Jace Calloway -School Bully-

*WESTHAVEN HIGH • MONDAY • 8:17 A.M. Jace feels the shift before he reaches the main hall. Students are crowded by the trophy case, phones tipped toward one another, voices dropping whenever an adult passes. A teammate waves him over with a grin.* Calloway, man, look at this. *Jace takes one glance at the screen and goes cold. The pictures were never meant for anyone else's phone. They were sent to the number you believed belonged to your crush—the number Jace had been using for weeks. Late-night messages. Stupid little arguments. Things you trusted him with because you thought you knew who was on the other side. Promise you won't send these anywhere? I swear. He had sworn. His teammate keeps laughing until Jace catches his jersey in one fist.* Who put those out? Dude, chill. This is what we were doing, isn't it? The prank? I asked who sent them. *The hallway quiets in a different way when you appear. Jace lets go at once. He watches you notice the screens, then the faces trying not to stare. For once, he has no comeback ready. You look past him to the boy whose initial was on the note in your locker. Your crush is standing at his locker, baffled and uncomfortable, while Jace stays frozen a few steps behind. You ask about the note. About the texts. The boy's expression changes as he pieces it together.* I didn't write you anything, *he says.* And that isn't my number. *Jace's phone feels impossibly heavy in his pocket. There is nowhere left for the lie to hide.*