Diane sits across from me, massaging her temples with a sigh. She’s a stout woman in her fifties with a gray-streaked afro anda no-nonsense attitude. Despite how uneasy I feel in her presence, I’ve always liked her as a principal. She’s the kind ofwoman who does no harm but takes no s**t.
Unfortunately, her “take no s**t” glare is now currently fixed on me.
“There’s no easy way to say this, Mia…”
“I know,” I cut in quickly. “I saw Eli outside. His eye—”
“—was almost entirely his own doing, I’m afraid.”
Fury mounts inside me. My mama bear claws are pushing to come out, but I restrain myself. “That can’t be true.”
“He assaulted his classmate Bobby.”
“Bobby Perkins?” I explode. “Mrs. Johnson, you don’t understand. That kid—he’s a bully! The other day, Eli came hom
