nervous about what the principal could want. She reaches his office and his secretary informs him that she is here. The massive wood door to his office opens and he ushers her inside.

"Hello Marie, it is nice to meet you." He sits in his chair and waits until she sits in hers. "As you may know I am Principal Layton. I was informed by a staff member that an incident occurred during lunch with you and another student."

Marie afraid of what's to come just nods her head. She feels a knot in her stomach and she might start crying again. Principal Layton sees the discomfort in her eyes and quickly tries to fix the situation.

"Just to clarify, you aren't in any trouble I just want to hear what happened from you."

Hearing that relaxes Marie but only slightly. She retells the event to Principal Layton and he quietly listens. When she is done he clears his throat. "Well, that checks out with the events the staff member said." He shuffles some papers on his desk and then continues. "I want you to know Marie that we have a no-bullying policy at this school. We do not tolerate that behavior here." Marie is taken aback by what he said. She was not expecting that response.

"I have spoken to Ms. Strauss' parents already and we will be having a meeting to discuss her behavior. She will not do this to you again. What she did and said is egregious and malicious." Principal Layton says sternly. "If she or anyone ever does anything like this again do not hesitate to tell me or a teacher." He says with sincerity. "Clover High should be a safe place to learn for all students and we strive to make that true."

"Thank you, Principal Layton. My last school didn't care if I was being bullied. I am really grateful I came to this school." Marie is happy they aren't just pushing this under the rug like she thought they would. Having an authority figure listen and fight for her in a school-related situation surprised her.

"Well, the Principal at your old school didn't do their job right." It had never occurred to Marie that protecting her was a part of the school's job. "Thank you for coming down here, you may go to your next-period class since this one is almost over." Principal Layton says after checking his watch. He stands up and walks Marie out of his office. Marie heads to the gym while she contemplates the meeting she just had. She walks into the gym and waits for her friends to arrive. She notices Kaden is there and wonders if they are still meeting after school. He wasn't at their table when she walked into English before being called to the principals. She doesn't dwell on the state of their friendship until towards the end of class. Before the bell rings she walks up to Kaden who is sitting down after playing basketball.

"Hi," Marie says when he looks up at her as she gets closer. She is unsure of what to say next so she stays silent and wrings her hands.

Kaden is surprised by her appearance. He half expected her to ignore him. He quickly rushes into an apology. "I am so so sorry for what Bianca did and said. Her behavior was disgusting. Trust me I will deal with her and she will never speak to you like that again." Marie holds her hand up to calm him down.

"There is no need to apologize you did nothing wrong," Marie says, she doesn't like that he feels guilty over this.

"That is not true if it wasn't for me she wouldn't have said those things about you." he pauses for a moment before continuing. "I do not agree with the things she said. It surprised me to learn that you are an orphan but I don't think any less of you or any different of you." He scratches the back of his neck. "My only regret is not getting to know that about you from you."

Marie lets out a breath she didn't know she was holding. "I am glad to hear that. I felt we were becoming friends and it would suck if you had a problem with me being an orphan." She laughs. "You really don't have to apologize. I only came up to talk to you to ask if you still wanted to work on the project today?"

"Phew! I was worried you wanted to pick a different partner. Which I would have totally understood if you did." Kaden is feeling better after that talk. He does feel guilty about what he is about to say. "Don't take this wrong  but unfortunately I can't anymore." He quickly adds. "Something came up and I am hoping we can reschedule for tomorrow?"

"That is fine with me. Tomorrow it is." Marie smiles and walks back to her friends. The outcome of that terrible event went much better than she thought it would. The principal and Kaden's reactions were more positive than she was expecting. Kaden smiles as he watches her walk away. He is disappointed about postponing but he has a certain she-wolf to set straight.