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I brought my knee up into the boy’s forehead, watching him drop to his knees. The crowd erupted in applause as teachers tried pushing their way through, and then I heard it again. Rae’s shrieking voice. Her words were muffled as adrenaline pumped through my veins. I twirled slowly, taking in the three boys who were flat on the ground at my feet.

I took a moment to revel in my victory before I felt someone tugging at my arm.

“Clint. That’s enough. Stop this bullshit.”

I looked over and saw Rae. Her voice pierced through my anger and my red-dripped vision slowly filtered back into regular color. Her eyes stared up at me. Her hands felt soft around my arm. She tugged me away from the circle of assholes I’d laid out on the football field, her eyes filled with frustration and fury.

And a bit of worry on the side.

“Rae,” I said.

She huffed. “Come on. We have to get you out of here.”

“What are you doing?”

She shook her head. “Keeping you from making anymore dumbass mistakes. Just leave those