The principal's office is crowded.
Here is Mitch and apparently his mother - a tall, thin woman with her hair pulled back into a bun at the back of her head. Mike and his mother are sitting nearby, and I can see a certain resemblance. She also has a broad face and small, dark eyes. Closer to the wall, Logan stands. And he is alone. He is pale, with dark circles under his eyes.
"Good morning," mom says, looking around. The principal, Jane Velasquez, nods affably and invites her to sit in the last empty chair. I remain standing by the door.
"Thank you for coming at such short notice," Velasquez says. "Logan, what about your father?"
"He is away," Logan answers.
"I would like to meet him when he returns."
Logan nods indifferently.
"I called you because of the situation regarding what happened on the camping trip," the principal looks around all present. I glance at Logan, and he nods slightly when our eyes meet. Mom turns back and looks at me, frowning. I just shrug.
"It wasn't a big deal," Mike's mom says, visibly nervous. "The boys were just joking. No harm's been done."
"I'm sorry, but tying someone to a tree in the forest at night and a fight seem a big deal to me," Velasquez objects. Chills run down my spine. I didn't think it would have any repercussions. So Caulter told her?..
I look at Logan. We should have agreed on something. I don't want him to have any more problems. Although most likely he won't, Mike and Mitch, on the other hand... And though that may be fair... but... damn...
"Adam," Velasquez turns to me, and I look at her. "Can you tell us how it all happened?"
Mom turns back and looks at me. Her eyes reflect a mixture of surprise and disappointment.
Oh, shit...
I glance at Logan, but he looks away. If I say it was all a joke, they can put the blame for the fight on Logan only.
Okay, then I'd better tell the truth, so I would not get confused in my own lies and not make everything even worse. There's already an unpleasant conversation with my mother looming ahead.
"Um... well... It was late at night... we were looking at the stars, then I went to the toilet and... there someone grabbed me, dragged me away from the camp and... well... tied me to a tree."
"Were they Mike and Mitch?" asks Velasquez, and everybody stares at me.
"Um... actually... I didn't see Mitch. Only Mike."
Even without looking at his face, I feel Mike's gaze grow heavy. His mother sighs noisily as if she wants to protest.
"So Mike was alone?" Velasquez concludes.
"It was dark," I answer. "But he certainly wasn't alone. There were at least two of them."
"But you didn't see who the second one was?"
"No, ma'am."
Mitch's mom snorts and adds in an undertone, "I don't even understand what we're doing here."
"And you didn't call for help?" Velasquez asks.
"I was gagged," I answer, pursing my lips. My mom gasps at this and looks at me with horror in her eyes.
"And what happened next?" Velasquez continues.
"Er... Logan found me, untied me, and we returned to the camp," I answer.
"And then there was a fight," Velasquez pushes me.
"I didn't see how it started," I lie. "I don't know who started it and why."
Velasquez looks over at Mike.
"Is that what happened?" she asks.
"More or less," Mike nods, pretending he doesn't care about anything.
"Who was with you?"
Mike looks up and squints at Logan.
"Logan, of course. Originally it was his idea," Mike replies without a hint of hesitation in his voice. I glance at Logan. He's staring straight at Mike like he's about to pounce on him.
"It's not true!" I protest even more emotionally than I intended.
"How did he find you if he didn't know where you were?" Mike grins.
"I called for help!"
"You had a gag in your mouth, didn't you?" Mike scoffs.
"I kicked the tree!"
Mike laughs out loud.
"Enough!" exclaims Velasquez.
Mike calms down. He lowers his head and licks his lips as if he has all his thoughts completely aligned, and then he raises his head and says, "I don't deny that I was there, but Logan was there too. And it was his idea. You all remember that he also tied Richardson to the goalpost last year, for which he was kicked out of the team," he looks at Logan. My breath gets stuck in my throat as I look at Logan too. But he remains silent, clenching his teeth and fists. "Then he got scared that Stone would tell. Or maybe he just felt sorry for the kid though he used to pick on him all the time... Well, he came back for Stone and untied him," Mike shrugs. "Maybe he wanted to play the hero. A good guy. That's all."
My mother continues to look at me with wide eyes.
"Who picked on whom?" Velazquez clarifies seriously.
"Logan picked on Adam," Mike replies confidently. Hell, he really decided to drown Logan.
"Adam, is it true?" Velazquez looks at me, and again, I feel how everyone drilling me with their eyes.
"No," I answer, swallowing nervously.
"Adam," mom says quietly and seriously. "Please tell the truth. You don't have to be afraid." She squints at Logan.
"It's not true!" I exclaim anxiously. "And I don't believe it was Logan's idea!"
"But you didn't see the second guy," my mother objects and glances at Mike and his mother.
"So what?" I am outraged. "Why do you have to immediately blame Logan?"
"And that time when half of your face was swollen..." she continues.
"It wasn't him!" I break into a scream.
Everyone falls silent. I breathe in fits and starts, and my head is spinning from the flood of emotions. Why the hell am I defending him so desperately? I didn't really see the other one... it could have been Logan. But why don't I believe it?
"Logan," Velasquez turns to him; he looks into her eyes. "Do you have anything to say?"
"What difference does it make?" he says grimly.
"It does," Velasquez argues. "There is a difference. What's your side of the story?"
Logan shifts from foot to foot and looks at me out of the corner of his eye.
"I didn't tie Adam to a tree. It wasn't my idea," he says dryly.
"How did you find him?" Velasquez asks.
Logan looks at me again. My heart's racing as Logan's hand reaches for his collar. He stops halfway and speaks, "Because of the phone. Adam said that he would go to the toilet, and he was gone for a long time. I went to check. Then I called him and heard a sound from the forest. Apparently, when they dragged him, his phone fell out. I went to the sound and found the phone on the ground. And then I heard a knock... and well, I found him."
It lets me breathe a little easier.
"And what happened next?" Velasquez asks.
"We returned to the camp. And... I got into a bit of a fight with Mike. That's all. It was not a big deal."
"So a fight, in your opinion, is not a big deal?" Velasquez cocks her head to the side, staring at Logan.
"Look, it wasn't a real fight," he replies more confidently. "More of a friendly brawl."
Mike snorts at this. "After that, we're anything but friends," he mutters under his breath.
"Mitch?" Velasquez finally turns to him. He winces as if he didn't expect this. I do not envy his position. If now he admits that he helped drag me and tie me up, he will frame Mike and himself. If he denies it, he'll frame Logan. I don't know who he values more - Logan or Mike. Or maybe the only thing he cares about is to get away with it. I, like everyone else, am waiting for his answer.
"What?" he blurts out.
"How was it?" Velasquez says.
"Let's get this over with," his mother adds, looking impatiently at her watch.
"I wasn't involved. I mean, I didn't tie Stone up. But I was at the place where the fight was. And... it really wasn't serious. Just... a joke."
"The joke that caused Logan's lip to bleed?" Velasquez asks incredulously.
"Well, there are worse things happen at football practice," Mitch shrugs. "It was about the same here."
"But you guys were not at practice, but on a camping trip," Velasquez objects and then exhales wearily. "Adam, Mrs. Stone," she looks first at me, then at my mother. "You can go. But we'll speak later."
"What about us?" Mitch's mom asks worriedly.
"You have to stay for just a couple more minutes," conciliatory says Velasquez. Mom gets up from her seat and, without saying goodbye, goes out into the corridor. I glance at Logan and try to cheer him up with a smile, but it came out crooked. I hope I could convince them that Logan did nothing wrong and he will not have problems.
Out on the street, my mother rushes to the car. I can hardly keep up with her. She gets into the driver's seat, but I stay on the sidewalk. Mom rolls down the passenger side window.
"Get in the car, Adam," she says.
"I'll wait for Logan."
She looks at me incredulously.
"What?"
"I want to make sure he's all right. That they didn't pin all the blame on him!"
Mom gets out of the car and walks over to me. She opens the passenger door and looks at me firmly.
"Get in the car, Adam," she says sternly.
"No," I answer. Mom throws up her hands and turns away, pacing back and forth as if in desperation.
"Mom..."
"No, Adam!" she interrupts me. "You lied to me again!"
"I just haven't told..." I make a weak attempt to justify myself.
"Don't you dare twist the words!" she shakes her head.
"Mom, it's not that serious..."
"Oh yes? My son was tied to a tree in the forest at night. Nothing serious!" she says hysterically. "Gagged - on top of it all!"
I look down. I have nothing to say to her.
"And I was told that this was a good school!" she exclaims.
I am silent. Probably, I need to let her talk and vent out her emotions. She does indeed take a few more steps back and forth, panting, and then she comes back to me and says a little more calmly, "Get in the car."
At the risk of angering or upsetting her again, I shake my head. Although perhaps it would be smarter of me to agree... But I already began to doubt that I was particularly smart. This is not a math test after all.
"Mom," I also try to speak calmly. "Mom, listen to me, please. I want to wait for Logan, okay? Nothing threatens me."
Mom clenches her teeth and inhales noisily through her nose, which sounded like a sob.
"I don't think Logan is good company for you," she says in a shaky voice.
"Are you serious?" All my calmness immediately flies away. I raise my voice and speak much more emotionally than I should. "He is the only one who helped me! Do you think that spending the night in the woods would be good for me?!"
"Calm down, Adam..." Mom says, obviously surprised by my outburst. But it is very difficult for me to contain myself.
"No!" I shout. "You don't understand! He is the only friend I have in school! Hell, he is the only friend I have!"
Mom looks at me with concern. I draw a deep, shaky breath. I'm surprised with myself. Did I really say that? Did I really mean it?
We are silent for a while, not even looking at each other. Mom's face gradually becomes impenetrable, like her eyes. She closes the passenger door, walks around the car, sits in the driver's seat, and drives away. My heart immediately grows heavy in my chest. I look back at the school. The break has begun, and students poured out into the street. I go to my usual place behind the bleachers and sit down on the grass. I want to distract myself with something, but I'm too agitated to read. Therefore, I just look around - at the empty stands, at the green grass, at the fast-moving clouds. Then I take my phone out of my pocket and write, "I'm waiting for you at my usual spot," and send it to Logan.