For the next hour, Alex sat in the principal’s office across the room from Jay. They glowered at the ceiling and the walls and the yammering secretary and even more so, each other. Some stupid girl had given an account of the fight to the principal, who immediately called both Jay and Alex up to his office.

“Alexander Hanson? Dwayne Penner?” called the principal.

“Dwayne?” Alex snickered as he followed Jay into the principal’s room. Jay literally snarled.

“Call me my middle name, Jay,” Jay told the principal without the snarl completely gone, “Please,” he added as an afterthought.

Mr. Cook seemed only slightly startled by Jay’s introduction and proceeded with business, “What exactly is going on here, boys?”

What can I say? Alex wondered miserably. Jay won’t let me out of this school alive if I tell the truth.

The three of them sat in tense silence for a long time. Alex guessed Jay was going to have to add murder to his criminal sentence.

“Mr. Cook,” Alex began, “Jay raped my best friend.”