surrounding him.
And then there was Kate Fallow, her face flushed and her hands on her hips in a semblance of anger
and determination, even though Carswel could tel from here that she was shaking and trying not to cry.
“What do you keep on this thing, anyway?” said Jules, peering up at the screen and scrol ing through
her pages with his thumbs. “Got any naughty pictures on here?”
“She sure does stare at it a lot,” said Rob with a snort.
Carswell’s shoulders sank, first with embarrassment for Kate, then with that inevitable feeling that
something bad was about to happen. Bracing himself, he started down the hal . No one seemed to have
noticed him yet.
Kate squeezed her shoulders against her neck and held out a hand. “It’s just a bunch of books. Now
give it back. Please.”
“Yeah, sleazy books, probably,” said Jules. “Not like you could ever get a real date.”
Kate’s bottom lip began to quiver.
“Seriously, there aren’t any games on here or anything,” said Jules with apparent disgust. “It’s the
most boring portscreen in L.A.”
“We should just keep it,” said Ryan. “She’s obviously not using it right.”
“No – it’s mine!”
“Hello, gentlemen,” said Carswell, at the same moment that he reached up and snatched the
portscreen out of Jules’s hand. He had to get on his tiptoes to do it, which he hated, but seeing the flash of surprise and bewilderment that crossed Jules’s face made it worthwhile.
Of course, the look didn’t last long.
Carswell took a few steps back as Jules’s hand flexed into a fist. “What a coincidence,” he said. “I
was just coming to look for Kate. So glad you found her for me.” He raised his eyebrows at Kate, then
quired his head back down the hal way. “Come on.”
She swiped at the first tear that started down her cheek. Wrapping her arms around her waist, she
dodged around the boys to come stand beside him, but Carswell hadn’t taken two steps away before
Jules grabbed him by the shoulder and turned him back around.
“What is she, your girlfriend now or something?” he said, nostrils flaring with, if Carswell hadn’t
known better, a hint of envy.
Which just blasted figured. Mocking and bullying a girl would be the way that Jules attempted to
show interest. It just seemed to fit with that completely messed-up head of his.
Carswell stifled a sigh. Maybe he could start an afterschool Flirting 101 class. There were a lot of
students who could real y use the help.
What could he charge for that? he wondered.
“Right now,” he said, drawing his attention back to the numbskul in front of him and placing a hand
on Kate’s arm, “she’s the girl I’m escorting back to class. Feel free to spread whatever rumors you want
from that.”
“Yeah? How about the rumor that I gave you a black eye because you wouldn’t mind your own
business?”
“I’m honestly not sure people are going to by that one, given that-“
The fist collided with Carswell’s eye faster than he’d have thought possible, sending him reeling back
against the row of lockers with a resounding clang.
The world tilted and blurred and he thought Kate may have screamed and something clattered on
the ground – her portscreen, falling from his own hand – but al he could think was, Spades and aces and stars, that hurt.
He’d never been punched before. He’d always assumed it would be easier to bounce back from, but
now he had the instinctive desire to curl up into a ball and cover his head with both arms and play dead
until they all went away.
“Carswell!” yelled Kate, seconds before Rob grabbed him by the elbow and yanked him away from
the lockers, and then Jules’s fist was in his stomach and he’d probably broken a rib and Carswell was on
his knees and Ryan was kicking him and all his senses were made up of pain and grunts and Kate’s
shrieks and he real y would have thought that he’d have lasted a lot longer than this but…
A gruff voice bul eted through the haze of fists and feet and Carswell was left blessedly alone, curled
up on the school’s tiled floor. He tasted blood in his mouth. His entire body was throbbing.
As his senses began to register his surroundings again, he realized that Vice Principal Chambers had
broken up the fight, but Carswel was too woozy to make sense of his angry words.
“Carswell?” said a sweet, soft, horrified voice.
His left eye was already swelling shut, but he peeled open the right to see that Kate was now
crouched over him. Her fingers were hovering just off his shoulder, like she was afraid to touch him.
He tried to smile, but felt it probably looked more like a grimace. “Hey, Kate.”
Her eyes were filled with sympathy, her face still flushed, but she wasn’t crying anymore, and
Carswell liked to think he’d put an end to that, at least.
“Are you alright, can you stand?”
Flinching, he forced himself to sit up, which was a start. Kate helped a little, although she still seemed hesitant to touch him.
“Ow,” he muttered. His entire abdomen was throbbing and bruised.
Aces, how embarrassing. He would be investing in some good martial arts simulators after this. Or
maybe boxing. Outnubmered or not, he’d never be on the losing side of a fistfight again if he could help
it. “Are you alright, Mr. Thorne?” asked Mr. Chambers.
Squinting upward, Carswel saw that they’d been joined by two of the tech professors, who were
standing with their arms folded over Jules and his friends. Everyone was scowling. Rob even looked a
tiny bit guilty, or maybe he just hated that they’d been caught.
“I’m grand,” said Carswell. “Thank you for asking, Mr. Chambers.” Then he cringed and rubbed at
the spot on his side where the jolt of pain had originated from
Mr. Chambers sighed. “You know that all fighting is against school policy, Mr. Thorne. I’m afraid this
calls for a one-week suspension. For all four of you.”
“Wait – no!” said Kate. Then, to Carswell’s surprise she laced their fingers together. HE blinked at
their hands, then up at her profile, and doubted she even realized she was doing it. “Carswell was
defending me. They’d taken my portscreen and wouldn’t give it back. It’s not his fault!”
The vice principal was shaking his head, and though Carswell could tell he felt bad about the
decision, he also had an expression that suggested there was nothing he could do about it. “School
rules, Miss Fallow.”
“But that isn’t fair. He didn’t do anything wrong!”
“It’s a no-tolerance policy. I’m sorry, but we can’t make exceptions.” Mr. Cambers glanced back at
the boys. “Mr. Keller, Mr. Doughty, Mr. Mancuso, you can follow me to my office so we can comm your
parents. Miss Fallow, why don’t you assist Mr. Carswell to see the med-droid.” He attempted sympathy
when he met Carswell’s one-eyed gaze again. “We’ll comm your parents later.”
Chin falling to his chest, Carswell cursed under his breath.
“Miss Fallow, I’ll ask your teacher to forgive your absence for this period.”
“Thank you, Mr. Chambers,” she murmured, full of resignation.
As Jules and his friends were escorted away, Carswell allowed himself to lean against Kate and push