Lena's POV
Principal Morrison settles into his chair behind the desk, folding his hands with the kind of deliberate calm that makes my skin crawl.
His eyes move between me, Noah, and Evan like he's trying to solve an equation none of us want him to finish.
"I need to understand what's going on here," he starts, his voice taking on that invasive quality adults use when they're convinced they're entitled to every corner of your life.
"There are some very concerning rumors circulating about your relationship with these young men, Miss Hart. I need you to be honest with me."
I stare at the edge of his desk, at the nameplate that reads PRINCIPAL MORRISON in gold letters, and say nothing.
My jaw is locked so tight it aches. There's nothing I could say that would make this better, nothing that wouldn't give him ammunition to use against me, so I choose silence.
Let him sit in it.
Let him wonder.
"Whatever rumors you've heard aren't your business," Evan says, and his voice has an edge I've never heard before—sharp, dangerous, the kind of tone that makes adults pause.
He's leaning forward in his chair, his cut eyebrow making him look more defiant than hurt.
Morrison's expression hardens. "I'm making them my business when they disrupt my school," he shoots back, and there's authority in his voice now, the weight of his position pressing down on all of us. "Now tell me what's going on."
Noah shifts beside me, and when he speaks his voice is steady and cold. "Then punish the people spreading them, not the people they're about."
The logic is simple, irrefutable, and Morrison doesn't have a good answer for it.
I can see him struggling, trying to find a way to maintain control of this conversation that's slipping through his fingers.
He sighs, the sound heavy with frustration, and turns his full attention to me. "Lena, tell me what's going on?"
It's supposed to sound compassionate, concerned, but all I hear is the demand underneath it—the expectation that I'll crack open and spill everything just because he's asking.
I look up at him, meeting his eyes for the first time since I sat down. Something hot and furious rises in my chest, pushing past the fear and the shame and the exhaustion.
"For three years, I have been bullied in this school," I say, and my voice is shaking but not with weakness, and rage. "You and none of the teachers did nothing about it, and now there are rumors about me selling my virginity and you're concerned for the very first time?" I can't help the bitter laugh that escapes.
"These two," I point at Noah and Evan without looking at them, "and Priya are the only people who see me as worthy of relating to. Evan and Noah are so kind to me, I tried pushing them away because I felt they shouldn't want to be friends with a stupid girl like me, but guess what? They stayed. They fought for me amidst everyone else, and this is the only thing you can talk about?"
Out of the corner of my eye, I see Noah and Evan share a look—something complicated and raw that I don't have the bandwidth to decode right now. Morrison's face shifts, guilt flickering across his features, and he has the decency to look uncomfortable.
"Lena, I'm sorry this happened to you but—" he starts, but I'm not finished. I'm so far from finished.
"The rumors are not true," I cut him off, my voice gaining strength with every word. "I saw the platform but I didn't sign up, and Noah and Evan are my friends. If I want to date any of them, it's not a crime, or is it?" I pause, letting the question hang in the air like a challenge. "But I won't. Not now. I will date whoever I want when I am out of this damn school!"
The words feel like breaking chains. I shoot to my feet, my chair scraping loudly against the floor, and Morrison flinches at the sound.
"Lena," he calls out, and something in his tone makes me stop halfway to the door. I don't turn around, but I wait, my whole body vibrating with adrenaline and anger and something that might be hope that he'll actually do the right thing for once.
"I'm sorry this has been happening to you but I had no idea," he says, and I can hear the genuine regret in his voice even if it's three years too late. "You're free to go, but I'm sorry to say Evan and Trent will be suspended for fighting on school premises, which you all know is prohibited. This will serve as a lesson to others."
I turn around slowly, facing him again. The unfairness of it lands like a punch. "What extra punishment will you give to Trent for spreading the rumor and defaming me?" My voice is quiet now, dangerous in its calm.
Morrison is silent. The pause stretches too long, and I know what his answer will be before he says it. "Lena, this is part of it."
"Then what will you do about the rumor?" I press, because I need to hear him say it, need him to admit that he's going to do nothing, that fighting back against lies is worth the same punishment as spreading them.
He sighs again, and this time it sounds like surrender. He turns to Evan and Noah, pointedly not answering my question. "Trent and Noah, you're suspended for two weeks. Lena, you can go."
The words register slowly. Noah. Not Evan. My confusion must show on my face, but I don't have the energy to question it. I just need to get out of this office, out of this building, away from Morrison's pity and his inadequate solutions.
I step into the hallway and Priya is there immediately, her arms coming around me before I can even process that I'm safe. The dam breaks.
All the fear and humiliation and fury I've been holding in comes pouring out in ugly, choking sobs against her shoulder.
She doesn't try to shush me or tell me it'll be okay. She just holds me, her hand rubbing circles on my back, letting me fall apart in the middle of the hallway while students pass by and stare.
My phone vibrates in my pocket. Once. Twice. Insistent.
I pull away from Priya, wiping at my face with shaking hands, and fish it out to see Mom's name flashing on the screen.
Dread pools in my stomach, cold and heavy. I wipe my tears more frantically, trying to compose myself, trying to sound normal when I answer. "Hello?"
"Lena, come home now!" Her voice is sharp, urgent, angry in a way that makes my blood run cold.