Mr. Acevedo glowers at me as I sit sparkling in my seat in Spanish, my shoulders bare, shivering but sitting up straight. He opens his mouth and then snaps it shut and doesn’t look my way for the rest of the class. It happens again in English with Ms. Robbins, and Ms. Sebold in ecology. I sit there shivering but upright, every time. Delighted by this feeling, which is part powerful, part giddy, and crashing through my stomach.

Thumbs-up from classmates, Fuck yes and god that looks itchy and wow, you look amazing and I’m wearing a halter top tomorrow.

At dinnertime, everyone—even kids who’ve never said a word to me before—keeps stopping by our table to say hey! and hi! and oh my god, you’re awesome and give me high fives until my palm is red. I mean, I know that rumors spread fast, but these are waves of kindness that keep knocking me off my feet.

“Viral,” Nevaeh says, slipping into her seat next to Katherine. “The video of the hearing is all over campus. And someone posted it on the school forums, but they took it down.”

Taylor’s right behind her, and he’s bursting with news. “They’re showing up at the admin office!” he says excitedly.

“Who?” Nevaeh, Katherine, and I say at the exact same time.

“Students!” Taylor says. “Showing up and saying that they were at the show and demanding that they be expelled if you three are going to be. But get this!” He pauses for dramatic effect. “They weren’t even all at the show, from what I hear. And they’re confessing anyway!”

“No!” Katherine says delightedly.

“You love to see it,” Nevaeh says.

“Yes!” Taylor says.

“Jack said that the honor board was completely quiet during his hearing,” I tell them, remembering. “He had no idea what they were thinking. Maybe they’re realizing how big this is getting. They’ve got to see that now.” I flatten my hands on the table. “I love this. I didn’t know any of this would happen.” It started as a way to make money for tuition, and now it’s becoming a movement for change. There’s a confetti feeling in my stomach. Angles is my dream—I’m not going to say was. But if we had to get caught, this is the best thing that could have happened.

“Just look what we’ve started,” Katherine says to Nevaeh.

“I wish I could believe it’ll lead somewhere real,” Nevaeh says. “We’ll see.”

She’s right, though—there’s a lot to do to go from “this sucks and it’s wrong” to fixing school policy. But this part, before it all happens, is the exciting bit. All the potential for change exploding like fireworks around us.