“It’s important for you to know that, drumroll please… We’ve officially moved into our new house!” Night smiled as she changed Serenity, her phone next to her on speaker. She heard her husband laugh on the other end as their baby giggled, the man still at work.
    “And why doesn’t the last two weeks count?” Hartz asked, leaning back in his chair.
    “Because I finally unpacked the last boxes today, so I win. Ha ha ha!”
    “Well, at least it’s official now. I have some paperwork that I need to finish, so I’m going to be a little late tonight.”
    “Thanks for letting me know, I’ll see you tonight. I love you.” Night dressed their daughter, Hartz telling her he loved her too and bidding her goodbye. The mother smiled as she picked up her baby, picking up her phone when it started ringing again. Looking at the screen, her eyebrows furrowed at the name on the screen.

Why was the high school calling her?

    “Hello?” She answered, standing and getting her shoes on. Her maternal instincts were going mad…
    “Hello, Miss Slydale, this is Principal Allen from the Beigoma City High School. I’m calling you this afternoon regarding Jin.” The principal responded professionally, the blonde’s eyebrows staying furrowed.
    “Has Jin done something wrong?”
    “Well, that’s what we’re trying to figure out. We would like you to come on out for a little conference.”
    “Say no more, I’m on my way now.”

~~~

Night walked through the door of the high school with her daughter’s carrier in hand, walking into the office. Jin sat in one of the chairs with puffy eyes, his crutches nowhere to be found and his favorite hoodie drenched.
    “Jin! Baby boy, what happened? Where are your crutches? Why are you all wet?”
    “I-I didn’t do anything… M-mama, I swear…” Her son pleaded, pulling at his wet hoodie. The mother furrowed her eyebrows, the principal joining them in the front office. 
    "Miss Slydale, thank you for joining us."
    "It's no problem… Uh, where are my son's crutches?"
    "I put them out of reach so he wouldn't run. He needs to face the consequences of his actions." A new voice answered, grey eyes closing in irritation. "Night Slydale, I haven't seen you since you graduated."

Night took in a deep breath and forced a kind smile, turning and acknowledging a certain hall attendant she did not get along with.
    "Well well, Mrs. Brown, I didn't know you still worked here."
    "Perfect, since we're all here, let's take this to my office. Follow me please." Principal Allen smiled kindly, motioning everyone to follow. Night glared at the attendant as soon as his back was turned, snatching away Jin's crutches and helping him stand as they followed to the office.
    "Whatever is said, I only trust you…" The young mother whispered to her son, Jin looking at her in confusion. The teen sniffled and settled for a nod, sitting back down to rest his broken leg. Night took the seat next to him as the principal sat at his desk, Mrs. Brown standing off to the side.
    "Okay, so the reason I called you down here today is because Mrs. Brown caught Jin skipping class. Now, according to your son, he said Miss Rogers let him go early but Mrs. Brown says she talked to her and she said otherwise."
    "Did you talk to his teacher yourself? This sounds like a lot of 'he said, she said', Mr. Allen. With all due respect, my son is not a liar. He doesn't handle conflict well."
    "Well, no, I didn't talk to her myself." Robert said, adjusting his glasses slightly. Night furrowed her eyebrows and flicked her eyes over to Mrs. Brown, a sick feeling washing over her.
    “He didn’t need to talk to her himself since I had already done it, I only relayed the information I had received.” Alice spoke up, noticing the former student looking at her.
    “I get that, but shouldn’t the principal talk to the teacher to get the information?” Night asked, looking at her with an eyebrow raised. “Another thing, before you answer. Why did you have my son’s crutches when they need to be with him at all times and why is he soaking wet?”

Alice narrowed her eyes slightly and went to answer, trying to think of a response.
    “… She pushed me over…” Jin mumbled shyly, Night and Robert looking at him in surprise.
    “What honey?”
    “S-she pushed me over when I wouldn’t come to the office and broke my water bottle… That’s why I’m all wet.”
    “That is completely false, I did no such thing.” The hall attendant defended, her arms crossed over her chest. The young mother felt her blood boil and looked to Mr. Allen, trying to stay in her seat.
    “I hate being one of these people, I really do, but if you talk to that teacher and she backs up Jin’s story, I’m going to yell.”
    “Miss Slydale, please-“
    “Yell? You were always so disrespectful, nice to see nothing changed. And you passed it off to your ‘son’.”
    “Mr. Allen, please, control her before I lose my temper…” Night growled, her fists clenched. Robert looked between the two women, concerned at the turn everything took.
    “Ladies, please, we’re losing our main point here.”

Night looked to the principal and tried to calm down, finding it difficult until she got her answers.
    “The main point is proving that Jin has done nothing wrong. He’s a sweet boy that never does anything wrong and I’m pretty sure someone is setting him up for failure.” She told him, slowly losing her cool. The principal could tell and turned to his phone, picking it up.
    “I’ll give her a call and see what she has to say and then we’ll go to the cameras. I don’t disagree with you, Jin is a very good kid, that’s why I want him to succeed.” Robert stated, dialing a number and holding the phone to his ear. Words were spoken and the truth was revealed, Jin watching nervously as Night grew angrier.
    “So you lied? What gave you the right to do that? You’re an attendant, not an administrator.” Night growled, pointing accusingly to the hall attendant. She scoffed and looked away, waving her off.
    “She must be covering for him now. She told me otherwise, that’s all.”
    “Told you- Oh my god, I have to be going crazy…”
    “Uh, Miss Slydale, you may want to see this.” Robert spoke up, grey eyes flicking over at him. She stood and gazed upon the monitor, her heart sinking at what she watched.

It was security footage in the hall, Alice stopping Jin as the two exchanged some words. The teen had turned around to avoid the conflict and went to hobble off when the woman approached him and pulled him back harshly. Jin went to shrug her off and leave but was grabbed again, a lot harsher as he ended up on the floor. Night watched with angry tears as Alice forced him off the ground by his upper arm and pulled him in the direction of the office, crutches in her hand as they disappeared through the door.
    “M-mama…?” Jin called softly, noticing her expression. Night looked at him and gave a sickly sweet smile, her eyes now gold with rage.
    “Jin, baby, wait outside for me. I’ll be out shortly…” She told him, helping him up. Jin looked at Mr. Allen who nodded to him, his mother opening the door and helping him out.
    “Miss Slydale-“ Night put a hand up to stop him, taking in a deep breath.
    “I am not going to yell since I have my daughter in the room. I am, however, going to the superintendent and the school board to get her fired.”
    “I’ve done nothing-” Alice tried defending, Night cutting her off immediately.
    “There’s a video-! Just, stop lying, you disgusting woman.”
    “Your anger is understandable. She will be put immediately on unpaid leave while we handle this diligently. This behavior is completely unacceptable.” Robert reasoned, the angry mother nodding in satisfaction. She stood and picked up her daughter’s carrier, delivering a final glare to her old enemy before bidding farewell and walking out.

Jin looked at her and immediately shrunk at the anger he could see, following slowly as she walked over to the secretary and signed him out.
    “Get your bag sweetie, I’m taking you home for the rest of the day.” The mother spoke, the anger gone from her voice but not her body. The black-haired teen nodded and picked up his bag, the duo walking out of the school to the car. Night buckled the car seat into the back first before helping her son into the passenger seat. They got onto the road and Jin was about to burst into tears, looking down shamefully.
    “M-mama…?” He called out, Night glancing over with a hum. “I-I’m so sorry…”
    “Why are you sorry honey? None of that was your fault.” The mother told him, reaching over and taking his hand. Jin whimpered and soon started crying, leaning back against his seat as he squeezed her hand tightly. He knew it wasn’t his fault but he was guilty, hiccuping and sniffling. Night brought up and kissed his hand gently as they pulled home, Night parking and smiling at him. “You handled today well, I’m just sorry it happened in the first place…”
    “I-I didn’t know what to do…”
    “I know honey, but it’s okay. I’m not angry with you, I’m angry with her.”

Jin sniffled and nodded, the mother and son getting out of the car to go into the house. Night grabbed Serenity out of the backseat and grabbed her son’s bag for him, unlocking the house and letting him in first. The door was closed and locked behind them and Jin kicked his singular shoe off, going over and collapsing on the couch, setting his crutches down.
    “How about you hold your baby sister and I’ll make a nice lunch for us.” Night smiled, walking over to the couch with the baby.
    “Okay mama…” Jin nodded, holding out his arms. She carefully transferred her daughter to her son’s arms and dealt a kiss to his head, disappearing into the kitchen to start lunch.~

NightBear15 signing off…