That afternoon, my mom received a call from Matthew's school.

They informed her that Matthew had gotten into a serious fight with a classmate, leaving the other student hand-broken. Matthew was facing expulsion and potentially criminal charges.

“We hope you can come to the school as soon as possible to handle the expulsion process,” the administrator said.

My mom clutched the phone, stunned. “Why? He’s only a few months from graduating. Why would he get into a fight now?”

The school's explanation was polite and vague: "It was a personal dispute."

In truth, Matthew had been pursuing a girl for a long time, only to have another guy swoop in...