Although there’s commotion all around him, Daniel isn’t a part of it. His mind takes him on a journey back to freshman year when it was his locker plastered with disgusting sticky notes and photos with anti-gay slurs and crude sexual comments and drawings.

Shaking, he closed the door, went right to the office, and asked Miss Wather if he could speak with Principal McNeil. And then he sobbed his eyes out. It was Miss Wather who brought him into the conference room, shut the door, and hugged him. It was Miss Wather who said she’d been there and understood. It was Miss Wather who handed him a box of tissues, two pieces of candy, and said, “Those jerks don’t deserve your tears.” It was Miss Wather who cleaned up his locker and gave him a new lock. And it was Miss Wather who checked up on him every day, even on weekends, for months to make sure he was doing okay.

Principal McNeil sent a letter to parents condemning bullying, telling them to talk to their kids about hate speech and to appreciate each other’s differences.

For Daniel, not much has changed.

The same assholes strike out whenever they can—mostly rude comments about him being gay mumbled in passing or crude illustrations of certain body parts dropped through the slats of his locker.

He’s lived with it; figured out that if he doesn’t speak, doesn’t respond to taunts and cruel jokes, and does his best to be invisible, he can endure school. If it weren’t for his supportive parents, he would have shattered. He can’t wait to go to one of the large universities he applied to that have LGBTQIAP+ student groups.

But seeing Cade and Logan’s lockers, seeing their reactions and their strength, cracks a piece of his wall. He photographs Logan’s locker and the pile of notes on the floor, getting close-ups of the swastikas and slurs.

In colorful language, Logan promises to shove the sticky notes into every crevice of whoever did this. She drags the big rubber garbage can from the girls’ bathroom, scoops up a pile of hate, and drops it in. Mason picks up a handful of notes and tears them in half before throwing them out.

Daniel takes more photos while Cade stands a foot away, scanning his locker. There’s a ghost of a smile on his face. Why is he smiling? When Cade shakes his head, it’s not from disgust or annoyance. More like he’s baffled by it. Daniel can’t help but find Cade’s reaction disconcerting. Why isn’t he pissed? Hurt? Disgusted?

After a few more beats, Cade starts pulling the notes down. Daniel approaches and wordlessly asks permission to help. Cade nods.

Red splotches dot Logan’s cheeks and neck as she watches Mason retreat. “Mason!” Logan calls. “Mason, I’m sorry!”