would forever remember him as the guy who biffed it in the high school hallway.
“Let's get you to the office so the nurse can look at that nose,” she suggested.
She led him back to the office. William would have preferred going by himself, but
he didn’t object and concentrated on the blood gushing from his nose.
“It'll be okay,” the student told him. “If anyone asks, we'll just say that I beat
you up.”
William couldn't bring himself to look at her.
“Wait here,” she told him. She ran into the women's restroom and returned with a
wad of paper towels. “This will work better than your hand.”
William took the paper towels and held the whole stack up to his nose.
She grabbed his arm and led him to the main office of the high school. He avoided
the place as much as he could.
The girl opened the door for him, and he entered the office.
Mrs. Gailing, the secretary, gasped.
“William, what happened?” she asked.
“He got into a fight with the floor, ma'am,” the girl answered. “You should see the
floor.”
“Sit down, William,” the secretary told him.
The vice principal walked out of his office to see what had caused the commotion.
He glanced at William, who sat in the chair with blood-soaked paper towels held to
his nose.
“Thank you for bringing him in, Miss Harlow,” he said. “We can take care of it from
here. Please head to class.”
The girl lingered for a moment. William could feel her eyes on him, but he avoided
her stare. She sighed, then left the office.