Am I......?(BxB)

Chapter 9

Leo and I visit Brian Saturday, spending most of the day just sitting and talking with him. His swelling has gone down significantly and he seems to be breathing normally. Brian tells us that he's going to be released on Sunday and will be back at school on Monday. Brian may be a bit small, but he's a strong guy, stronger than I would've imagined.

On Sunday evening, the phone rings and Mom tells me Mr. Greenwich is on the phone. After talking about how Brian's been doing, he tells me that he wants to see me in his office early Monday morning to discuss a few things. I don't question it, but I have a bit of trouble sleeping that night wondering what Mr. Greenwich wants to talk about.

I get to school and find that the parking lot's almost empty. But as I'm driving in, I see Leo getting off his motorcycle. I honk my horn to get his attention and pull in next to him. "Leo," I say as I'm getting out. "What're you doing here?"

"I was just about to ask you the same question," he replies.

"Mr. Greenwich called me last night and said he wanted to talk about a few things."

"Same with me."

We're both incredibly confused as we head into school and quickly get to Mr. Greenwich's office. Leo knocks on the door. "Come in," comes from the other side.

I open the door and see Mr. Greenwich sitting behind his desk and Brian sitting in a chair with a pair of crutches next to him. A few of his bandages are gone, but the bruises still remain. "What're you guys doing here?" Brian asks.

"Mr. Greenwich called both me and Josh in this morning," says Leo.

"Because I would like to talk to all three of you," says Mr. Greenwich.

Leo and I take seats in two more chairs and look to our principal. "Are we in trouble?" I ask.

"Not in the least Josh," says Mr. Greenwich. "I've called you all in here to talk about the events of last Friday. First things first, I'm very sorry about what happened, Brian. As the principal, I'm supposed to keep an eye on what goes on in my school. I've let you down for not seeing the bullying Danny was doing to you and failed to see the warning signs of him attacking you. I'm very sorry."

"It's okay Mr. Greenwich," says Brian. "I don't think anyone could've seen what Danny was going to do. I didn't even know he was going to hurt me. But now that's it's happened, I can only recover and move on from it."

"Thank you for your understanding," says Mr. Greenwich. He directs his attention to me and Leo. "Josh and Leo, I'm very proud to call you students of Franklin High School. What you did for Brian is admirable and an example of how all the students here should act when something like this happens."

"I didn't do very much," says Leo. "Josh here did most of the work."

I look to Leo. "Leo, we've talked about this. You and I both helped Brian. You called the ambulance and stayed there when Brian and I needed it."

Leo smiles at me. I really want to give him a reassuring kiss, but Mr. Greenwich is watching us. "Josh is right Leo," Brian says. "You could have easily have just walked away and pretended like nothing happened. You weren't a bystander. You were a hero, just like Josh."

Leo and I both smile at and thank Brian. "Now I have a favor to ask all three of you," says Mr. Greenwich. "I'm going to announce an emergency assembly for all the students and faculty during first period this morning. I would like to talk to everyone about bullying and harassment and would like all three of you to help me get the message across that Franklin High School will not stand for it."