The Vice Principal held up a hand to stop Ms. Browning. “Sarah Namias,” he spoke, looking at the subject of his words. “You’ve got some issues.” He tapped in something on his keyboard. “What about the other girl?”

 

Ms. Browning spoke quickly. “She was… a witness.  This is Leona Ramses.”

 

“Ramses? Oh, I remember that one’s sister.  Wait, you’re saying she’s the witness and the other one is the smart-mouth?” he asked with an arched eyebrow.

 

Ms. Browning shook her head. “Both are typically good students, but the nature of Sarah’s… erm… sass… was too much to let go.”

 

Daniels nodded, clasping his hands. “Never let it go.” He looked at his monitor and tilted his head.  “Alright, send Namias home. Ramses, go back to your class.”

 

Sarah gasped and shook her head. “B-but… aren’t you even going to listen…?”

 

Mr. Daniels looked squarely at Sarah, his eyes narrowing slightly. “You’re a special case, so we’re sending you home. I’ll call your fathe--”

 

“NO! Don’t do that!” Sarah charged up to her feet as she exclaimed, her voice already fearful.  She turned her eyes to Leona and Ms. Browning, pleading.  Her head whipped around so quickly, her hair sailed all around her in a ring.

 

“You don’t give orders here, Ms. Namias.  I am the Vice Principal. Consider yourself lucky, because I could suspend you. Would you rather go that route?  In that case, you go home AND this incident will be placed on your permanent record.”

 

“No! Nonononononono…!” Sarah muttered, crying.

 

“Sir, if I might add something to this,” Leona interjected, hoping she could defuse this situation again.  This was why she had come along. “I know this isn’t something said lightly, but I’m afraid that Sarah’s parents are abusive.  You don’t know how bad the situation is, but sending her home as punishment will only make this worse.  Something bad will happen to her. Her father in particular is bad.  Sarah’s terrified of her father, and the both of her parents are the types who ship their kid off to a camp and let others deal with punishment, where the kids are abused and after having found what they did, they weren’t particularly apologetic about it. Even though Sarah was starved, sweated, and put naked in a box under the hot sun with a boy, because that was apparently okay with God.  I don’t know what your stance is on that kind of abuse, but I’m afraid that this rabbit hole goes far deeper than you know.”

 

The VP’s eyes narrowed on Leona and he scoffed. “The only way this isn’t happening, Ramses, is if you challenge Miz Browning’s claim, and then that’s only if I find your story more believable than hers.”

 

He wanted to humble Ms. Browning, and this was more than obvious.  What was more important, her teacher’s reputation, or Sarah’s mental health?

 

Ms. Browning made the decision, shaking her head. “Mr. Daniels, I was mistaken.  It was done in the heat of the moment, and I overreacted. Let’s let her stay for the day, and we’ll--” her words were quick and decisive.

 

“Alright.” Mr. Daniels interrupted her, “You brought Namias here.” He tilted his head slightly and his lips pursed. “I’m not letting her off the hook, but I have some calls to make because of this, and we’re not doing this here, got it?”

 

Ms. Browning protested, “Mr. Daniels, I think--”

 

“It doesn't matter what you think at this point, Miz Browning,” the Vice Principal dismissed the defiant teacher’s words. “If there’s a problem with Namias, there’s a protocol in place to be followed. Procedures.  Number one is that she’s getting picked up by one of her parents. Since her mother doesn’t have a car, it’s got to be her father.  After that, I--” His eyes fastened onto Leona, and then shifted back to Ms. Browning. “There’s no discussion left here, do you get my drift?”

 

“Please don’t call my dad, Mr. Daniels,” Sarah pled, hyperventilating.  Her breaths were raspy and gasping.

 

Ms. Browning stepped between them. “Sir, she’s obviously afraid.”

 

“I’d be afraid too, if kids were raised these days like we were, but that’s not our concern.” Mr. Daniels’s patience was stretching thin.

 

“If what Leona’s saying, if only half of it’s true…” Ms. Browning shot back.

 

“ENOUGH!” The Vice Principal roared, surging up.  “Miz Browning, if you’re not a part of the solution, you’re part of the problem. Take Ramses away with you.”

 

Leona knew that there wasn’t anything else she could do.  Mr. Daniel’s mind was made up about the Padua protocol.  People like him were rule-bound and this was bound to become a tragedy.  She couldn’t do anything else for her girlfriend as Leona, but maybe Aurora could do something in a pinch. She could circumvent his superficial power trip, and there was little he could do about it if she did.

 

The superhero in disguise turned her eyes on her troubled girlfriend and hugged her gently to help her relax.  “Sweetheart, please try to be strong for me.  They’re doing what they think is right.  Remember me and Aurora. We all love you.” She squeezed Sarah’s hands gently. “If things get worse, you know you can come to Mom’s place. Run away if you need to, and no matter what’s happening with you, I can bear it.” Leona looked at Ms. Browning while Sarah sniffled and sobbed.

 

Ms. Browning reached and took Leona’s shoulder and pulled her away, regretfully.  As they left the office together, Leona muttered softly. “I hope this doesn’t explode in his face.  He’ll ruin her.”

 

“It won’t go badly,” Ms. Browning said, holding her hand, making a beeline for the Principal’s office. “We’re not done yet, Leona!” They burst into his office, towing Leona along and as they did, the Principal gasped in startlement.

 

“Sir, I apologize for the intrusion, but I have confirmation of a situation we’ve been suspecting would happen for some time.  Mr. Daniels isn’t letting this information interfere with his power trip.  We need you to override his decision.”

 

“Ms. Browning, this is very out of character,” the Principle said, “Can you be a little more plain with me, please? What’s this student doing here?”

 

Ms. Browning took a deep breath and steadied herself. “Sir, this is Leona Ramses, and she’s just confirmed the abuse scenario we’ve suspected between Sarah Namias and her parents, she--”

 

“Sarah Namias,” the principal gasped as he whispered, “Oh, this is bad news.  Did she have an episode?”

 

Ms. Browning raised an eyebrow. “Episode? Sir, I’m afraid I don’t understand. Does she have a medical condition of some kind?”

 

“Was she acting up?” The Principal pressed quickly, ignoring her question.

 

“W-well, yes, she--”

 

“Oh dear. All right, we need to send Sarah home. Mr. Daniels will have to make some calls.”

 

“Sir, just what’s going on here?” Ms. Browning asked, her grip on Leona’s hand tightened as her tone became more stern, “Sarah started getting sarcastic at me, but that’s not unusual for a teenager. She wasn’t violent or anything--”

 

“Oh, good, good.  That means we have time, still. Mr. Daniels is following the protocol. Ms. Browning, it’s nothing to be concerned with. That is all.”

 

Ms. Browning scowled. “Sir, you’re acting like she has a history of violence. I can’t believe that girl would--”

 

“Ms. Browning, stay calm.” The Principal raised his hands and gestured for Leona’s teacher to simmer down.  “Well all need to stay calm, yes. Let’s not get excited, okay? Please take this girl back to class with you.”

 

Ms. Browning protested, “But, sir!”

 

Leona interjected, knowing she had to help. All she could do was dump everything on the Principal in the hope that she could win his support.  “Sir, you’re not understanding of what Ms. Browning is trying to do.  What she’s trying to tell you is right. Sarah’s parents are abusive.  Her father is physically abusive. He beat her with a sock with a heavy soapbar in it.  Her mother won’t do a thing about it.  She’s volatile right now.  This protocol might be alright for most people involved, but Sarah’s case is different.  The superhero who cracked the Padua case spoke with me about Sarah’s condition and she told me everything. When she brought Sarah to my home after she was recovered from the camp as Sarah requested of her, since she didn’t want to see her parents first, we became friends and Aurora asked me to support Sarah through all this.  I’m the only one who can calm her.  She needs support, something her parents can’t or won’t give.  I’m sorry that I’ve waited so long to speak with you about this sooner, you and the Vice Principal.

 

“Sure that you wouldn’t believe me without proof, I still have to warn you again: nothing but bad will come from following this protocol. If Sarah is picked up by her father, only bad things will follow. He knows he was hurt, and continues to hurt her himself after that traumatizing experience.  I saw the bruises on her body, and the condition she was in when she was rescued!  Sarah will be driven to take some desperate and angry actions.  I’m sure you understand that if anyone told you a thing about what she’s going through.  You’re all making things worse. It’s stress-related. Call Detective Kirby at the twenty-fourth precinct or Chet, Agent Carlisle of A.R.I.S.E.  Ask them to get Aurora involved with this. They can reach her.  She looks after Sarah, since she’s one of the Padua kids. Please trust that she would settle this situation to everyone’s satisfaction.” Leona took a deep breath.

 

The Principal responded, not batting a single eyelash. “Her father is aware of her condition, um… Ramsey. We’ve already worked out procedures regarding this, and rest assured that we have a contingency in place if one or more protocol doesn’t work.” The Principal smiled in what he thought was a reassuring way at Leona and Ms. Browning.

 

“I feel like everyone has been leaving me out of the loop, here,” Ms. Browning said. “If you say that we have procedures in place, then please advise Mr. Daniels that he should move to plan B instead, because I’m convinced of what Leona is saying. Having Sarah’s father pick his daughter up won’t help.”

 

The Principal nodded, picking up his phone. “I will speak with Mr. Daniels. Please bring Ramsey back to class when you go.”

 

“Her name is Leona Ramses, sir,” Ms. Browning said flatly. “We’ll be going, then. Come on, Leona.” She tugged Leona after her as they left the office and she mouthed silent words at Leona. Don’t worry.

 

Leona smiled, reassured that Sarah and she had someone on their side.  The worried girlfriend was prepared to skip classes in order to protect Sarah if things didn’t change for the better.  Would Detective Kirby get involved personally? Would Agent Carlisle? He would hurt her with that meta suppression tech if something worse happened.

 

Leona looked into her teacher’s eyes and asked, “Do you have any other ideas?”

 

“I’m going to take custody of Sarah, somehow. You head back to your homeroom, and I will take care of things from here.  I won’t let them return her to an abusive household, Leona.” She smiled reassuringly.

 

Leona nodded, wiping a tear as she returned the smile. “Alright. Let me know if things go badly. I still have important people I can call.  Would you like my number?”

 

“I’m sure that won’t be necessary, Leona. Just let Ms. Mueller know that you’ve been with me all this time, and I’ll be sure to follow up with her, okay?” Ms. Browning asked, letting go of Leona’s hand as she stalked back to the Vice Principal’s door again.