I nodded. I was supposed to. Joseph was supposed to nod too. He didn’t. “Do you understand that, Mr. Brook?” Joseph stood. “I have to get to class,” he said. Mr. Canton reached for him. Joseph dropped his pack and immediately his back was against the wall and his hands up. The way he was breathing . . . “Don’t touch him,” I whispered. “Please, please don’t touch him.” Mr. Canton looked at me, then back at Joseph. “So you better get to class,” he said. I picked up Joseph’s backpack and handed it to him. His eyes never left Mr. Canton, but he took the backpack and he followed me out of the
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