Shane’s desk was stacked full of papers. He shifted through them, but no matter how much he organized them the stack still remained tall, filled with research projects his students had completed. As the winter holidays drew closer, the end of the fall term came with it, which meant he was going to be bogged down with tests and final assignments over the next couple of weeks. At least next week would be when science projects were turned in and presented, which tended to be more interesting of an experience than reading through papers. Some kids only did the bare minimum, lazily put together half-assed models or machines, but there were a handful he knew were going to go all out to show their understanding of physics and chemistry, and he was looking forward to seeing what they came out with. But for now, he just had to bear with the stack of papers, even if it would take him all night to look through them all.

At least he was free from choir practice today, so he had the rest of the afternoon and evening.

Scheduling in plenty of breaks for Zach texts, of course.

He had just about finished packing everything away into his bag when he heard the door to the classroom open behind him. Assuming it was a student lingering after school, he turned and offered a smile—but it was short lived.

Warren Jones was closing the door behind him, staring at Shane with a not-too-pleased expression. Downright irate, in fact.

He straightened up, doing his best to look polite and calm. “Afternoon, Mr. Jones. What can I do for you?”

“What the hell do you think you are doing, Mr. Howard?” the superintendent practically barked.

Shane’s lips pursed faintly. He didn’t take too well to being cursed at in that tone, but he made sure to keep his cool. “Packing up to head home, sir.”

“Don’t be coy. I’ve been getting emails and calls at the office all day long. There’re rumors of some journalist poking his nose into things around here. What lies have you been spreading about this school?”

Shane’s heart skipped a beat. That meant Zach’s plan must be working. Word was spreading and people actually cared. People were speaking up. It was a bittersweet feeling. There was a glimmer of hope, but staring at Warren now made it feel further away, like the beacon of light at the end of the tunnel was being blocked off by a snorting, raging monster.

He didn’t immediately reply. Only once he knew his voice would be level did he speak again, setting down his bag onto his desk and turning to face the man fully. He wasn’t about to rise to his anger, but he wasn’t going to let himself be walked over, either.

“I haven’t told any lies. I’ve only told the truth—that the LGBTQ students at this school are being treated unfairly. That there have been rules made deliberately to restrict them from expressing who they are. That the bullying they’ve been subjected to has been ignored,” Shane said. “You weren’t willing to reconsider your decision when we spoke in private. So I’ve gone to the public, to try to make you understand your belief of what is proper morals is misguided and ignorant—that these kids deserve to be treated equally, without fear of being punished. And it seems I’m not the only one who believes so.”

“It’s slander, is what it is.” Warren narrowed his eyes.

“Pointing out injustice isn’t slander, Mr. Jones,” he replied evenly.

Warren’s jaw rocked, then he took a couple of steps closer, until his greater height and width was made more obvious.

Shane did his best not to shrink away, meeting the man’s eyes defiantly.

“Do you have any idea how many teachers would love to have your job, Mr. Howard?” he said in a lower, darker tone. “I could replace you in less than a day.”

It felt like a bucket of ice was being dumped down the back of his shirt at the threat. He knew what he was doing was risky. He knew he could very likely be fired if this didn’t work. But hearing the threat coming from his boss’ lips directly made him feel a little nauseous. He didn’t know what in the hell he would do if he lost this job. His backup plans were pretty minimal, and his savings were shit. There’d be no way he’d make it very long if he had no job while trying to pay rent and his student loans.

No, he couldn’t let himself be scared off now. He’d come too far to turn back, and the kids needed him to be strong.

He’d made a promise.

“I realize that. And I value my job very much.” Shane’s chin lifted. “But doing what is right is more important. Besides…” He stared up into the older man’s eyes. “If I was no longer a representative of this school, I would have a lot less to lose. And even more reason to fight.”

Warren’s eyes narrowed as the threat proved to be ineffective, his face turning red with anger. “Let me make this clear for you, Mr. Howard. You will drop this whole nonsense crusade and call off this journalist, or you will be out of a job. I will not put up with someone tarnishing the reputation of my schools.”

Shane’s hands started to shake, so he gripped them into fists and pressed them against his thighs to try to keep them still. Neither of them spoke for a few seconds as they stared each other down. It felt like he was being cornered by a bear, its claws ready to strike should he blink.

“I understand,” he finally replied, his voice tense.

“Good,” Warren grunted, glaring down at him for a moment more before he stepped back.

Shane exhaled as the claustrophobic feeling faded, the air around him flowing again, making the sweat on the back of his neck tingle.

He watched Warren step out of the room without even a goodbye, the door closing firmly behind him. He held his breath for several seconds after, making sure he was truly gone before he slumped back to sit on the edge of his desk, taking a few deep, slow breaths.

The room started to spin. The corners of his vision were starting to go dark. He leaned forward and gripped his knees to try to keep the lightheadedness at bay, but the panic attack threatening to ravage him continued to loom, ready to come crashing down onto him any second.

He couldn’t lose this job. He had finally found somewhere he felt like he fit in. Save for all this bullshit at the school, he felt welcome in Hidden Creek. There was a community that was already rising to his aid, and his students were amazing.

It was a feeling he’d never had before, but had always yearned for. Most of his foster parents had tried their best, to varying degrees. The system just didn’t allow for long term support, unless you were lucky enough to get adopted. His whole life had been stuck in a constant state of flux, shipped off from one home to another. Never putting down roots, never finding a home. Never finding a family.

He could make a home here. Maybe even find a family someday, even if it wasn’t forged from blood.

The thought of having to move somewhere else made him feel sick. Hell, he didn’t even know if he could find another job somewhere else. Warren was right, he could be replaced in an instant with how many other unemployed teachers there were.

His whole life had been nothing but struggle and hard work. He had clawed his way up out of nothing. He never had anything handed to him. Everything he had to call his own he worked for, had earned, and now it all could be taken away because one man was a homophobic, transphobic asshole with a grudge.

It wasn’t fair, but Shane wasn’t used to fairness being anything but a luxury to him.

What he was used to was fighting.

One slow, deep, steady breath filled his lungs, and the room tipped back onto its normal axis. He counted in his head with each breath after, keeping them slow and even. Eventually he became confident in his ability to stand, so he straightened up and rubbed the traces of tears from his eyes.

His parents wouldn’t want him to give up. He knew they had been fighters too. It wasn’t easy to start a family in Texas when you were black, especially with his father being a musician. Life had been a struggle, but that didn’t stop him from having a beautiful, happy childhood—until they were taken from him.

He couldn’t give up now. If he did, he was only dooming more children to the life he grew up in, and he never wanted them to feel like they were alone. They needed to know that there was someone in the world that would stand up for them and support them.

If Shane had to sacrifice everything for that, then so be it.

Anger bubbled up to replace the panic. This time, he didn’t bother trying to put reins on it. He let it fill every inch of him, let it empower him. If Warren thought that he was willing to raise hell before, then he had no idea what he had released now.

Shane snatched up his bag from the desk and stormed out of the school to his car, dialing up Zach’s number once he was in the parking lot.