I'm halfway down the hall before reality hits me. If I walk into the office with my heart racing, breathing fast, and turning green under a feverish blush, there's no way I'm going to pass a lie detector test. I stop in the restroom and splash my face with water. When I'm done, I exhale slowly. I run my fingers through my hair so it looks just-right messy. Then I tuck my shirt in an attempt to look respectable.          

          I walk into the office and tell the secretary my name.

          "I believe Principal Baek is expecting you. Third door on the left."

          The dreaded Baek's chambers.

          I walk down the short, narrow hall, hoping I can catch a glimpse inside before I have to enter. The blinds on the glass pasrt of the door are down, but the door is open a crack. I'm about to knock when I hear a familiar voice.

          My mom's.

          "Come in," Principal Baek calls.

          I push the door open and force myself to smile. It doesn't work.

          "Hi, honey," Mom says.

          "Jongin," Mr. Kim says with a nod. He has several copies of the school's magazine on his lap.

          "Hi," I squeak. There's one empty chair and I sit. I press my fingertips together as if in prayer, and then pinch them between my knees.

          "We were just discussing your work with the school literary magazine," Principal Baek informs me, as if I hadn't guessed. "It appears as if you published a submission without the other staff members' consent?"

          I think this is a question, so I answer, "Yes. Seulgi is extremely talented, and I thought her graphic short was perfect fot the magazine."

          "But your peers didn't agree with you?"

          "They voted to reject the piece." I refrain from adding "your honor" like people do in the movies.

          "Please explain."

          I look at Mr. Kim. He was there. He could explain. But he just nods as if to say, Go on.

          "Could you tell us why the other students rejected Seulgi's submission?" the principal repeats.

          "At first they thought it was lacking in plot," I begin, knowing I have to bring up the other reason too. I close my eyes and try to form a sentence. "But it was also because of the--uh, the characters' orientations."

          "So they didn't want an illustrated short story depicting homouals in the literary magazine?" he asks me.

          I nod.

          "But you put it in anyway?"

          I nod again.

          "Why?"

          I pinch my fingers between my knees again and think back to how I told off Sehun and Dasom. I had been able to explain it tehn. But now, I don't know. I can't seem to get the words out. I shake my head.

          "You pulled a stunt that could get you expelled before exams your senior year and you can't tell me why?"

          "Expelled?" I croak.

          The words begin to tumble from my lips, tripping over themselves to get out. "The magazine is our school's. It belongs to all of us, not just Sehun and Dasom, and I thought-I thought it should represent everyone, even the LGBT students. I couldn't let it be censored." I take a breath. "The staff... They were just worried about funding. You know, if the school board didn't like it, they might not fund the magazine next year. But I fixed that, people bought the magazines."

          "Wait, you're selling copies?" Mr. Kim asks.

          "Yeah."

          "How did you get copies? Mr. Kim and I have not made a decision yet."

          "The printer gave me samples," I say. "And I took a stack of them on Thursday."

          Principal Baek sighs as if he can't believe how stupid I am.

          "I wanted to prove that students would buy them. And they did. Fifteen copies."

          "And this money? Did it get turned in to Mr. Kim?"

          Oh my God. She just accused me of stealing! On top of everything else. No wonder I am in the principal's office with my mother and about to get expelled. "No. But I have it all here." I take an envelope from inside my binder and pu