As he prepared for the walk to South Side Middle School, he had to be careful when pulling his backpack over his shoulder that he didn’t catch the strap on his injured hand. Matt had left the house a few minutes later than usual, so Jake and Phil weren’t under the tree waiting for him this morning. They had already headed off to class. He shuffled through the coating of powdery snow that covered the sidewalk, completely alone with his thoughts. He had been dwelling all weekend on the punch he had thrown at Grant Jackson, going over the scenario that had led up to it and wondering if he could have done anything to avoid it. Part of him felt good about what he had done, about finally standing up to Jackson and being there to support his buddy, Phil. Andrew McTavish had also seemed surprised and grateful that Matt had stepped in to stop him from being ambushed. Matt played the scene over and over in his head and each time he came to the same conclusion: He’d had no choice but to do what he did.
