Zach returned to campus on foot, heart throbbing down low in his gut. He regretted the decision the second he entered math class, slinking into the back row. A half hour later, later his fingers tapped against the two sheets of completed busywork. It was called classwork, but all it was actually busywork— and not enough to keep his mind off the morning’s events. Shame hung in the back of his throat and the depths of his eyes, which restlessly scanned the posters on the wall.
The Principal is Your Pal, next to a GSA poster and something about helping the people of Africa. Save the Congo Presents: Fight hunger in Africa. Free Pizza! Math felt especially long today.
The largest poster had a bunch of smiling people of different races, all standing together looking very serious underneath the bold headline “School is a Bully-free Zone: Do unto others as you want them to do unto you.”
“Bullshit.” Zach thought to himself, “How can they even hang this bullshit up.”
Gentry watched him from across the room. Amused that Zach thought he was fooling anyone by sitting so quietly, frown carved into his brow.
