"I can walk on my own."

I shook free of her grip and looked at her calmly.

Delia clutched her wrist, my stare forcing her back half a step. The curse on the tip of her tongue died before it left her mouth.

She hadn't expected me to fight back. She definitely hadn't expected me to be that strong.

In the hallway, she walked ahead of me, throwing glares over her shoulder every few seconds, her mouth running the whole time. "Shameless little tramp. Homewrecking fox. Born trash!"

I stopped walking.

She stopped too, eyeing me warily.

"Watch your mouth."

My voice was quiet, but she flinched back half a step. Her lips trembled twice, and she didn't dare say another word.

Principal Whitney hurried us along from behind. "Move it, move it. The whole field's waiting."

Out on the field, more than two thousand students were already lined up by class.

A sea of bodies, all whispering.

Delia shoved me onto the stage. She put real force behind it, trying to send me sprawling, but I planted my feet and didn't so much as sway.

A flicker of disappointment crossed her face.

Whitney strode to the microphone and cleared his throat. "Today, we are holding an emergency school-wide assembly!"

The field went quiet.

"This girl!" He jabbed a finger at my face. "Was caught seducing Piers James of our Ivy League Track Program in the cafeteria!"

The crowd erupted. Students turned to each other, buzzing.

Delia snatched the microphone from his hand. "Piers James is my son! Ranked first in the entire city on the mock exams! He is this school's pride! He is Ivy League material!"

She wheeled on me, her finger nearly poking my face.

"There have been several of these little foxes before her. They all wanted to ruin my son! Ruin this school's future! Who do they think they are? They think they're worthy of even speaking to my boy?"

Whitney took the microphone back. His tone softened, and he put on a show of magnanimity.

"Just apologize in front of everyone. Write a letter of assurance. If your attitude is satisfactory, I might consider not expelling you."

I looked at that phony face of his and couldn't help but laugh.

"You don't even know who I am, and you're demanding an apology?"

Delia exploded. "Who do you think you are? Who could you possibly be? You're nothing but a shameless little piece of trash!"

The angrier she got, the more unhinged she became. She charged at me, hand raised to slap my face.

I sidestepped. Her palm cut through empty air, and her momentum carried her forward. She staggered two steps, nearly pitching headfirst off the stage.

Laughter erupted from below.

Delia's face turned beet red.

"What are you laughing at?!" she screamed at the crowd. Then she spun back toward me, eyes wild with fury.

She pulled a red marker from her pocket and twisted off the cap.

"Still running that smart mouth? Still think you can dodge?"

She advanced on me, marker raised.

"I'm going to write 'homewrecker' across your face! You'll never wash it off! The whole school is going to see exactly what you are!"

The laughter below cut off like a switch had been flipped.

Someone sucked in a sharp breath. Someone else shouted that she'd gone too far.

The instant the marker tip nearly grazed my cheek, I drove my foot into her midsection and sent her crashing to the ground.

Delia shrieked in pain, her face draining of all color.

My other hand was already pulling my credentials from my pocket. I held them in front of her eyes.

"Read it. Carefully."

She squinted, leaning closer. Then her eyes went wide.

Printed in bold black letters: City Board of Education, Deputy Director — Judy Fox.

"You... you..." Her lips shook. Every drop of color vanished from her face.

I let go.

Her legs gave out, and she crumpled to the ground.

I turned to face the two thousand students below, held my credentials high above my head, and let my voice ring out clear and strong.

"I am Judy Fox, Deputy Director of the City Board of Education."

The entire assembly went dead silent.

William stood frozen for three seconds. Then he laughed.

"Do you think we're toddlers?"

Delia's confidence surged back in an instant. "Exactly! That ID badge is obviously a fake!"

William sneered, looking me up and down. "Deputy Director of the City Board of Education? How old are you, even? You're clearly some teenager. Who are you trying to fool?"

Delia leaned in close to examine my badge, clicking her tongue and shaking her head. "The counterfeiting technology these days is really something. Almost looks real! If I hadn't seen the genuine article, you might've actually had me fooled!"

William shouted toward the crowd below the stage. "Academic Affairs! Look up which class this 'Judy Fox' belongs to!"

The head of Academic Affairs pulled out the student roster and flipped through it. He looked up. "Principal, I've checked. There's no one by that name."

Delia jabbed a finger at my face, her voice shrill enough to cut glass.

"I knew it! You're some delinquent who snuck in from off campus!"

She was on a roll now, her voice climbing higher with every word.

"Probably from one of those vocational schools nearby! Sneaking into our academy to seduce boys! I've seen plenty of street trash like you!"

The students below began to stir. Some whispered to each other. Some craned their necks to get a better look at me. A few furrowed their brows.

But Delia didn't care.

She was practically vibrating with excitement. "Look at her! All dressed up like she's somebody, but she's nothing but a thug! Forging credentials, infiltrating a top academy, targeting our best students!"

She spun toward the crowd and screamed, "Security! Where the hell is security? Get up here and restrain this little delinquent!"

The head of security jogged up the stage steps with two guards in tow. All three stood beside me, but none of them made a move.

Probably because they'd watched me kick Delia to the ground a minute ago and weren't feeling particularly brave.

Delia sidled up to William, her voice deliberately loud enough for the microphone to catch.

"Principal, this street rat forged government credentials and snuck into our school to seduce our Ivy League candidates! Call the police! We have to call the police! She belongs in juvenile detention!"

William nodded, squaring his shoulders with a look of righteous authority as he pointed at me. "Who are you, really? Tell the truth right now, or I'm calling the police!"

I looked at him calmly and spoke every word with perfect clarity. "I already told you. I'm the Deputy Director of the City Board of Education."

Delia let out a scornful laugh. "Still keeping up the act? You're what, seventeen? Eighteen? How could you possibly be a Deputy Director? Take a look at yourself. Do you look like an adult to you?"

William joined in with a cold smirk, giving me another head-to-toe once-over. "She's right. What kind of Deputy Director shows up at a school alone? No driver. No staff. No entourage. Who do you think you're fooling?"

Delia piled on. "Call the police! We have to call the police! This little delinquent is a cancer on society. She needs to be locked up and taught a lesson!"

William pulled out his phone and, in front of all two thousand students, dialed 911.

"Hello, 911? This is William Whitney, principal of Evergreen Academy. We've apprehended an individual on campus who forged a Board of Education credential and infiltrated our school to seduce male students. She's severely disrupting our academic operations. Yes, please send officers immediately!"

He hung up, crossed his arms over his chest, and stared at me with naked satisfaction.

Delia planted her hands on her hips, chin tilted high.

"Just you wait. When the officers get here, you'll be singing a different tune! Forging a government official's credentials? That's enough to put you away for a long time!"

She turned to the crowd, addressing all two thousand students like a prosecutor delivering closing arguments. "Everyone, take a good look! This is what happens when you try to seduce our top students! Let this be a lesson to anyone else with ideas like that!"

I stood on that stage, the corner of my mouth curled upward, and said nothing.

My silence only made Delia angrier. She stormed up to me, getting right in my face. "You're still smiling? Let's see if you're still smiling after they drag you to the station!"

William stepped closer too, his voice dripping with menace. "Forging a government official's credentials carries a minimum sentence of two to three years. Little girl, your life is over."

I looked at him, dripping with sarcasm. "Oh no, I'm so scared!"

But Delia actually thought I was afraid. Her voice pitched even higher. "What's the matter? Scared now? Too late for that! You were so tough a minute ago, weren't you? Finally realized you're in over your head?"

I nodded. "Sure. Let's wait and see."

Sirens wailed in the distance.

Delia practically jumped with excitement, jabbing her finger toward the school gates as she screamed at me.

"Hear that? The police are here! You're done!"

William straightened his tie, squared his shoulders, and prepared to greet the officers.

A black sedan and three police cruisers rolled through the gates.

Delia pointed at the approaching vehicles and shrieked in my face. "See that? They're all here for you!"

I folded my arms across my chest. The smile on my face never wavered.

The man who stepped out of the black sedan was Bertram Chavez, Director of the City Board of Education.

His expression was thunderous, a storm of barely contained fury rolling off him in waves. Behind him trailed a squad of officers from the city precinct.

Delia pointed at me and screamed at the approaching officers.

"Officers! It's her! This little punk from off the street! She forged a Board of Education ID and snuck into our school to seduce my son! Arrest her!"

Director Chavez didn't even glance at her. He walked straight up to the stage.

He stopped in front of me, looked me over once, and only after confirming I was unharmed did he speak.

"Deputy Director Fox, are you alright? The moment I got that phone call, I knew something had gone wrong."

The entire campus went dead silent.

Delia's finger froze in midair, still pointed at me.

"What did you just call her?!"