Michael wiped his eyes.
Principal Harris leaned forward.
“In 23 years, I’ve seen children defend friends before. What struck me today was how determined these two were to protect each other.”
He looked at Ethan.
“Oliver didn’t want Ethan blamed. Ethan kept asking us not to punish Oliver.”
I understood why Ethan had been so frightened when we arrived.
He wasn’t only afraid of losing school.
He was afraid his friend would get into trouble because of him.
Officer Miller returned briefly and confirmed that neither boy had done anything requiring police action.
The school would handle the student behavior.
