Chapter 4

Julia paused. "Unless you apologize to Casey and finish her slides, there's nothing anyone can do for you."

I hung up and headed to the classroom for the meeting. I heard the commotion before I reached the door.

It wasn't just our class. Students from all over the department crowded the hallway, and someone was livestreaming on their phone. I caught a glimpse of the comments scrolling up the screen, every one of them tearing into me.

I pushed open the door. The room fell silent for a beat, then erupted in boos and insults.

Casey stood at the front with swollen eyes, clutching a crumpled medical report. The second she saw me, tears rolled down her cheeks.

"Shane, what did I ever do to you?" she sobbed.

"Why are you trying to ruin my life?

"You won't finish my slides because I won't date you? And now, you're trying to get me kicked out of school?"

Her whole body shook as she cried.

In the front row, Kevin leaned back with his legs crossed and his phone in one hand. He grinned at me and drew a finger across his throat.

Julia stood beside the lectern with a disciplinary notice, already signed and approved. The space for my name was still blank.

"Shane!" She slammed her hand on the desk. "Apologize to Casey right now, or this goes on your disciplinary record. Do you have any idea what that could do to your future?"

The crowd chimed in. A few students pushed their way over and grabbed my arms.

"Just apologize, Shane! Think about grad school!"

"It's a PowerPoint. Would it kill you to do it?"

"Come on, man. You're too old to be this petty. She's already dealing with depression. Give her a break!"

Everyone shouted over one another.

Julia picked up her pen and poised it over the blank space for my name.

I stood a few feet from Casey at the front of the room. Her shoulders still shook, and she held a tissue over her face, but she peeked at me through a gap between her fingers.

Her eyes were completely dry.

Kevin stepped up beside her. He waved his phone at me and mouthed two words.

"You're done."

Julia touched her pen to the paper. Just then, someone kicked the classroom door open with a bang.

Harold Mackenzie, the head of academic affairs, rushed in, winded, with two competition officials on his heels. They made a beeline for me.

Harold handed me a certificate in front of the whole room. Across its gold-trimmed cover, WORLD CHAMPION stood out in bold red letters.

"Shane! There you are!"

He paused to catch his breath, then spoke loud enough for everyone in the hallway to hear.

"We've got your world championship certificate!"

The room fell silent. The boos and insults stopped.

One of the officials stepped forward with a letter in his hand and an event badge clipped to his jacket.

"We also have a letter from the organizers of the state programming competition. You've been named lead judge for the project presentations.

"Casey's entry was disqualified during the preliminary review. We have reason to believe she submitted the open-source code you published as her own work."