KHADIM: I don’t know.

I don’t know.

I don’t know.

I don’t know.

I don’t know.

I don’t know.

I don’t know.

I don’t know.

I don’t know.

I don’t know.

I don’t know.

I don’t know.

I don’t know.

Khadim has crumpled within himself. There is no guard up, there is just a boy here, at the end of his rope.

Danielson is moved, changed, and terrified at this, realizing Khadim isn’t a wolf, but rather another lost sheep, and another one he might lose.

He gets up and touches Khadim’s shoulder.

At Danielson’s touch, Khadim recoils with great anger.

KHADIM: Don’t TOUCH me!

DANIELSON: (holding his hands up in surrender) Okay! Okay . . . Okay.

KHADIM: All I do anymore is sit around waiting for her! I sit around asking her Where are you? Where are you? Where are you?

And if I had been on time, if I’d just gone straight there, if I hadn’t sent her to the party, if I hadn’t done anything, if I’d never met her, if I’d never seen her in my life.

(beat; so quietly it can hardly be heard) I don’t know.

Danielson realizes he doesn’t know what he wants to say. He stares at Khadim, almost nervously.

DANIELSON: She . . .

Lia . . .

. . . came in here and tried to kiss me.

That day.

She came in here, she was all beat up and she wasn’t supposed to do that!

She knew she wasn’t!

All the rumors . . . . You know them, everyone knows them. Everyone thought I was . . .

(beat) The world held me in contempt.

Except for Lia.

She knew I was good. She knew I was good.

Awkward beat.

DANIELSON: But now here she was, coming up and trying to kiss me, and I kept pushing her away, and I got mad, because I don’t need that, you know? I don’t need that kind of stuff happening in here, everyone in this school already thinks I’m a sleazebag, which I’m not, I’ve never been, but now she’s coming up, out of nowhere, with this swollen face, and and just pissing me off, and I take her and I hold her away from me and tell her, Lia, get AWAY. I want you out of this office NOW.

I pushed her. I pushed her out that door.

Beat.

He walks away from Khadim, back to his desk, or to the wall. Absently.

DANIELSON: I had so much guilt. Inside and out, like none I’ve ever known . . .

And then I found that phone and read those messages and suddenly I thought, maybe there’s someone else. Maybe it’s not my fault. Maybe it’s your fault . . . and my life . . .

My life . . .

(beat) I’m sorry.

(beat) She didn’t want to kiss me, she wanted someone to hold her back.

(beat) A million times I’ll remember it again and again.