We all turned to him. His presence was at once frightening and a relief. I looked at Thiago. He seemed more relaxed knowing now he’d have to keep his hands off Danny.
“Everyone, get to class. Right now!” The students who had been standing around us dispersed. I couldn’t believe the crowd a fight could draw; in a matter of seconds everyone had come to watch. All that was missing was the popcorn.
“Walker and Hamilton, come to my office,” he shouted. “As for the rest of you, stay out of my sight.”
Holy fucking shit.
Thiago was still staring Danny down.
“I’m not leaving Kami with that creep,” Taylor said, walking up beside me.
“Di Bianco, I’m not going to repeat myself. Get to class!”
“No,” Taylor replied, and the principal’s face turned even redder.
“Di Bianco, either you leave now or you’ll have a week’s detention.”
“Can Thiago come?” I asked.
I didn’t want to be alone with Danny either. I barely trusted anyone right now, and certainly not him. Besides, everyone knew he was in a class of his own because he was the mayor’s kid. If he was going to try to weasel out of this using his parents’ reputation, I wanted to be sure there was a witness.
“Well, I need to talk to him anyway; yes, he can come,” the principal grumbled.
I looked back at Julian, who asked if I was going to be all right. I nodded, and Taylor grabbed my hand. “When you’re done,” he said, “let’s get out of here.” He gave me a hug in front of everyone.
Pressed against his chest I could smell his cologne, and it made me smile.
“I don’t want you to get into trouble because of me. Things are bad enough for all of us already, don’t you think?”
“I couldn’t care less. You’re all that matters to me,” he said, drawing me back into his arms and kissing me.
“Get to class now,” Principal Harrison repeated.
Taylor and Julian walked off together. Danny, Thiago, Principal Harrison, and I headed toward the office. I had no idea what was coming next. Once inside, I saw Lowell and Kelly Walker, Danny’s parents, looking at me like the embodiment of their worst nightmares. To think just a few months before, their dream had been for me to marry their son…
“So, now that we’re all here together…” the principal said, sitting at his desk.
“My mother isn’t here,” I said, regretting the moment I told her not to come. I was being ambushed.
“Tell your mother my door is open whenever she’d like to stop in,” Harrison responded. “But I can’t just wait around for her—we have a problem that needs to be dealt with immediately.”
Danny’s mother began: “My son didn’t upload any pornographic content to any website.” She was equal parts indignant and anxious.
“Pornographic content?” Thiago shouted from behind me, then stepped forward to face Kelly Walker. “Your son filmed Kamila without her permission. That’s sexual assault, far worse than mere pornography.”
“Di Bianco!” the principal shouted.
“I didn’t do it!” Danny screamed.
“Danny, stop lying,” I said, feeling insulted. “You’re the only person who could have taken that video. You were my boyfriend!”
Danny laughed. “And how many boyfriends do you have now, Kamila? Because I feel like every time I turn around, you’re flirting with someone new—”
“Mr. Walker!” the principal stopped him.
Thiago took a step forward, and my hand flew up to grab his wrist. I couldn’t let him do it; he couldn’t hit him again. Danny looked scared and took a step back.
“What you just said shows how immature, sexist, and idiotic you actually are, Danny,” I said, glaring at him.
