Blind Judgement

Sunday morning.

I woke up staring at the ceiling of my empty house. The emotional hangover from yesterday was brutal. The violent disqualification, the terrified looks on my friends' faces, Jessica straddling my lap on the sofa, and finally... me, breaking down and sobbing into her shoulder.

It was a lot to process. It sucked that Sean had texted her, forcing her to go home just when I needed her the most. But as the morning light filtered through the blinds, I realized my chest felt lighter. The suffocating pressure of being the "perfect, stoic martial artist" was gone. The worst had already happened. I had survived.

I picked up my phone from the nightstand. Three unread messages from Tyson, Alvin, and Jones. They were asking to meet up at our usual Sunday hangout spot. They wanted to check on me. They wanted to talk about the tournament.

Fuck that. I tossed the phone onto the bed. I wasn't in the mood to face their pity, and I definitely wasn't in the mood to explain why I had snapped. I only wanted to talk to one person.

I picked the phone back up, opened Jessica's contact, and typed out a quick text. Hey. Thank you for staying with me yesterday. I really needed it.

The reply came almost instantly. She didn't make a big deal out of my breakdown. Instead, she just asked if I wanted to pick her up tomorrow morning so we could go to school together.

I stared at the screen. Our school had a strict policy prohibiting underclassmen from driving their personal vehicles to campus to save parking space for the staff and seniors. The old Daeron would have taken the bus to avoid getting a detention.

The old Daeron was dead. Fuck the rules. I'll be there at 7:30, I texted back. I spent the rest of Sunday buried in the cushions of my couch, gripping an Xbox controller until my thumbs blistered, perfectly content to let the world burn without me.

*

Monday morning. The freezing air rattled the windows of my car as I pulled into Jessica's driveway.

I kept the engine idling, waiting for her to come out. Instead, the garage door opened, and Sean walked out, heading toward his SUV. He paused when he saw my car, his brow furrowing before he walked over to my rolled-down window.

"Daeron?"

"Hey. Morning, Sean."

"You here to pick up Jessica?" he asked, looking genuinely surprised.

"Yep."

"Huh." Sean scratched his jaw, his eyes darting between me and the front door. "Anyway, I heard you competed in the Regional Karate Tournament on Saturday."

"Yeah." I kept my voice perfectly flat. "Jessica told you?"

"Yeah, she mentioned it briefly when she got home. So, how did it go?"

"Heh." A dark, humorless smirk crossed my face. "Well. I got disqualified."

"Damn. How come?"

"Let’s just say... I used a little too much power for point-sparring."

Sean let out a booming laugh, completely missing the dark reality of what I had actually done. "Well, knowing the way you fight, man, I can easily imagine why they disqualified you."

The front door clicked open. Jessica jogged down the driveway, her backpack slung over one shoulder, her bright ginger hair catching the morning sun.

As she walked past Sean's SUV, he stepped sideways, physically blocking her path.

"Hey," Sean said. His friendly demeanor vanished, replaced by a strict, authoritative tone. "We need to talk later."

Jessica stiffened. She didn't look up at him. She just gave a quick, submissive nod and immediately slipped into the passenger seat of my car, shutting the door heavily behind her.

"Drive safe, you two," Sean called out, his friendly smile returning as he waved to me.

"Thanks, you too," I waved back, shifting the car into reverse.

"Bye, Sean!" Jessica yelled out the window, forcing a bright, cheerful tone.

The second we drove out of her neighborhood, the tension in her shoulders melted away. The drive to school was electric. With Jessica in the passenger seat, the freezing commute felt like a completely different world. We threw rapid-fire banter back and forth, laughing at stupid jokes. The fifteen-minute drive felt like it was over in thirty seconds.

As I pulled onto the crowded high school campus, Jessica leaned forward, looking through the windshield. "Wait. Where are you gonna park? The senior lot is completely full."

"Right there," I said, cranking the steering wheel and pulling directly into the reserved, freshly paved staff parking lot.

Jessica gasped, her hands flying to her mouth. "Daeron! Are you crazy? What if the teachers find out?!"

I threw the car into park and killed the engine. I looked over at her, my face completely deadpan. "Meh. Fuck it."

Jessica stared at me for a second before bursting into a loud, melodic laugh. Her eyes sparkled with adrenaline. She loved it. The strict, rule-abiding martial artist was finally breaking bad.

"I really like this confident side of you, Tiger," she purred, leaning across the console.

"Of course you do," I smirked, throwing her a subtle wink.

She giggled, playfully nudging my arm before grabbing her bag. For the first time in my life, I walked through the school doors without caring what anyone else thought. I didn't need the Karate Federation. I didn't need the school's approval. I just needed her.

**

The days blurred together into a numb, repetitive gray.

In the classroom, I sat in the back row, my eyes heavy with apathy as the teachers droned on. Every now and then, a teacher would try to put me on the spot with a complex question, hoping to catch me slacking. I always answered perfectly, my voice dripping with bored arrogance. My discipline was gone, but my brain still worked.

The only time I actually felt alive was during the lunch break. Jessica would slip out of her junior classes and find me in the courtyard. We claimed a secluded, hidden corner behind the old brick archways. That spot became our secret sanctuary. We didn't talk much. We just consumed each other—heavy petting, desperate grinding against the brick wall, and breathless oral. Those intense, dopamine-fueled hookups were the only things keeping me from suffocating in my own misery.

But I couldn't hide my downward spiral forever.

After the final bell rang on a Tuesday, I was packing my bag when the classroom door banged open. Tyson marched in. He didn't look friendly. He slammed his massive frame down onto the edge of my desk, trapping me in my seat, staring daggers into my face.

"Why are you avoiding us?" Tyson demanded. His voice was naturally deep, but when he was angry, it commanded the entire room.

"Just give me some space, will ya?" I muttered, refusing to look him in the eye.

"Have you lost your damn mind?! What the fuck is happening to you, dog?!" His voice boomed, bouncing off the chalkboards. "Why are you acting like we’re the enemy?!"

I stopped packing. I slowly stood up, squaring my shoulders, locking my dead eyes onto his. "Give. Me. Fucking. Space."

Tyson’s jaw clenched. He stared at me, searching my face for the brother he used to know. He didn't find him.

"..... Fine," Tyson growled, his voice dropping to a dangerous rumble. "But remember this, Daeron. WE. ARE. NOT. YOUR. ENEMY!"

He pushed off the desk and stormed out. As he cleared the doorway, I saw Alvin standing in the hallway. The nerd was holding his books tightly against his chest, looking at me with profound, heartbreaking disappointment.

I grabbed my bag, walked right past Alvin without saying a single word, and went to find Jessica.

From that day on, my routine was locked. I burned my bridges. I hung out with Jessica, and only Jessica. I canceled my membership at the local gym and found a new one across town so I could lift alone in the dark. On weekends, I locked my bedroom door and played video games until my eyes bled. The boys texted me a few times, but I left them on read. I was a monster, and monsters belonged in isolation.

The cycle continued, unbroken, until the final exams ended and Summer Break arrived.

*

"Ahhhhh, finally!" Jessica groaned, throwing her arms up as she stretched in the passenger seat of my car. "Exams are done! Summer break is officially here!!!"

"I like Winter more," I sighed, staring out the windshield at the bright June afternoon.

"Oh, shut up, Tiger! Summer is fun! There are so many activities we can do! Hiking, shopping, late-night BBQ at the beach!"

"Yeah. Going to the beach to find bitches," I chuckled drily.

"Eww," she wrinkled her nose in disgust. "You sound like a desperate virgin!"

"Well, who cares? I’m not ashamed of my virgin status," I answered confidently, leaning my elbow on the door console.

Jessica completely froze. She slowly turned her head to look at me, her green eyes wide with genuine shock. "Wait. Are you serious? You’re actually still a virgin?!"

"Yeah. You never let me fuck you, Cheeto, so the V-card is still intact."

"You’re joking, right?"

"No, I’m not." I glanced over at her. "My body count is literally zero. What about you? What's your body count?"

"Umm... one."

"What? Bullshit. No way it's only one."

"What the hell?! Do you think I’m a fucking slut?!" She reached over and punched my shoulder hard. I just laughed at her sudden outrage.

"Well, you’re the popular, gorgeous cheerleader. I’m just not buying that there's only been one guy."

"Well... it's the truth," she muttered, turning her head to stare out the passenger window, suddenly acting highly defensive.

"Must have been a damn special guy then, huh?" I prodded.

".... Not really."

"Don’t tell me…" I paused, letting a wicked grin spread across my face. She looked back at me, her eyes wide with panic. "Is it Sean????"

"HELL NO!!!! YOU SICK FUCK!!!" she shrieked, leaning over the console and barraging me with a flurry of weak, frantic punches.

"Hahahaha! Hey, chill!! I’m driving a moving vehicle here!" I laughed, swatting her hands away. "So tell me, who is it then?"

"I’m not gonna tell you!!" she huffed, crossing her arms tightly over her chest.

"Whoa, come on, don’t be like that. I’m not gonna get jealous, Cheeto."

"... No. Your question card is ruined!" she pouted.

She stared at the dashboard for a long minute. The playful energy in the car shifted into something much more calculated.

"Anyway..." she started casually, tracing a finger over her knee. "It seems like you’re not hanging out with the boys anymore, right?"

"Heh. You could say that. It’s not like I hate them, but they’re busy with their girls."

"Really?" She tilted her head. "Tyson I understand, because Amy is always clinging to him. But what about Alvin?"

"Alvin and Faye are practically married now. He became a lot busier once they made it official."

"So you never talk to Alvin anymore?" she pushed, her eyes darting to my face.

"Of course I still talk to him. We’re in the same homeroom. Sometimes we just chat a little at our desks. Why?"

"Just wondering." She paused, biting her lower lip. "How about Jones?"

"Meh, I don’t know. He’s the only one who seems to avoid me completely. Maybe he's busy fucking around, who knows."

"So... you never talk to him?" she asked. Her voice was perfectly steady, but her grip on her purse strap was white-knuckled.

"Not since I got disqualified at the tournament. No."

"I see."

Jessica let out a long, quiet, heavy exhale. I watched her shoulders physically drop as a massive wave of relief washed over her.

"Anyway, what’s your plan for Summer Break?" she asked, her bright, cheerful tone returning instantly.

"Ugh, I think I’m gonna go to Denmark. My parents are forcing me to come, since I successfully dodged their business trip last summer."

"Awww! But I had a plan for a road trip with the girls, and I was actually planning to invite you!" Jessica deployed her ultimate weapon: the cute, pleading cat face.

"Bullshit," I scoffed. "If you were actually planning to invite me, you would have done it weeks ago."

"I’m serious!!"

"I don't buy it. Last time you 'invited' me to a movie, you texted me five minutes before the previews started because your original date bailed!"

"Yeah, but... I'm serious this time!"

"Whatever. I can’t come anyway. Denmark is locked in."

"Aw, don’t be mad, Tiger. Let’s stop by your house so I can lift your mood before you leave," she purred, sliding her hand over mine on the center console.

"Are you crazy? My parents are actually home packing today. What about your house?"

"Hell no! My dad is at home too!"

"But he's locked in his office working at this hour, right? We can sneak in."

"Yeah... but Sean is at home!"

"So? I think Sean will be cool about it. Besides, I still owe him a visit." I hit the turn signal, preparing to route toward her neighborhood.

"No! … Sean will tell my dad!" she panicked, her voice pitching up in genuine alarm.

"It's fine, I’ll just hang out with Sean in the living room then."

"NO!!!" she yelled, grabbing the steering wheel to stop me from turning.

"Hey! Chill the fuck out!" I snapped, slapping her hand away.

"Just no, Daeron! Please! Or I… or I’ll get grounded by my dad!"

"Yeah, yeah. Fine."

I straightened the wheel and drove her to the end of her block, refusing to pull into the driveway. She waved goodbye, still looking incredibly on edge, and practically sprinted up to her front door.

I rolled my window up and drove straight home. Ready or not, Summer Break was here.

**

The Denmark trip was a beautiful, suffocating exile.

During the first week of Summer Break, my parents and I flew to Hillerød to stay at my grandparents' estate. Julian had already flown in from the UK with my aunt’s family.

While the rest of the family reconnected, I actively isolated myself. I spent my mornings sitting in complete silence on a boat with my grandpa, fishing on the glassy surface of Strødam Lake. In the afternoons, while Julian and my parents toured the city, I locked myself in the backyard, doing hundreds of push-ups and sit-ups until my muscles failed.

The only thing tethering me to Chicago was my phone.

Because of the brutal time zone difference, I usually found myself wide awake at 3:00 AM, texting Jessica while she was having lunch back home. The conversations were fragmented and delayed. I hated it. I didn't care about the European scenery or the family dinners. The harsh truth was that summer break was completely miserable without her.

*

September 2010. Senior Year.

Walking through the high school doors on the first day felt like stepping onto an alien planet. Everyone had changed over the summer. Guys had hit growth spurts and bulked up. Girls were showing off their tans. The fashion had shifted, and every "cool kid" in the hallway was practically shoving their brand-new, glass-backed iPhone 4s into each other's faces.

I navigated the crowded hallway, feeling like a ghost, until a familiar voice cut through the noise.

"Daeron!"

I stopped and turned. Jessica was jogging toward me. My brain glitched for a second. Her signature, fiery red hair—the hair that used to fall all the way down to the middle of her back—had been aggressively chopped off to her shoulders.

"Whoa. Jessica. New look?"

"It’s cool, right?" She stopped in front of me, grabbing the ends of her shortened hair and showing it off with a bright smile.

"Yeah, it suits you," I said honestly, though my eyes narrowed slightly. "I just didn’t expect you to ever cut it. You always bragged about how much you loved having long hair."

"Yeah, well... I just wanted to try a completely new style," she said. Her smile held for a second, but I saw the slight tremor in her voice. Her eyes looked exhausted.

I frowned, crossing my arms. "You don’t actually like it, do you?"

"Hey! Stop criticizing my style, sheesh!" she snapped defensively, taking a step back.

"Alright, alright. I'm not criticizing," I surrendered, holding my hands up. "Let’s go buy a soda. You can tell me all about your summer adventure."

We retreated to our secluded spot in the courtyard. As we talked, she casually dropped a bomb on me: she and her cheerleader friends had ended up joining Tyson, Alvin, and Jones on their summer road trip to the lake.

I kept my face perfectly neutral, but a heavy, bitter jealousy twisted in my gut. While I was isolating myself on another continent, she was spending her summer laughing and hanging out with my friends.

*

October 2010. Homecoming Week.

The entire school was losing its collective mind. A new photo-sharing app called Instagram had just launched, and suddenly, everyone was obsessed with capturing the "perfect" Homecoming aesthetic.

For me, it was just another week of surviving until the bell rang. I had never gone to a school dance. It was an unspoken tradition that Alvin and I would boycott Homecoming, order two massive pizzas, and play Xbox at my house until our controllers broke.

But this year, the tradition was dead.

"Daeron, come on. Let’s just go to the Homecoming party, man. The crew really misses you," Alvin pleaded as we stood by my locker after the final bell.

"Nah," I muttered, tossing my textbook into the metal locker. "I don’t feel like it."

"Why are you being like this, man?" Alvin asked, his voice cracking with genuine frustration. "You shut us out all summer. Now you treat us like we’re the enemy."

"I just don’t feel like going to a crowded gym to listen to terrible music, Al."

Alvin pushed his glasses up his nose, studying me carefully. "Is this about Jessica? Are you avoiding the dance because she has to be there with the cheer squad?"

"…. Look. If you want to go to the dance with Faye, just go, dude," I deflected coldly, slamming my locker shut. "You already know I hate these events. Don't let me hold you back."

"Fine," Alvin sighed heavily. "If you won't talk to me, at least talk to Tyson, man. He’s the only one still defending you. He always has your back, especially when those rumors about you blew up on Formspring."

I stopped walking. I turned back to him, genuinely confused. "What rumors? And what the fuck is a Formspring?"

Alvin stared at me in disbelief. "Oh, fuck. Sometimes I forget you live under a rock. It makes me wonder why you even bothered buying an iPhone 4 if you don't even know what the biggest social media apps are."

"It’s a phone. I use it to text."

"Sigh. Yeah. I know." Alvin adjusted his backpack, looking incredibly tired. "Formspring is an anonymous Q&A site. People have been saying... stuff about you. Just please talk to Tyson, okay?"

"….." I watched Alvin walk away down the hall, the nagging feeling of paranoia finally beginning to creep into my chest.

**

Homecoming Night.

The entire school had been buzzing about it for weeks. Because everyone was so eager to cram into the decorated gymnasium, the rest of the city felt beautifully, blissfully empty. It was the perfect excuse for me to escape. I grabbed my car keys, drove to a local café on the edge of town, and ordered a black coffee, intending to bury myself in a novel for the rest of the night.

The café was quiet, occupied only by a handful of older patrons escaping the autumn chill. I took the coziest booth in the back corner.

I opened the novel, but I couldn't focus on the words.

Sigh. I closed the book, staring at my ceramic mug. I was upset. I tried to pretend I didn't care, but the truth was, it stung that Jessica hadn't even brought up the idea of going to Homecoming with me. I felt like a dirty secret she was actively trying to hide from the rest of the school. Was she at the dance with Alphonse right now? I still hadn't gotten a straight answer out of her about the French forward. But... I forced myself to swallow the jealousy. I didn't want to dig too deep. As long as she still came to my car and spent time with me, I didn't give a fuck. I was perfectly content living in ignorance.

But my idle brain needed a distraction. Alvin’s nagging words from a few days ago echoed in my head. Formspring. I pulled my laptop out of my bag, connected to the café's Wi-Fi, and pulled up the website. It was a chaotic, anonymous mess. I started typing in keywords, searching for our high school, searching for my own name.

After a few minutes of scrolling, my hand completely froze on the trackpad. My eyes locked onto a thread.

It was about the Regional Tournament.

Dozens of anonymous users were debating the moment I ruined my life. It was surreal. Some kids were hyping it up, calling the brutal kick "badass." But the majority of the comments despised me. They called me a monster. A psycho who couldn't control his temper. They weren't entirely wrong.

Bzzzzt! Bzzzzt!

My phone violently vibrated against the table, snapping me out of the digital rabbit hole. I glanced at the caller ID. Cheeto.

"Hello?" I answered, keeping my voice low.

"Daeron! Where are you?!" Her voice was a frantic, terrified whisper.

"I'm at a café. What’s up, Cheeto?"

"Help me... please."

I sat up straight, my heart spiking. "Whoa! What happened? Where are you?"

"I’m on the street... near your old Dojo. Can you come here?"

The air was instantly sucked out of my lungs. The Dojo. The one place in the city I was permanently banished from.

"What?..." I swallowed hard. "Okay. Wait for me right there."

I slammed my laptop shut, shoved everything into my bag, and sprinted out to my car.

I broke three speed limits getting across town. As I turned onto the familiar street, my headlights illuminated a disastrous scene.

Jessica was standing on the sidewalk with two other girls in cheerleading jackets—Silvia and Hilda. They were aggressively arguing with a man standing on the Dojo steps.

I slammed the car into park. Jessica immediately spotted my headlights, broke away from the group, and sprinted to my window.

"What the hell happened, Jess?" I demanded, rolling the window down.

"Silvia and Hilda got caught smoking weed and drinking in front of the Dojo! They thought the building was closed for the night!"

"What the fuck?!" I looked past her. The man standing on the steps had stepped under the streetlamp. It was Sensei. My stomach twisted into a painful knot. "Were you smoking too?"

"No!! They called me the second they got caught! I drove over here to try and talk him out of calling the cops!"

"Cheeto! Are you fucking stupid?!" I hissed, unbuckling my seatbelt and stepping out into the cold air. "You’re going to get caught in the crossfire! If the cops smell weed on them and you're standing right there, you’ll get expelled!"

"....They’re my friends, Daeron. Please help me. You know the Sensei! He'll listen to you!"

"Fuck." I ran a hand through my hair, feeling a massive headache forming. "We will talk about your complete lack of self-preservation later, Cheeto. Keep your mouth shut while I talk to him."

I walked up the pavement toward the steps. Sensei stopped arguing with the two stoned cheerleaders and turned his attention to me. His eyes, which used to look at me with pride, now held nothing but sharp, icy disgust.

"Are you part of her delinquent gang now, Daeron?" Sensei asked. His tone was dead serious.

"No, Sensei," I said softly, bowing my head out of habit.

"Do not call me Sensei!" he roared, his voice echoing down the empty street.

I flinched, the words hitting me like a physical strike.

"Please, sir," I corrected myself, keeping my head slightly bowed. "I just came here to pick up my friend."

"Pick her up?" Sensei scoffed, gesturing angrily at the three girls. "These three teenagers were smoking marijuana and drinking alcohol on my Dojo's property! I am going to report their behavior to your high school principal and the authorities tonight!"

"What?! Three?!" Jessica panicked, stepping forward. "I wasn't smoking or drinking at your Dojo! I just got here! I was just trying to help my friends!"

"I don’t believe you. For all I know, you just stepped away to take a stroll when I caught your two friends," Sensei glared at her. "I am reporting this! And I will report you too, Daeron, if you insist on involving yourself in this trash!" He pointed a thick, calloused finger directly at me.

I stepped in front of Jessica, physically shielding her from his wrath. I looked him dead in the eye, sacrificing whatever tiny scrap of honor I had left.

"Please. I don’t care what you do to those two," I said, nodding toward the guilty girls. "But I know for an absolute fact that Jessica is not part of their activity. You know me, sir. I have never lied to you."

"…." Sensei closed his mouth. He looked at me, his stern eyes searching my face, remembering the disciplined boy I used to be before the tournament.

"I know I made a horrific, unforgivable mistake on the mat," I continued, my voice steady despite the shame burning in my chest. "I still owe you a massive apology for that. But I beg you... do not let Jessica’s genuine care for her stupid friends ruin her entire future. Please."

Sensei stared at me. The silence stretched for a long, agonizing minute.

"...Fine," Sensei finally exhaled, his shoulders dropping slightly. "But I am not letting those two go. I am calling the police."

"Thank you, Sensei"

"Stop calling me that," he snapped, turning his back on me. "Take your girlfriend and get off my property. Before I change my mind."

I didn't hesitate. I grabbed Jessica by the wrist and dragged her hard toward the passenger side of my car.

"Daeron!! Wait! Please, you have to help my friends too!" she cried, dragging her heels and pulling against my grip.

"Shut. The. Fuck. Up!" I whirled around, glaring at her with a look so stern it instantly silenced her. "I am driving you home! And you are going to stay the hell away from those two!"

"But they could get expelled!" she whispered, tears welling in her eyes.

"Don’t test my patience tonight, Jess," I warned, my voice dropping to a dangerous rumble. "Do not make me regret throwing away the last piece of my dignity to save you."

"….."

She shrank back, finally realizing the gravity of what I had just done for her. She climbed into the car without another word. I slammed the door shut, got into the driver's seat, and sped away from the Dojo. The entire night was an absolute, miserable disaster.

*

The drive away from the Dojo was agonizing. The heater was blasting, but the silence inside the cabin was freezing.

As I turned the steering wheel, routing us into her quiet, suburban neighborhood, I finally broke the silence.

"Are your parents awake?" I asked, my voice flat and authoritative. "Because I need to go inside and talk to them about what just happened."

"What?!" Jessica whipped around in the passenger seat, absolute panic flashing across her face. "No! Daeron, are you crazy?! I’ll be completely grounded! My dad will kill me!"

"Good! Because what you did tonight was incredibly stupid, Jess! Don’t you get that?!" I raised my voice, gripping the steering wheel tight. "You walked onto a crime scene! If the cops had shown up while you were standing there trying to play the hero, you would have gone down with them!"

"DAERON!!!!" she shrieked. It wasn't an angry yell; it was a desperate, terrified scream that echoed in the confined space of the car.

I instinctively hit the brakes, pulling the car hard against the curb and throwing the gearshift into park. I turned to face her, fully prepared to lay down the law.

But my anger evaporated the second I looked at her.

She had her hands over her face, her shoulders shaking violently as she sobbed. Hot tears were spilling through her fingers.

Fuck. My chest tightened painfully. I could take punches, kicks, and the hatred of the entire school, but I couldn't stand seeing her cry. My resolve crumbled into dust.

I unbuckled my seatbelt, reached across the center console, and pulled her shivering body into a tight embrace. "Shhh. It's okay. I'm sorry," I murmured, rubbing her back. "I just want to keep you safe, Jess. That's all I care about."

She let out a ragged sob and hugged me back tighter, burying her wet face deep into the collar of my jacket as if trying to hide from the world.

"Please," I whispered, resting my chin against the top of her head. "Don’t ever do something this reckless again. I know you meant well tonight. I know you're loyal to your friends. But you have to consider your own well-being first. I can't always be there to pull you out of the fire."

She nodded weakly against my chest. "Thank you, Daeron," she sniffled, her voice thick with emotion. She took a trembling breath. "I’m sorry… for everything."

I froze. My eyes stared blankly out the windshield into the dark street.

I'm sorry for everything. It was the exact same heavy, sorrowful phrase she had whispered to me in the empty classroom way back in March. Why did she always phrase it like that? She wasn't just apologizing for tonight; it sounded like she was apologizing for a massive, unforgivable sin. But before I could overthink it, she pulled back and wiped her eyes, offering a weak, watery smile.

I let it go. I put the car back in drive and crept down the street to her house. I kept the headlights off and the engine idling, watching her walk up the driveway. I didn't leave until the front door clicked safely shut behind her.

*

By third period the next day, the high school rumor mill was operating at maximum capacity.

The news had broken: Silvia and Hilda, two prominent varsity cheerleaders, had been caught smoking weed and drinking at a martial arts dojo. The principal was already drawing up the expulsion paperwork.

But the most fascinating part of the morning was watching how their social circle frantically spun the narrative to protect their own egos. They needed a scapegoat. So, they shifted the entire blame onto the easiest target in the school: me.

By lunch, the accepted story was that I had been caught trespassing with them, and to save my own skin, I had thrown the girls under the bus and snitched to my old Sensei.

I sat alone at my desk, listening to the whispers as classmates walked past the open door. I was already the "psycho" who broke a kid's arm. Now, I was a cowardly snitch.

I leaned back in my chair and stared at the ceiling. I didn't give a single shit. Let them talk. Let them hate me. As long as Jessica’s name was kept entirely out of the crossfire and her spotless reputation remained intact, I would gladly play the villain for the rest of the year.