"He shoved you? Are you okay?"
"Yeah, but my back's going to be sore for awhile."
"I'll fucking kill him."
"Jackson, no. You're in enough trouble. You don't need to add to it."
"So what else happened?"
"I went outside to calm down and Principal Edwards showed up. I was so pissed about all the shit he put you through that I went off on him."
"What'd you say?"
"I told him he made it all up. That he has no evidence to prove you did it."
Jackson sighs. "Rumor, you can't be saying shit like that. He can use anything you say against me. Or us. Promise me you won't talk to him anymore."
"I don't plan to talk to him ever again. I hate him."
"What did he say after you told him he didn't have evidence?"
"He said that he did. And then he told me to move on with my life because your life was over. I wanted to punch him so bad. I got out of there before I did. Oh, and now I have to sit through an assembly during last period and listen to him talk about Kristen."
"They did something like that for Andrea. The principal talks and then the school counselor will go over the stages of grief and how to deal with loss."
"How do you know? You weren't here after Andrea died."
"Kristen told me about it. She said it was really sad."
"And now they're having an assembly for HER. That's weird."
"The lawyer's here. I have to go."
I skip my next class and walk down the path to the football field so I can be alone and not be caught. I sit on the bleachers and look out at the field, thinking about how so much has changed since the first week of school. Back then, my only concern was how to get information from Braden and his friends that would help Jackson's team. I took it so seriously, like it really mattered. Now it seems stupid. Who cares if Twisted Pine goes to State? It seems so trivial compared to what's going on now.
"Hey," I hear someone say.
Turning back, I see Alyssa coming toward me.
What'sshedoing here? She never skips class.
Chapter Twelve
"Ithought I was alone," I say.
Alyssa sits beside me, pulling the sleeves of her cardigan sweater over her hands and shivering. "It's cold out here."
"Not really," I say, feeling warm, and I'm not even wearing the cardigan. I took it off before lunch and left it in my locker.
"Maybe I'm getting sick." She shivers, gazing out at the field.
"What are you doing out here?"
"I didn't feel like being in class. Whenever I'm in that building I keep expecting to see Kristen. I can't believe she's gone."
"How long were you two friends?"
"Since we started at Twisted Pine freshman year." She softly smiles. "I spilled my latte on my sweater on the very first day. I was so upset. I wanted to look perfect for this guy I liked. Kristen saw how upset I was and gave me her sweater. We were best friends that year."
