Expelled

     “You guys wouldn’t have any fun without me!”Justin said jokingly, but I could tell there was a hint of truth in his voice.  He was short and korean, much like many at our school.  Almost everyone was asian.  He had long, brown hair and he was rather skinny compared to your average twelve year old boy.
     “Sure, whatever,”Sean responded nonchalantly as he shoveled food into his mouth.  His dark, black hair swept across his japanese face in the wind.
     “Dude, Justin, we could easily have fun even if you weren’t a part of our group,”Kyle told him.  Kyle was also japanese, but he was more tan and his hair was rather short.   
     Now you would be able to single me out as the odd one out in this group, and also in school.  I was a tall caucasian with pale blond hair. I desperately wanted to speak up, to tell the other guys to stop talking as if we didn’t need him.  I felt as if I was the only person who could tell that Justin was not entirely lying.  Right then, I finally gathered the courage to speak.
     “Justin, I-” I was interrupted by the shriek of the bell.  As we quickly jammed our belongings in our bags, I heard Justin, “Bye guys,”he said, “I guess this is the last time we’ll see each other.” Then he sped out of the hallway, to the pavilion.    
     After lunch, I had science with Sean.  We sat together, not really because we thought we’d work together well, it was because we just wanted to talk.
     “What do you think he meant by, ‘this is the last time we’ll see each other’?” I asked Sean as I slipped on my hoodie. 
     “I’m not entirely sure,” Sean replied, “he was probably just-”
     “Boys,” our science teacher interrupted.
     “He probably was just trying to get our attention or something like that,”whispered Sean as we worked on our chapter seven reading notes, “jeez is it just me or is it freezing in here?  As soon as Sean said that, I heard a loud laughter coming from the bathroom.  It sounded like Justin’s, so I wanted to find out what was going on.  I rushed over to Mrs. Doris’s table.
     “Um, Mrs. Doris?” I asked, “can I use the restroom?”
     “I don’t know, can you?” she said, not even bothering to take her eyes of the computer screen.
     “Mrs. Doris, may I use the restroom?”
     “Fine, make it quick.” she said.  I dashed outside to the bathroom.
     As I made my way to the bathroom, I froze to a halt, only to hear the laughter again.  I peeked around the corner, only to see Justin with one of his classmates working on an assignment. 
     “Yeah, they don’t even know what I meant,” Justin exclaimed, “they’re so stupid!”
     “So, you going to be hanging out with us know?” said the other guy.  I could tell just by looking at the boy that he was a trouble-maker. 
     “Yeah,”responded Justin eagerly.  I turned around and ran back to science class, nervous to tell my friends the bad news.
     “I know what he meant,” I said as I sat down next to Sean.
     “Huh?” Sean said still working on his notes.
     “I know what Justin meant.”
     “Oh,” said Sean finally looking at me.
     “I overheard him by the bathroom.  He was with this guy from our band class.  Long story short, Justin is ditching us.” Immediately, Sean’s face shrunk.  He looked down and started working.
     At brunch the next day, I went to my group’s usual hangout.  As I made my way to the corner off the hallway, I was sad to see that what I heard was true.
     “Where is Justin?” I exclaimed.
     “I don’t know,” said Sean, his eyes wild.  I spun around and took off, scouring school, trying to find the short korean kid I call a friend.  After ten minutes, which felt like an eternity, I finally saw him.
     Outside the library, I finally found him sitting with a group of kids.  He seemed kind of out of place.  Mostly all of them we tall and caucasian, whereas he was short and korean. 
     “Justin,” I said quietly, “what are you doing here?  Why aren’t you with us?” He sighed.
     “Andrew,” he said as he shook his head from left to right, “you guys are always claiming you don’t need me, so I thought it was best if I just found a new group of friends.”
     “Yeah, but we were just joking.” I tried convincing him.
     “If you were joking, why do you say that everyday?” he asked, his dark black eyes staring at me.
     “Justin,” said the blonde kid he was sitting next to, “Mr. Stevens wants us early to help with setting up our lab.”
     “Yeah, one moment,” Justin told him, “Look Andrew, I got to go.  Bye.” Then he ran off with his new friend.  I stood there, frozen, feeling like somebody just stabbed me with a knife.  I had just lost my best friend.
     The next day at lunch, I approached Justin, my feet stomping, standing to face-to-face with him.
     “Justin!” I yelled, “come back!  We know you’re just trying to get our attention!”
     “I said leave me alone!” Justin exclaimed back.  Suddenly, it was as if the time itself slowed down.  I saw his fist approach me.  I felt the blow strike me in the jaw, my spit flying everywhere.  I was thrown on the ground, the cold asphalt against my face.  Blood starting trickling slowly down my forehead.
     “Dude!” Sean shrieked at Justin, “what the heck is wrong with you!” Still on the ground, I saw Sean throw a punch at Justin, socking him in the jaw.  By now, it was basically a war.  Group versus group.  Punches flying.  Kids yelling and screaming.  My vision was getting blurry.  I wanted to speak up, break up the fight, but words weren’t coming out.
     “Hey!  What’s going on here!” said an adult loudly.
     “Shoot!  It’s the vice principal!” one of the kids yelled.  I saw everyone scramble away.  I felt myself being grabbed by the collar.
     “You’re coming with me young man!” said a tall man with a slight beard.  Then, I was forcefully dragged to the office.
     I sat in a cheap, hard chair across a table.  I shivered as the a/c blew cold air above me.  “So,” said the principal, “what exactly happened?”  I told him what happened.  He gave me detention for two weeks, then sent me back to class.
     The next day, I went over to my groups’ hangout.  I saw everyone quietly sitting down.  “Guys?” I asked slightly nervous, “what’s going on?” Kyle looked up at me, his eyes watery.    
     “Justin’s expelled.”  I stepped back, my hands flew to my chest.  It felt like I had just been hit by a train.  My best friend since we were four had just been expelled.  Meaning, I’d never see him again.  I felt like if it was my fault.  If I had just stopped the argument that had started this, I would still have my best friend beside me.