Warden Bully walked across the stage, and Dylan was shocked to hear booing from the audience. The arrests at the protest hadn’t made everyone afraid.
Good.
“Ladies and gentlemen, as Mrs. Rhodes said, Mr. Galloway certainly has control over his powers. But that isn’t the issue. The question is what he will do with that control. He has a long history of anger and violence issues. Just last year he sent a fellow student to the hospital.”
Mutters in the crowd. Dylan couldn’t tell how much was agreement and how much was dissent. Dylan wanted to jump up and shout that Conner was a bully who had beat up plenty of other kids. Clenching his jaw, Dylan gripped the armrests of his chair.
Warden Bully leaned on the podium, eyes narrowing. “And the year before that, he sent his friend to the hospital.”
Dylan sucked in a breath, shock and fear hitting him like a punch to the stomach. No one was supposed to know that. The only people who knew that Dylan had burned Aiden were their parents, Mr. Johnson, and the people at the hospital. So that meant Warden Bully had gone snooping.
If he’d dug that up, what else had he found out?
If Warden Bully knew Dylan was responsible for letting Morgan out, that was it. Nothing would save him. He’d have to flee Shadow Valley and spend the rest of his life running.
Mom and Dad gasped on either side of him, and a quieter ripple of surprise went through the auditorium.
“He hurts his friends, his enemies—anyone who makes him mad,” Warden Bully said over the noise. “Not only should he be expelled, he should be locked up.”
“Time is up, Warden Bradley,” Principal Nejem said, her voice tight.
Dylan glanced at the exit. How long would it take to get out of here?
Mom gripped his arm and leaned close to his ear. “It’ll be okay.”
Dad patted his hand.
Dylan wouldn’t be alone. Mom could turn into a dragon and fly them out of Shadow Valley. She went on and on about following the rules, but he thought she’d break them for him. To keep him alive, out of jail… safe. Yeah, she wouldn’t let anything that bad happen to him.
Warden Bully looked like he was going to argue, and for a second Dylan wondered if they were going to fight. He imagined a huge brawl breaking out in the auditorium, his supporters fighting the ones who hated him.
The warden shot a glare at Dylan, then turned and walked off the stage.
A few more people came up, some ranting, some calm. Some wanted Dylan expelled, others supported him. The audience grew restless, and part of Dylan didn’t even care what happened as long as this was over.
Principal Nejem stepped up to the podium. “Thank you, everyone. And now Dylan would like to speak to you on his own behalf.”
Mom squeezed his hand. “Try to be calm, sweetheart.”
Yeah, right. But being angry and flipping off the wardens had gotten him into this.
Standing up, he felt every eye in the auditorium fixed on him. His heart pounded as he climbed the stairs onto the stage. Another podium in front of him, another crowd. He blinked in the bright lights. It was a little hard to see, but it looked like almost every seat was filled.
“Hi.” The word echoed. He was on trial for his freedom, maybe his life. He wished Aiden was here and tried to pick out his friend’s parents.
What should he say? The smart thing would be to beg, to be super polite and try to prove he wasn’t dangerous, maybe even cry. But he couldn’t do that. “I’m not sorry for going to that protest, and I’m not sorry for saying what I did.” He didn’t look at his mom because he didn’t want to see the disappointment on her face. “It wasn’t wrong. What’s wrong is you all standing out there judging me, trying to throw me out of school because I dared to speak my mind.” A few people clapped.
Dylan did at least try to follow Mom’s advice to stay calm. He didn’t have to yell to get his point across. And they weren’t all against him. “I didn’t get arrested for hurting anybody. I got arrested for talking. So you want to throw me out of school for that?”
He took a breath, trying to keep his anger down. “I’ve been trying in school, really trying. You can check my grades if you don’t believe me. I used to fail almost everything, but now I’m passing all my classes because I finally believe I have a chance of getting certified. I finally have some fu— uh, some hope.” Maybe it was cheesy, but it was true.
“And if you think I’m so dangerous, why don’t you ask your kids? Ask them if they think I’ll hurt them. Ask them if I’ve ever bullied them. They aren’t the ones that are afraid of me. You are.” He pointed at the audience. Oops, getting too mad again.
“So if you want to expel me because I’m pissed at the way things are, then go ahead. If you want to throw me out because I spoke up, fine. But don’t pretend it’s to protect your kids.”
He hesitated a moment. As he’d told Dalton’s parents, he wasn’t a speaker. “Yeah. That’s it.” Most people had probably already made up their minds. If they were determined to expel him, there wasn’t anything he could say to change that.
A light applause started as he walked off stage, growing louder by the second. By the time he reached his seat, it was a roar. Dylan glanced around and saw a few people actually standing up and clapping. But he also saw others sitting and frowning. How many supporters did he have? Enough?
Mom and Dad smiled and patted him as he sat down between them.
“Good job,” Dad said.
“You certainly have your own way.” Mom shook her head slightly, but she was still smiling.
Principal Nejem called for the vote as a few people went down the aisles passing out paper and pens. The sheet of white paper said simply: Should Dylan Galloway be expelled from Shadow Valley High School? Below that were boxes for Yes and No.
Dylan wasn’t sure if he was supposed to vote, but screw it. He made a big X through the box for No and folded the paper in half. After a few minutes, the people came back to collect the sheets.
This was it. Once the votes were counted, he’d know if his future was ruined or not.
The auditorium grew louder as people started talking. The last few sheets got handed down the rows, and the school workers brought them backstage to be counted.
Sweat dampened his armpits, and Dylan desperately wanted to go out and burn something.
Mom touched his shoulder. “Let’s go wait outside.”
“No. I’m not running.” Not until he had to.
“Are you sure?” Dad asked.
Dylan nodded.
The waiting was torture, but he didn’t want anyone to see him leave. To see him be weak.
An eternity later, Principal Nejem came back out, her expression neutral. Mom and Dad each took one of Dylan’s hands, and instead of pulling back, he squeezed them.
“We carefully counted all the votes, and Dylan Galloway… will not be expelled from Shadow Valley High School.”
Cheers erupted. Dylan closed his eyes and sagged in his chair, relief making him shaky. Mom pulled him into a hug, kissed him, and he had no strength to resist. He still had a chance at certification.
As the cheering and clapping continued, it dawned on him that people were happy he was staying. How things had changed.
When his head cleared a bit, he fumbled out his phone. “I have to tell Aiden.” His poor friend had no idea what was going on. Dylan hoped he wasn’t having another panic attack.