I storm out of the front doors, thinking about what kind of punishment they’re going to concoct for me. Expulsion won’t be enough – they’ll refuse to let me graduate, blacklist me from every university, destroy any chance I might have of a future.

I imagine Ethan and Tiffany rising through the ranks, becoming CEOs on six-figure salaries while I end up destitute and unemployable. I think of Mum and how disappointed she’s going to be, having worked to put me through this school just to see me expelled on the very last day. Will she even believe me when I tell her what happened?

‘Zach!’ Bec calls, following me out of the building.

Chase is behind her, still covered with pig’s blood. He rushes over to the fountain, splashing water on himself, trying to wash some of it from his outfit. But it’s hopeless. It’s completely ruined. He never even had the chance to show it to his mum. It’s our fault he didn’t get any photos.

‘Tiffany’s not gonna get away with this,’ I say. ‘She can’t get away with this!’

‘It looks like she already is,’ Bec says, staring down at her phone. ‘She’s already done an Instagram story. That fucking bitch.’

‘Already?!’ Chase says, scrambling for his phone. He pauses for a moment and then starts to read aloud. ‘I condemn the actions of some of my classmates this evening. We may have our differences, but two wrongs never make a right. Retaliation is never the answer. Nobody’s prom should be taken away from them. Solidarity always.’

‘Solidarity always?’ Bec says with disbelief. ‘After this transphobic bullshit? I mean you said it yourself, Zach. The whole pig’s blood thing? It’s about menstruation.’

‘Oh.’ The realization dawns on me. ‘You mean, you think she did this because …?’

‘I think you’re giving her way too much credit,’ Chase cuts me off. ‘Tiffany isn’t smart enough to make that connection. Besides, I don’t care about that. I care about this …’ He tugs on his ruined outfit just as his phone starts ringing in my hand.

‘It’s your mum,’ I say meekly, handing it back.

‘I can’t answer like this.’ His voice begins to crack. ‘She’ll be furious if she sees what I’ve done to her dress.’

‘You didn’t do anything to her dress,’ Bec says. ‘It was them that did this. Not you.’

‘She told me to stay out of trouble …’

‘As if any of this is your fault!’ Bec says, but Chase tosses his phone into the fountain, his hands shaking.

I can feel my fury rising again. How dare they do this to him? He’s literally never done anything to hurt anyone. Why is it that he somehow always ends up as the target?