My ear felt like it was being ripped straight off my head.“Walk, Mr. Miller! Or do I need to drag you all the way to the district office?”Mrs. Gable’s fingers clamped around my ear like iron claws. Her nails dug deep into the soft cartilage, twisting with a sharp cruelty that made my stomach drop.I stumbled over my own sneakers, trying to keep up with her furious pace as she dragged me down the hallway.My eyes burned with tears.Not just from the pain.From the humiliation.The Hallway of WitnessesWe were in the main hallway of Oak Creek Academy.It was supposed to be empty during third period.Of course it wasn’t.

Through the tall glass windows of the classrooms, faces appeared one by one.Students pressed against the glass.Some laughed.Some whispered.Some pointed.And then I saw him.Tyler.The boy who had actually thrown the stapler across the room.He sat comfortably in his seat, leaning back with a smug smile, completely untouched by the chaos he had caused.Protected.Untouchable.His father’s donations to the school were worth more than my dad made in ten years.And everyone knew it.The Boy Who Couldn’t Fight BackPlease,” I gasped, struggling to stay upright on the polished linoleum floor.Mrs. Gable… it hurts. I didn’t do it.”Silence!” she snapped.Her grip tightened.Pain shot through my head.I cried out just as my foot caught a yellow wet-floor sign left by the janitor.