My mouth opens. As the ‘victim’ I should be first; the guilty one always gets seen to last, everyone in the school knows that. Mr Clay is really predictable. My nerves hit a new peak, forced to watch a victorious Cassie saunter into the office. When she comes back out fifteen minutes later she doesn’t look as happy, but she still gives me a sneer.

‘Stacey, come on in.’

There’s something weird in Mr Clay’s voice, it’s still stern, but it isn’t his usual harsh ‘you’re in trouble’ tone, so maybe it hasn’t all gone Cassie’s way. Stepping in, I shut the door, taking the only free seat across from Mr Clay. Mrs Clay sits to my right and says nothing.

‘Now Stacey, would you like to tell us what happened?’ He folds his arms on the desk and gives me a stern look that demands the truth. He probably did the same to Cassie but like hell she gave him what he wanted.

‘Cassie said somethin nasty about my sister, Sir, so I told er to stop an she pushed me. Mrs Clay came out and stopped er from hittin me.’

‘Hurm. And what exactly did she say?’

I fidget in my chair. ‘It’s really rude, Sir.’

‘I think I can take it.’

Oh well, he asked. ‘She said that Laney’d run off again and asked Jacinta and Naomi who she was doin now.’

Mr Clay’s eyebrows lifts. ‘Who or what?’

‘What?’ I frown.

Mr Clay nods. ‘I know you think you heard Cassie say “who”, but she swears she said “what”. As in “what was Laney doing now”.’

I shake my head violently. ‘No way, Sir, she said “who”.’

Mr Clay sighs at my stubborn response and Mrs Clay steps in.

‘It doesn’t matter. The fact is Cassie pushed you and then lifted her fist to strike you. She’ll be getting two weeks’ detention.’

My face feels like I’ve been sucking on a lemon while smelling a fart. The Clays run this whole zero tolerance line, but they only ever apply it to the kids they decide are lost causes or too much trouble. Kids like Laney and me. If I’d done what Cassie did I’d have been suspended. I know it for a fact because last year Laney had been the one in Cassie’s position; she’d gotten two weeks suspension for ‘becoming physical’ with another student and for using ‘profanity’. I fail to see how using a few swear words would up a sentence from detention to suspension.

Mr Clay isn’t finished. ‘We brought you in here, Stacey, because we’re concerned that Laney’s absence might … be causing you some distress. We’d like to make an appointment with you to see the counsellor next Thursday.’