"It's not your problem anyway." He gripped his backpack straps tightly, eyeing the other guy. "... But whatever. I don't need this. I don't need you to get on my -" No. Don't swear in front of most adults, they didn't like that.

"I don't need you to get on my butt about it. It's not like you're the police or something." If he was, they'd be having a very different conversation. He knew how to hold it together in front of police.