We were all sitting on the bench in front of the principal's office, waiting for our parents to arrive. The bullies, Troy Walsh and James Dante, were in the infirmary so the nurse could treat their injuries.
"Are you all okay? Lucas? Will?" I asked, concern creeping into my voice.
"Erica! I should be asking you that!" Lucas burst out. "You started a fight with two older boys on your first day! Where did you even learn how to fight like that? Are you hurt? Oh my God, our parents are going to kill me! I promised I'd take care of you!"
"I'm fine," I said, rolling my shoulders. "They're the ones who should be worried."
"That's not the point!" Lucas whispered sharply. "You can't just go around punching people like that!"
"They were hurting you and your friends," I replied calmly. "What was I supposed to do, just watch?"
Dustin nodded slowly, still shaken. "She kind of saved us," he admitted. "It was badass. Like a superhero standing up for the little guys. We are the little guys."
"Dustin, we get it! Now is not the time!" Lucas snapped. "My sister could be in serious trouble! What if she gets expelled?" He rubbed his face with both hands. "This is bad. This is really bad."
I leaned back against the wall, crossing my arms. "Relax. Everything will be fine."
Will looked up at me, his eyes still red. "You… you didn't have to do that."
"Yes, I did," I said without hesitation. "No one gets to treat you like that."
"Why?" Mike asked suddenly, his voice tight with confusion. "Why intervene? You were already hanging out with Grace and the Emmerson twins. You could've been popular. Why risk everything for us?"
I looked at him for a moment, really looked at him. At the way his hands were clenched, the way his eyes searched my face, like he was questioning everything he thought he knew about me. He looked like someone standing for them was something so absurd that he couldn't understand.
"Please," I said. "If those girls hang out with those idiots, I'd rather hang out with you nerds. At least you're decent human beings."
Something shifted in his eyes. His voice no longer carried the sharpness he used with most people. He started to look at me differently. I was no longer his friend's little sister, or a possible member of the popular crowd that often bullied them, but just… me. His eyes shone quietly with admiration for something that should have been normal. Standing up for someone shouldn't be rare. These guys didn't deserve that kind of treatment.
The silence didn't last long.
The door to the infirmary across the hallway opened, and the nurse stepped out, adjusting her glasses as she looked between us. "They'll be fine," she said calmly. "Only a few bruises. There was a broken nose and a dislocated shoulder, but nothing permanent. I managed to set their bones back in place."
Lucas let out a breath he had clearly been holding. "Thank God."
The nurse's gaze shifted to me then, lingering just a little longer. "You're the one who did this?"
I met her eyes without flinching. "They were hurting my friends."
She studied me for a moment, like she was weighing something in her head. Then she sighed. "That may be so, but this isn't how we handle things here."
Before I could respond, the principal's door opened behind her.
"Send them in," he said. "All of them."
The nurse nodded and stepped aside.
As soon as we entered, the door closed behind us.