Noble could feel his brothers and sister grabbing at him and pulling him out of the fight. Jake was farther away now, out of arm’s reach. Out of harm’s way.

All they needed was for Principal Terashita to come along and officially put an end to all this. But even though the crowd around them was getting bigger all the time, Principal Terashita was nowhere in sight, and neither were any of the teachers.

Jake and the Del Zotto boys started laughing. “I knew you Brocks were afraid of a fair fight …”

Noble was furious. Jake MacKinnon had nearly killed him and he was going to get away with it.

“I knew you were animals,” Jake continued, “but I never thought you were chickens!”

Noble tried one more time to get at Jake, but Argus, Harlan, and Tora were all holding him back. He knew they were stopping him from doing something he’d regret later, but they were also allowing Jake to go unpunished.

“Somebody hit him,” Noble said at last. “Or we’re going to be listening to this crap for the rest of the year.”

Jake laughed…

But only for a moment before he was suddenly rocked by a firm right cross to the jaw that sent him reeling backward and laid him out cold on the floor.

The punch had been thrown by Maria Abruzzo, who now stood over a dazed Jake MacKinnon, daring him to get up and fight.

“Now,” she said, “if you have anything more to say to the Brocks, you’re going to have to say it to me!”

“And me!” said one of Maria’s best friends.

“And me,” said a boy Noble recognized from his geography class.

“Me too,” said a girl that Noble had seen around the school but had never spoken to in all his time at Redstone.

“What’s going on here?” asked Harlan.

“I guess everyone’s tired of MacKinnon,” offered Argus.

“It looks that way, doesn’t it?” said Tora.

“Maybe,” Noble said, calming down now and starting to think more clearly. “Or maybe this is what it’s like to finally be accepted.”

“You mean—?” Harlan asked.

Noble nodded. “We’re in.”

Maria shook her bruised hand as she backed away, allowing Jake to get up off the floor. The former bully looked left and right for a friendly face in the crowd, but there was none. Even the Del Zotto boys had distanced themselves from him.

Jake turned to leave, to run away, but suddenly found himself face to face with Principal Terashita.

“Ah, Mr. MacKinnon,” the principal said. “I’ve spoken to Sergeant Martin of the RCMP, and we’ve been looking for you. He wants to ask you some questions about some stolen photographic supplies that were found in your locker.”

Everyone in the crowd went, “Ooooooo…”

Principal Terashita grabbed Jake by the arm and led him away to the office.