2007

Three freshmen of East Cooper High School were brought to Mrs. Bambini's office in the Guidance Department. The first, a tall athletically built boy named Michael Hart. Michael was an eagle scout, a wrestler, and a boxer. He played competitive paintball and participated in parkour. The second, a thin, short girl named Cassidy Shell. She was a black belt and ran in track and field. The third was Charlie Graham.

"Who can tell me what a school nark is?" asked Mrs. Bambini.

Michael spoke up. "It's a student who spies on other students. Narks watch for drug use and bullying and report on them to the police."

Mrs. Bambini nodded, acting as though she were addressing six year old rather than fourteen year olds. "Good. Now I understand that what I'm asking you to do is very dangerous, but you were chosen because you were capable. Do you believe you have the ability to do this?"

2011

"You were a spy for the school?" Alice asked.

I hesitated for a second before I answered. "Spy" wasn't the phrase I would've used. At the time, I remember calling myself a glorified tattle-tale. But it was fairly simple stuff. Most kids don't think twice about bragging about their drug use to other students. Turning kids in was as simple as walking down the hallway.

"Basically, yeah. Three of us were... until the end of freshman year."

2008

It was a small house, unnoticeable which made it perfect for the meeting. Several of Mt. Pleasant's local competitive drug dealers called a truce. Competition was set aside in the desperation to save their collective businesses. They agreed to hire spies of their own, do some investigating into why so many of them were being exposed now.

The dealers' narks were just as good at their jobs as Michael, Cassidy, and Charlie. It didn't take long to figure out which students were reporting them, and the three students found themselves at gun point one afternoon after school.