“It’s not like that, Thelonius. What is it we say? We STEP our problems: Say the problem, Think of solutions, Explore consequences, Pick the best solutions. I wanted to impress on each and every one of our students just how seriously we are going to treat it. We’re going to conduct a full and thorough investigation. We’re going to be talking to a lot of students.”

Starting with us. I open my mouth to begin saying it, but the words catch in my throat. Like when you’re about to say something smart in church after getting away with one comment but you know the next might get you snatched into next week. I had used up all the attitude I could muster in Mrs. Fitzgerald’s presence and chose to keep my thoughts to myself. Besides, they can talk all they want about doing an investigation, but they’re not going to get too much truth out of us. Lying to adults is how we breathe.

“But now that you’ve brought it up,” she continues, as if reading my mind, “I have been reconsidering how the special education room operates. Trouble does seem to follow you. Mr. Caldwell over there is on strike two and his third would have him automatically expelled. And I’m pretty sure there are some pitches thrown that the facilitators haven’t bothered counting.”

Nehemiah shrinks in his seat, but side-eyes me as if I put him on blast.

“We’re having all our teachers talk to their classes today. I wanted to personally inform some of the students. I will be sending a letter home with each of you apprising your parents of the situation. Messages will go out to their phones and emails, too, so you might as well give the letter to them. We’ll be doing a full school assembly at the end of the week. Anything we learn from our investigation we’ll share then. But everyone is on notice.” Mrs. Fitzgerald eases back in her chair. The air squishes out of it with a gentle sigh.

“Let me make this perfectly clear, gentlemen: if someone comes forward by the end of the week, I will consider a lenient punishment. But if I find out someone in this class is the culprit and others are helping to cover it up, this entire class will be transferred to the Banesford Accelerated Academy.”

There is a collective gasp. Banesford Accelerated Academy is the boogeyman teachers threaten us kids with. A charter school alternative to juvenile detention, Banesford focuses on kids who have serious discipline problems at their respective schools. In other words, it is a whole school made up of all the other kids schools gave up on. Rumors spread about how strict they are there. How kids get detention for not having their pencils sharpened. How students are only allowed to talk during recess and for five minutes at lunch.

I can only imagine how Moms is going to react to all this. The bottom falls out of my stomach.