Nora had stayed home from school for two days, not wanting to show her face.  I sympathized with her, but she couldn't just stay home forever.  She needed to face the music.  I hoped this would be a lesson to her that she wouldn't be so careless.  I was still mad as hell at the three boys involved who'd spread her picture.

The next morning, I knocked on her door around 7.  I was pretty sure she hadn't set her alarm, hoping she would just stay home.  When I opened the door, she must have sensed it because she pulled her covers over her head.

"Nora, sweetheart, it's time to get up," I told her from the door.

"I'm not going to school," she grumbled, her voice muffled beneath the sheets.

"You've had two days off," I reminded her.  "I'm sure the gossip has died down a bit.  You can't just stay here forever."

"Yes I could," she countered.  "I could do online school."

I sighed and crossed the room, then sat on the bed.  I gently peeled the covers back so I could look at her.  "You could, but somehow I don't think you'd be happy doing that."

"Just one more day?" she looked at me pleadingly.

"That's what you said yesterday," I reminded her.  "Come on.  Up"

I patted her hip a few times and she turned over.  When I went back to check ten minutes later she was up, thankfully.  I felt bad forcing her to go, but it needed to be done.  Every day would get a little easier.

Half an hour later, she grabbed a breakfast bar from the pantry, looking highly reluctant to be up.  I pulled her into a hug and kissed the side of her head.

"Everything will work out," I told her.  "All this is just temporary.  Be strong."

She nodded into my shoulder.  I pulled back and gave her shoulders a supportive squeeze.  Nora left with Sebastian to go face the day.  Hopefully he would cheer her up on the way with his non-stop babbling.  I decided to go tackle getting Cisco ready.  V had already left for work, so it would be me and my little man hanging out all day.

A couple hours later, I got a call from school that I needed to come in again.  I asked what it was this time.  Apparently, there'd been a confrontation in one of the girls' bathrooms.  Nora had punched another kid.

I scooped up Cisco and we took the subway down to Hunter yet again.  What I assumed was the other girl was sitting in a chair in the office, an ice pack to her face.  The secretary showed me into the office, where Nora was sitting with the principal.  She sat tall and didn't look at all sorry.

"Hello, Mr. Miranda," the principal greeted me as I took a seat and put Cisco on my lap.  "And who's this?"

"This is Francisco," I said.  "Nora's little brother."

"I imagine he'll be attending Hunter in a few years," he commented.  "But let's get down to the reason we're here.  Nora, would you care to explain?"

"A girl was making fun of me in the bathroom," Nora said.  "I may have punched her. It's a blur, sir."

"Nora, we haven't had any issues with you using violence this year," the principal went on.  "I've been really proud that you've been solving your problems other ways.  Why was today different?"

"Because it was all about that stupid picture," Nora said.  "I'm not gonna let someone insult me like that."

"No, I certainly wouldn't expect you to put up with that, but at Hunter we solve our problems in different ways," he reminded her.  "If you're being bullied, you need to tell an adult."

"She wasn't bullying me, she was just being a bitch," Nora said.

"Regardless, I cannot condone violence," he said, flipping through a notebook.  "I'll have to suspend you for two days."

"What about the other girl?"

"I'm afraid I can't discuss another student's disciplinary record with you."

"Will today count as one of her days?" I asked, disappointed in my daughter.

"No," he said.  "It will begin tomorrow.  You'll need to take her today, though.  I'm afraid she won't be able to make up any of her missed work since it's a suspension."

I nodded.  "Alright, Nora.  Let's go."

She pushed herself up and flung the door open, the handle hanging against the wall stopper.  I sighed as I picked up Cisco and followed her.  She was several steps ahead of me.  Obviously, she was still pissed so it wouldn't help to try to talk to her right now.  We rode the subway home, and she kept her distance, sitting away from us.  When we got home, she went straight to her room.

I imagine this was what she wanted.  If she got suspended, she wouldn't have to face her classmates for a couple more days.  After letting Cisco play for a while, it was time for lunch.  I fixed two sandwiches and heated up some Mac & Cheese for my son.  I set everything on the table and then knocked on Nora's door.

"Lunch," I called through the door.  A few minutes later, she came out.  She had already changed into her sweats and a t-shirt, looking cozy.  It bothered me a bit that she was just getting two and a half days off.

We started our sandwiches and I eyed her every now and then to gauge her mood.

"So, did you start a fight today just so you wouldn't have to go to school again?" I posed.

"No," she said, but I suspected she was lying.  "She insulted me."

"You haven't punched anyone in months," I told her.  "I'm sure you could have handled it differently if you'd wanted to."

"Well, I didn't," she said simply.  "And I'm not sorry."

I didn't say anything for a few minutes and we continued to eat.   Nora obviously wanted to be by herself, because she ate quickly, then stood up to go back to her room.

"Nora, why don't you start a couple loads of laundry," I called to her as she took her plate to the sink.  "Then you can do some cleaning around the house."

She let her plate drop loudly into the sink.  "Seriously?"

"You didn't think you'd be getting off scotch-free did you?" I asked.  "You get in trouble at school, you're getting punished at home."

She groaned and stormed off to her bedroom, slamming the door.  When Nora had first come to us, we'd had major issues with her being violent, especially at school.  She didn't let people cross her, which was a good thing, but she couldn't just go around punching people.  As she got older, there would be more serious consequences to using violence.  Luckily, she'd mellowed out in the two years she'd been with us.

About 15 minutes later, Nora reluctantly went room to room collecting laundry.  She glared at me as she took it all to the washing machine.  I had since made a list of chores to be done.

"Nora, here's your list," I told her, setting it on the counter.  She looked at it and opened her mouth.

"I have to do this all today?" she asked, exasperated.

"No, this is for the two and a half days you're home," I explained.  "Organize your time however you see fit.  Plus, you need to do your missing work."

"But I don't get credit for it," she reminded me.

"You're still doing it," I told her.  "I don't want you missing anything."

She scoffed and slammed the washer door shut.  The nice thing about Nora being suspended was that I got a little indentured servitude out of it.  The apartment was going to look spic and span.

After several hours of chores, Nora called it quits for the day then took a shower.  I'd emailed her teachers and gotten her assignments for the next few days.  I printed them off and left them on her desk in her room.  She got started after her shower.

Around 3:00, I needed to go pick Sebastian up from Hunter since Nora wasn't there to bring him home.  I asked Nora to watch Cisco while I was gone.  Sebastian was surprised but happy to see me waiting outside his classroom door.  I picked him up and planted kisses on his face.

"Where's Nora?"

"She's at home," I explained, putting him down.  "What did you do at school today?"

"We made letters with clay and we learned a new game in P.E.," he told me as we walked, holding hands, down the hallway.

"That sounds fun," I told him as he swung our hands.  Sebastian still loved school and he adored his teacher.  He would do well at Hunter.

We chatted all the way home about this and that; his attention quickly shifting to some other random subject.  According to my parents, I was the same way.  My mind buzzed from one thing to the other, and I had lots to say about it.

When we got home, he immediately wanted a snack, then started playing with his little brother.  I didn't hear much from Nora for the rest of the day.  When it was dinner time, I sent Sebastian in to call her out.

"How's your make-up work coming?" I asked her as I cut into my grilled chicken.

"Fine," she reported.  "I still don't see why I need to do it if I don't even get credit for it."

"It's because I'm mean and I want to torture you," I said, causing Sebastian to laugh.

"Nora, have you thought about going to court?" Vanessa asked.

"Yeah," she said.  "I don't want to.  I know you guys want me to, but I just want it to be done."

My wife and I exchanged a look.  We wanted to see the boys face consequences, but it was her decision.

"Okay," Vanessa said.  "If that's what you want."

"That's what I want," she said shortly.

Nora did the dishes then disappeared to her room.  Vanessa and I chatted briefly about the whole lawyer situation, and we agreed that she would talk to her one last time before giving up.  Vanessa went into her room after we'd put the boys to bed.  She came out five minutes later and joined me in the living room.

"She won't budge," she told me, sitting on the couch next to me.

"It's her decision," I said.

"Is it?" she asked.  "I mean, we could intervene on her behalf."

"She'd never forgive us," I told her.  "We can't do that."

Vanessa rested her head in her hand.  I put my hand on her leg and patted it.

"It'll calm down soon," I told her, like I'd been reassuring Nora.  She smiled weakly and nodded.

"I just hope she doesn't regret this," Vanessa said.  I rubbed her leg with my thumb, thinking the same thing.  It was embarrassing, but this was something she'd have to live with the rest of her life.