Before I could finish that sentence, I felt a shove from behind. I face-planted into the concrete, and my notebook went straight into the air. I looked up and saw it coming down as its shadow graced my face. Everything was in slow motion, but all in real time. I could see students pointing at the notebook, and at me.

“Watch out, it’s airborne!” someone yelled.

Then I heard a splash.

“No,” I said quietly. I got back to my feet, and there it was, sinking in the school fountain. All my ideas, thoughts, and what I was going to say to Mel were sinking to the bottom. Before I could even crawl to get it, I felt Lewis grab me by the collar again.

“Look what you did, loser. You just lost your book. Was it worth it? I hope it was, because right now you’re about to go in there, too.” Lewis dragged and shoved me against the fountain railing.

“Lewis, don’t!” I pleaded. Lewis had one hand wrapped around my neck and used his other hand to lift my feet.

“Yeah! Throw him in there!” Desmond cheered.

“Shit, shit, shit! Lewis, what are you doing!” I tried to fight him off. But he was a lot stronger than I was. At that point I was holding onto the rail and freaking out. I could see the water, and Lewis was only getting more forceful. I was mad, upset, and I was going to look weak in front of everyone. Again. I closed my eyes, wishing I was strong enough to put him on his ass. Then suddenly gravity brought me back down and terror was replaced by surprise.

“What the hell are you doing!?” Lewis yelled. I opened my eyes, and someone I couldn’t quite see knocked Lewis to the ground. They were wearing a black hoodie. Lewis tried to get back to his feet, but that was a mistake. As he stood up, he was met face-first with a left hook that sent him back to the ground. Lewis went limp.

A collective “OHHHH” escaped the students standing around us.

The person in the hood looked over to Desmond. His jaw dropped. “Oh shit!” he squealed then ran off back into the school.

“Figures,” the hooded person said. They turned around and the hood came down. I saw long, black hair, eyes that looked too tired for this shit, and a face that was fearless.

“Mel,” I breathed.

“HA! Lewis just got knocked out by a girl!” I heard someone in the crowd say.

“Hey, what’s all the ruckus out there!?” It was Mr. Stephens’s voice. Everyone scattered and went in different directions. In the corner of my eye, I saw Lewis get up and limp away, dazed.

“Come with me,” Mel said. She gave me a hand, and I wrapped mine around it. She pulled me up, and we ran away from that school like it was on fire. We ran from bullies, we ran from standards that were set too high, we ran from teachers who didn’t understand us. We ran away from fears and anxieties and scripts that were written out for us. I didn’t know where we were going, but when she held my hand, she held it tight.