Some students stood.
Then more stood.
Soon the entire gym was on its feet.
Everyone except Caleb.
He looked like he wanted to disappear.
I laughed through my tears.
The officer finally stepped aside.
The principal returned to the microphone.
“I think,” he said softly, “that before this evening ends, someone deserves an apology.”
The room became very quiet.
Then something unexpected happened.
The girl who had shouted the cruelest joke earlier stood up.
She walked across the gym.
Straight toward me.
My heart pounded.
She stopped a few feet away.
