In A Perfect World

Chapter Six

If the angry look of an eleven year old girl could kill, everyone in the principal's office would be dead, excluding me. God, I'd never seen Cassie look so angry. She was furious. As soon as I walked into the office and saw that blonde head of hers snap towards the door I knew that his meeting wasn't going to end well. There would be tears and maybe even a glass object thrown around the room. I wasn't looking forward to it one bit.

The car ride to the school hadn't been as awkward as I'd expected. In fact, it was kind of fun – minus Miles' terrible driving skills and his car that reeked of cigarettes. Jayce let me ride in the front the entire time but I had no power over the aux cord – that was Miles' job. Just before I got out of the car, we exchanged phone numbers and addresses. I doubted I'd be going to their place anytime soon but I nevertheless, I entered those numbers into my phone happily.

So there I was, with my semi-murderous little sister to the right of me and her 'worst boob job nominee' principal seated in front of us. Amanda Johnstone sat with her arms crossed over her table, her piercing blue eyes gazing between me and Cassandra as if she was trying to guess whether I was the product of her anger. I leaned back into the plastic chair and stared right back at her.

"We have a very strict hands-off policy here at Oak Hills," Mrs Johnstone began, throwing Cassie an unhappy look, "and today, Cassandra broke that rule profusely. She punched another student in the nose."

I coughed so hard I choked. What?

There was absolutely no way that this tiny little blonde-haired eleven year old girl punched another student in the nose. I didn't believe it. Cassie spent her time playing video games and drawing and reading books and doing her homework, not starting fights. I wanted to believe otherwise, but when I looked at my little sister and saw the way she had her lips pursed together and her eyes narrowed into the shape of almonds, I had a feeling that Boob Job was telling the truth.

I looked back at Mrs Johnstone and suddenly began feeling very worried; if Cassie punched somebody she could be in a heap of shit. "Can I get the details?" I asked, frowning deeply. Mrs Johnstone sighed in relief, as if she'd been waiting the entire time to tell her story.

"I was walking out of my office," she began, "and I saw a group of students standing in a circle shouting. Then there was crying. I pushed into the middle of the circle and there was Cassandra sitting on top of a student, punching his face repetitively. Violently. When I pulled her off of him I took a good look at his face and his nose was broken."

Holey fuck.

"Broken?" I exclaimed, leaning so forward into my seat that I nearly fell out of it. "Cassie broke some kid's nose?"

Amanda nodded slowly and with none of the admiration I held for her. "Yes, it seems she did. Now it seems that Cassandra is very lucky because the student's parents are prepared to let go of the situation if she simply apologizes, and I am willing to withdraw a suspension, but-"

"I'm not apologizing!" Cassandra suddenly burst out. Her voice was nothing I'd ever heard before; she sounded like she was in the middle of some kind of human rights debate. Her face was as hard as stone. "That boy was a bully. He deserved it."

"Cassie," I whispered, glaring at my sister. "Shut up. You can get out of a suspension if you just-"

"He was calling this boy mean names."

Mrs Johnstone sat up straight and her eyes rounded slightly. "What was that, Cassandra?"

She looked at me and then back at her principal. "Thomas, the boy I hit, has been bullying Noah Somers because he's poor. He makes fun of him because he uses one of those cards at the cafeteria and he's stolen it a few times. Thomas trips Noah all the time when he walks past his desk and writes mean notes all the time. And he spits in his food when he barely has anything to eat in the first place."