Naia's POV

"We have zero tolerance for any violence here at this school," Mrs. Holmes said. I sat across from her in one of those fancy cushion chairs with my arms crossed over my chest.

Matt and Gabby sat on either side of me, both extremely confused that this was happening. I could tell they were going back and forth from being angry at me for socking someone in the face and being shocked that I actually socked someone in the face.

"You guys also say you have zero tolerance for bullying and yet it still happened and you did nothing," I sneered, still fuming with my encounter with Olivia.

"We understand, so what does that mean now?" Gabby asked, putting her hand on mine to try and calm me down.

Mrs. Holmes nodded, "Naia has a clean record, she's a good student. Take the rest of the week off and come back Monday with a fresh start. We won't put it on your record."

"So am I being suspended?" I asked.

"Technically speaking, yes," Mrs. Holmes replied.

I raised an eyebrow at my principal, "I punched someone in the face and all you're going to do is suspend me for two days."

"Two and a half," Mrs. Holmes corrected, "I just think with all things considered, it seems fair."

"With what considered?" I pushed, wanting to know if I was getting off easy because of what happened.

Mrs. Holmes looked uncomfortable, "You know, with what happened, I just think it impacted your decision at lunch today. I understand you're unstable-"

"Unstable!" I shouted, cutting her off, I heard enough of this crap, "You think I'm unstable? Well, guess what, think whatever you want about me, I don't care." And with that, I got up and stormed out of the room. I was seeing red I was so angry. Furiously, I stomped to my locker and started pulling out all the stuff that I would need for my 'extra-long weekend'. When I was done, I flung my backpack onto my shoulder and went to the front lobby where I took a seat in one of the chairs.

A while later, Matt and Gabby came and I got up. The drive home was silent. I guess everyone was shocked by what just happened. When we got to the apartment, I dropped my backpack in its usual spot and took off my coat.

"Okay," I said, spreading my arms a little bit, "You can yell at me now."

Gabby tilted her head. "Yell at you? Why would we do that?"

"Hmm, well, I punched someone in the face..." I replied, thinking the answer was obvious.

Matt gestured to the couch, "Take a seat."

I nodded and took a seat, starting to prepare myself for the worse.

"Naia, I know there are always two sides to the story, but nothing ever justifies striking someone. Ever," Gabby began, sitting down next to me. "You need to know that punching Olivia was wrong,"

"I know hitting people is wrong," I mumbled, "I remember it very well. The feeling."

Matt nodded before sitting down on the other side of me. "So then why did you punch her?"

I bit my lip, the familiar feeling of tears brimming my eyes surfacing. "She said that Jane deserved to die," I whispered, my voice barely audible. "I don't know what happened, it's like something just made me do it. Like the elastic just finally snapped."

Matt nodded, "You were angry."

"Yeah, but, I shouldn't have hit her. I'm sorry," I sighed, regretting what I did.

Gabby took my hand, "I know you were angry, and it wasn't right for your principal to call you unstable, but-"

"I'm not," I interrupted.

Gabby was quick to clarify, "I'm not saying you are, but Naia, you punched Olivia because of what happened. I know you're sad about Jane, I am too, she was so young, nobody deserves to die that way, but I think that her death is having a bigger impact on you than you're willing to admit."

I let what Gabby had just said sink in and didn't speak for a moment.

"I don't know what you mean," I replied, subconsciously shutting down. "I know punching Olivia was wrong, no matter what the circumstances were, I'm sorry. I'll write her an apology letter, but I don't know what you mean. Yeah, I'm sad Jane died, she had a bright future. I don't know what you're talking about."

With that, I got up and grabbed my backpack before heading to my room. I shut the door behind me, hoping that Gabby and Matt would get the hint that I wanted to be alone.

I was mainly angry at myself. Angry that I didn't have better control over myself in that situation. That I didn't listen to Nate and just walk away. I was angry that I had let Olivia win.

Sighing, I laid down on my bed and put my hands underneath my head as I stared at the ceiling. Suddenly, the phone number popped back into my head and I sat up. Even though I had the phone number memorized, I still got up and went to the window. I scanned the floor before I saw the crumpled slip of paper. Slowly, I squatted down and picked up the paper.

Taking a deep breath, my fingers started to unfold the paper to reveal the number engraved in my brain written in messy writing. I still wasn't sure if I could talk to them but Matt and Gabby might want to pay their condolences.

Biting my lip, I quietly opened the door and crept into the living room where Matt and Gabby were still seated.

"Hey, what's up?" Matt asked when he spotted me standing behind them.

I opened my mouth to speak but nothing came out. Realizing that I probably looked like a fool, standing there with my mouth open like a pufferfish, I quickly shut my mouth and walked over to the couch before shoving the paper into Gabby's hand.

"It's their phone number," I explained quickly, "Jane's parents. Hailey...Upton gave it to me. She said...she said they wanted to talk to me." Internally, I facepalmed at how none of what I said seemed to make sense.

Gabby nodded her head, "Okay, do you want to call them?"

This caught me slightly off guard. "What? No, no, no. I just, I don't know, I thought maybe I should give it to you. I don't wanna call them, not now, I mean, like." I stammered like an idiot.

"That's okay," Matt replied, "We'll give them a call but if you're not ready to talk to them, that's okay."

I nodded but didn't move. I wasn't sure if this was my queue to go or if I should stay.

"Come it with us," Gabby said and patted the couch. I gave a stiff nod before plopping down in between Matt and Gabby. I had a feeling what they were going to say and I was right.

"We need to talk."