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"What's going on there?" Mr. Pepper called. If he moved any slower, I thought, he'd make a turtle look like a cheetah.

Cary didn't waste words. His whole body had turned into a fist--it was that tight. He reached across the table and grabbed Adam at his collar and literally lifted him from his seat and pulled him over the table, knocking trays of food everywhere.

Adam struggled to break free of Cary's grip, but it was as firm and rigid as lockjaw. Adam looked like a fish out of water, twisting and turning, flailing about, kicking up his feet and swinging his arms wildly.

Cary turned him over and pinned his arms to the table. Everyone drew back. Mr. Pepper finally put on some steam and reached the table, shouting. "Stop that this instant! Cary Logan. . . Stop!"

Cary ignored him. He gazed down into Adam's terrified face.

"Tell them the truth! Tell them!" he screamed. "Was there anything between me and Melody? Was there?"

"Cary Logan, let him go," Mr. Pepper cried, but he didn't touch Cary. It was as if Cary were on fire and Mr. Pepper knew he would burn his hands. "Go get the principal," he shouted at one of the nearby students, who reluctantly turned, disappointed he would miss the action.

"The truth!" Cary screamed down at Adam and raised his fist over his face. To Adam, it must have looked as if a sledgehammer were about to fall on his precious hand-some visage.

"All right. Nothing happened. Nothing happened! I made it all up. Satisfied?"

Cary relaxed and Adam sat up quickly, now indignant and embarrassed. He started to say something, but when Cary turned back to him, he shrank quickly.

"Mr. Logan, you march yourself right down to the principal's office this instant, you hear?" Mr. Pepper said.

Cary didn't acknowledge him. He looked at me. "You all right?" he asked.

I wasn't sure I had any breath in my lungs. I nodded, reserving my words.

"If anyone else bothers you, tell me later," he said loudly. Then, moving like a prisoner condemned to the gallows, he marched ahead of Mr. Pepper toward the door.

The moment he left, the cafeteria burst into a storm of chatter.

"Satisfied with yourselves now?" I asked Janet, Lorraine, and Betty as I reached their table on the way back to Theresa's. They were too frightened to reply. "Adam Jackson invited me to meet him on the beach last night. I made the mistake of doing so and he tried to rape me," I told them. Their eyes bulged. "He talked me into drinking vodka and cranberry juice and got me drunk."

I saw from Janet's expression that she believed me. Maybe she had had a similar experience.

"Cary arrived just in time and drove Adam away. He literally tore him off me," I told them. "This is his revenge and you and your mean gossip helped him. Now Cary's in bad trouble. Thanks a lot." I turned on my heel and went back to Theresa.

"That Adam Jackson better watch his step or Cary's going to make him fish bait," she said.

"He'll only get himself into more trouble and it's all my fault," I wailed. I plopped into my seat just as the bell rang. The sea of chatter flowed out of the cafeteria with the students. The teachers in the afternoon classes would have a hard time keeping their attention today, I thought. I waited until most everyone was out before getting up to follow. Theresa lingered behind with me.

"What will they do to him?"

"Probably suspend him again," she said.

I felt just dreadful. I sat half dead in my seat in all my classes, barely listening, never answering a question. I couldn't wait for the day to end, and when it did, I found Cary waiting for me outside, his hands in his pockets, his head down, pacing back and forth like a caged animal. The moment he saw me, he perked up.

"You all right?" he asked quickly.

"Yes, but what happened?"

"I got two days vacation," he said.

"Oh Cary, near the end of the year when you need the review for your tests? This is horrible."

"It doesn't matter," he said.

"Yes it does. I'm not going to let the principal do this to you. It's not fair. He should see the nasty notes that were passed around."

"He saw them. It didn't make any difference. He told me I didn't have a right to lose my temper and take things into my own hands."