Emma sat with the class shoulder to shoulder and thigh to thigh high up in the gym bleachers. She put her hoodie beside her to save a place for Caleb. Everyone around her was sneaking peeks at their phones. Students were supposed to leave their devices in their lockers, but hardly anyone did. And in a crowded assembly like this, it wasn’t like teachers were going to hike up through the packed bleachers to take the phones away.

Down on the gym floor, Principal Summers stood at a microphone, urging the students to squeeze in as tightly as possible. “We need to get the whole school in here. So if you’ve brought anything with you, please keep it on your lap.”

“Hey, Emma, didn’t you hear what Principal Summers just said?” someone asked.

Emma instantly recognized the voice. Her stomach clenched. It was just her luck that the person sitting on the other side of her hoodie was Mackenzie “Mistress of Microaggressions” Storrs.

Emma imagined asking, since when did Mackenzie care what Principal Summers said? But she knew that she wouldn’t, because it would lead to the sort of confrontation that she dreaded. Now Mackenzie’s BFF, Isabella Reed, added her two cents. “Let’s see who she’s saving it for.”

A chill swept through Emma. If those two saw who she was saving the seat for, she was certain to become a target for their ridicule. Some kids liked Caleb, but others called him a suck-up and Extra Credit Caleb behind his back. He reminded Emma of her older sister, Sarah, who as a senior the year before had been voted most likely to succeed. For that reason alone, some kids disliked Sarah. Caleb always came to school neatly dressed, and Emma thought he was charming. In fact, she was secretly thrilled that he asked her to save a seat for him. But now she feared the teasing Mackenzie would heap on her for doing that.

The gym doors began to open. Emma caught her breath. But it was Zach, not Caleb, who came in. Sitting a few rows in front of Emma, Crosby gave Gavin a nudge and said loudly enough for everyone around them to hear, “Let’s get him to sit in front of us.”

Emma knew that meant trouble. Zach was slightly bigger than Crosby, but that didn’t stop Crosby from picking on him. Emma suspected that the only reason Crosby got away with it was because Gavin had his back. That was something new. Until this year, Robbie Jones had been Gavin’s best friend. They were two of the best players on the football team and were always together in the hall and at lunch. But over the summer, Robbie moved to Franklin to play football on their middle school team.

Emma watched as Crosby ordered the kids sitting in front of him to make room. With Gavin sitting next to him, the kids instantly scooched apart. “Hey, Wack, sit here!” Crosby shouted. “We saved you a seat.”