CHAPTER 4
CHAPTER 4
They put us in a conference room with glass walls and bad coffee.
Tyler sat with his arms crossed, trying to rebuild his arrogance in front of people who had seen it fall apart.
Emily sat beside me, knees pressed together, hands folded so tightly her knuckles had gone white.
Assistant Dean Parker stood at the head of the table.
“Mrs. Rodriguez,” he began, “while I understand emotions were high, physical intervention against a student is very serious.”
I almost smiled.
“Is bullying serious?”
His mouth tightened.
“Of course.”
“Then you should have dealt with Tyler two years ago.”
Tyler scoffed.
“I didn’t do anything.”
Emily whispered, “Yes, you did.”
Everyone turned toward her.
Her face went pale, but she did not look down.
“You shoved my chair last semester. You poured soda into my backpack. You told everyone I cheated on my scholarship exam. I reported it three times.”
Parker’s expression flickered.
“Emily, those reports were reviewed.”
“No,” she said, voice shaking. “They were buried.”
Tyler leaned back.
“You have no proof.”
I reached into the pocket of my apron and pulled out a small notebook.
Tyler’s smile faded.
For years, people assumed lunch ladies heard nothing.
They were wrong.
We heard everything.
I opened the notebook.
“October 3rd. Tyler Hayes took Marcus Lee’s tray and dumped it in the trash. November 12th. Tyler cornered Emily Carter near the vending machines. December 6th. Tyler told another student his father could get anyone expelled.”
Parker stared at the pages.
“You’ve been documenting students?”
“I’ve been documenting what this office ignored.”
Security Officer James, who had been standing quietly by the door, cleared his throat.
“There are cafeteria cameras.”
Tyler’s head snapped toward him.
“What?”
Officer James looked at Parker.
“I can pull the footage from today. And if Mrs. Rodriguez has dates, I can pull archived clips too.”
For the first time, Tyler looked afraid.
Not sorry.
Afraid.
There is a difference.
Parker’s phone buzzed on the table.
May you like
He looked at the screen and went pale.
Tyler’s father was calling.
