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sending out the news when messages started to come back at me. There were a couple of good ones cheering me on. But there were some really nasty ones telling me to mind my own business—in much less polite terms.
    Around eleven that night, I even got a phone call from Emily, even though she hadn’t even been on my mail-out list. Somebody had forwarded my email to her. “Colin, you’ve got to send another email saying you were lying. Tell them it was a hoax. Do it now.”
    â€œI can’t do that.”
    â€œYou have to.”
    â€œI think it’s too late,” I said. “What’s done is done.”
    Emily sounded exasperated. “The girl who emailed this to me—I think she was targeted by Liam before. She’s afraid her story will get out. They never posted any pictures, but they threatened to.”
    â€œAnd that probably means they got her to do what they wanted.”
    â€œMaybe. But now she’s afraid everyone will know if the full story gets out about Liam and Craig.”
    â€œI feel bad for her,” I said defiantly, “but these guys need a wake-up call. Tonight was the night.”
    â€œColin, sometimes you are so pigheaded,” she said angrily.
    â€œSorry” was all I could bring myself to say, and she hung up.
    As I sat there in the silence of my room, I suddenly wondered if I had been irrational and stupid. It wouldn’t have been the first time I acted out what I was certain was the right thing to do, only to have it come back and bite me in my ass. I wondered if Emily would write me off for good now. Even though I was trying to help her, Amanda and Marissa—and whoever else had been victimized.
    And, at that point, I grew really tired. The fight was all out of me. I turned off my computer so I couldn’t read any more incoming mail. I turned off my cell phone too. I opened up a brand-new sketchbook and drew an eagle soaring high over some mountains.

Chapter Ten
    The next morning, I was expecting to get nailed in one way or another by Liam and Craig. When I got to school, I sat down on the wall outside, seeing if they would spot me. I figured it beat the hell out of waiting for them to sneak up on me. As I sat there, I sketched in my little pocket drawing pad. For too long, I had stopped carrying it around, knowing other kids thought it was weird, but now I didn’t care. I had my latest rat T-shirt on under my hoodie, and that felt good, even though it wouldn’t help with what was coming.
    Oddly enough, it was Jerome who was the first to say anything. “Good work, Colin. Nailed their balls to the wall.”
    Getting praise from Jerome should have clued me in that the shit was about to hit the fan, but I appreciated the support. “It was all I could think to do. Those guys were out of control.”
    â€œUnderstood. I appreciate what it took. But watch your back, bro. And remember, I’m around if you need support. Maybe we could clean this shithole up by weeding out some of the whackers and inbreds.”
    I nodded but could see that Jerome’s idea of school improvement was a bit different from mine.
    Kids were pouring into the school now. Most were just ignoring me as usual. But as I scanned the faces, I recognized some of my classmates who had received my little newsflash. I got a couple of thumbs-up but a lot more dirty looks. Emily and a couple of other girls walked on by. Emily didn’t even look at me, but her friends, Rachel and Ashley, looked at me like I’d committed some crime against humanity. Kyle, a friend of Liam’s, was the first one to come up to me and speak his mind, what little of it there was. “You freakin’ stupid or what? You can’t go ratting on your own. It’s just not done.” I could hear the threat in his voice.
    â€œJust telling it the way it is. Just speaking the truth.”
    He put his face up close to me. I could see the weird glint of anger in