42 pages • 1 hour read
Cole and Peter leave the apartment building and notice that the cart belonging to the unhoused man is there. Cole is afraid of the man, but Peter suggests that he might be as scared of them as they are of him. Afterward, Peter comes up with a plan to catch Keith and his gang in the act of attacking them. The following morning, Peter brings his cell phone to school and programs the principal’s phone number into it. When Keith approaches Peter and Cole after school that day, Peter calls the principal and she hears Keith threatening and hurting the boys. When the principal arrives at the scene, she finds Cole and Peter sitting on the ground in protest, refusing to fight. Both are bruised and bleeding. The principal defends them, but Cole worries that Keith and his friends won’t face any real consequences for their actions.
Walking home afterward, Peter reminds Cole that he is his only friend, and says that he doesn’t want Cole to go to jail for defending him. Cole has nightmares of being attacked that night. The following day, the principal reprimands Peter and Cole for being tricky rather than confronting their situation head-on.
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By Ben Mikaelsen