DAKOTA LAHOTE - e.c

7. consequences

dakota and paul sat in the principal's office, waiting for them to get called in. paul ended up coming back to the school, where he seemed to calm down a little bit.

"why did you do that?" she asks paul in a hateful tone. "i could've handled it."

"no you couldn't have." he replied. "guys like that don't know when to stop."

"you are so full of it. not every banter needs to get solved with a fight. do you realize how much trouble you're gonna be in?!" she whispers, afraid the principal will hear her.

"i don't care. kai's a dick, he deserved it." he ranted.

"what's dad gonna think of this?"

"he's used to me getting in fights."

"what does sam think of this?"

paul tenses up. before he can say anything, the door opens and the principal calls dakota in. she puts on a brave face and struts in.

the principal sits down at his desk and sighs, waving his hand towards the chair in front of his desk. "sit down dakota."

she takes a deep breath and sits.

"i've already contacted your dad and he's on his way. but meanwhile, i have to get your side of the story. i am aware that there was a problem between you and mr. hote'er. do you have anything you want to share with me?"

she pauses, wondering where to start. "um, something happened with me and kai. in the hallway before lunch. paul was just protecting me."

"ms. lahote, your brother broke his three ribs, nose, and multiple face bones. this isn't just a school matter, your brother will have to go to court and possibly be in trouble with the law. do you understand how serious this is?"

she looked down at her dirty converse, suddenly unable to make eye contact. "yes, i realize how bad it looks. look, my brother isn't a bad guy. he was just looking out for me."

the principal sighs again, taking his glasses off to rub his temples. "you're a smart girl, dakota. but lying for your brother isn't a smart thing to do in this situation."

she looks at him with a confused expression. "since when did i lie?"

"okay, maybe you aren't lying, but i'm sure you are sugarcoating some things."

dakota's heart stops beating fast. she stops fiddling with her hands and crosses her arms. her lips go down in a frown. "excuse me? i'm not sugarcoating anything. you know, maybe if you didn't glorify some of your students, you wouldn't be surprised when someone gets what they deserve."

the principal stays silent. she goes on. "just so you know, kai tried to pull things with me. he put his hands on me in the hallway. no teachers, no staff in sight and he almost got away with it if it weren't for my brother. kai had my address, my phone number, he knew a lot about me. he was stalking me. you really think my older brother wouldn't do something about that?"

the principal puts his glasses back on and almost looks impressed, but then frowns. "unfortunately, these situations aren't taken lightly. no matter what kai did to provoke anyone, it won't look good for your brother."

dakota slouches in her chair. for some reason, she thought her explanation would help.

"listen, i think your brother is a good kid. what he really needs is some type of therapy. this was his third fight of the year." the principal states. "i've tried to help him, but he rejects it. i'm gonna do my best to make sure he suffers little consequences, but it'll be difficult."