Disclaimer: The characters of Supernatural do not belong to me. The original character of Evelyn Winchester does.
A/N: This one took me a little while to finish. But I think it turned out well. In this story, after Evy gets in a fight with the school bully, she worries about how Sam will react.
Randall Davis was the big man on campus, and everyone knew it. He was captain of the football team. He could do whatever he wanted and get away with it. He could get anyone else to do what he wanted. Today he was in the mood to reassert his authority. But it was almost time for the bell to ring, and classes to end. There was no one else around right now. He was skipping class himself. That was okay. Randall was patient. He'd wait.
Suddenly the bell rang and Randall saw the perfect target. New student Evelyn Winchester had only been here for a few weeks, and was now considered to be the star of the school, at least academically. She was only ten years old, and in the tenth grade. Her GPA was one of the highest in the school. Randall didn't like her. She was taking some of his popularity away from him. Randall watched the new Evelyn walk down the hall, along with the tenth grader she was always seen with, Evelyn Downs. The two girls, even though they were five years apart, were friends. They had bonded over the fact of having the same name, what Evelyn Downs referred to as "an old lady name"; she chose instead to go by "Ed", her initials.
Randall watched as the two girls walked out the door, hunched over and giggling about something. He stayed far enough away that they didn't see him. Randall really didn't want to deal with Ed. They had dated briefly and it had ended badly. She had had the nerve to call him a jerk in front of the rest of the school, and he hadn't talked to her since. So, he listened as the two girls parted ways.
"You want me to walk home with you?" Ed asked. "I don't have to go home for a while."
"No thanks." Evy said. "I'll be fine. Go finish your paper."
"Alright." Evelyn replied. "See you, kiddo. I might call and read it to you later."
"Okay." Evy said. "Good luck."
Evelyn turned and left and Evy started to leave to walk towards her apartment. Randall walked up behind her. When she was a few feet away from the street, he decided to skip his usual routine of teasing her first. He walked up towards her and pushed her, hard, down onto the school's driveway.
"Watch where you're going, kiddo." Randall said.
Evy was dazed a little at the sudden impact on the sidewalk. Her knees were scraped, but she didn't appear to be hurt badly. She heard a few snickers behind her, but no one moved to help her up. Evy took a deep breath, and started to push herself up and walk home. She had no intention of fighting back; she just wanted to go home. Unfortunately, Randall had other plans. When Evy started to push herself up, he placed a foot on her back and pushed her back down.
"Let me go." Evy said through gritted teeth.
"Or what?" Randall said, laughing.
"Or I'll beat the snot out of you."
Ed had come back. She'd forgotten that she had borrowed a book from Evy and needed to give it back to her. She had only spotted Evy once she'd heard the laughing from the corner of the school entrance. She crossed the distance between the school doors and Evy quickly. Randall stepped away and allowed her to help Evy up. As Ed looked Evy up and down to see if she was hurt, Randall taunted her.
"Aww. Is the wittle baby hurt?" he said, to the raucous laughter of the small crowd around them now.
Ed wanted to turn around and punch him, but she was more concerned with Evy. "Did he hurt you?"
Evy shook her head. "I'm okay."
Ed saw the tears in her friends' eyes and looked her up and down again. She found Evy's scraped knees and saw red. She thought about making good on her threat to beat up Randall, but she decided Evy was more important. She looked embarrassed and ready to cry, so Evelyn put a hand to her shoulder and said to her kindly,
"Come on. Let's go to the nurse."
Evy nodded and started to walk with her friend. Evelyn put an arm around her and led her on, turning back to throw one last nasty glare at Randall. When they were only a few feet away, though, Randall dropped his cruelest taunt ever.
"It's no wonder her parents didn't want her!"
It was Evy's turn to see red. She wasn't dumb. She knew the rumors about the 'new weird little kid' at school and why she lived with her brother and his girlfriend rather than her parents. But most kids were at least nice enough not to say it to her face, so Evy chose to ignore it. Not this time. Before Ed could fully take in what was happening, Evy had broken away from her and was sailing across the schoolyard. Evy was so short compared to Randall that she had to jump slightly to do it, but she punched Randall hard in the nose and knocked him down. Randall was so shocked that he didn't react; Evy kicked him in the side twice.
Ed finally jumped into action. She ran over and picked up Evy, who was small and lightweight, and pulled her over to the other side of the driveway. She was surprised at Evy's strength; she continued to struggle against Ed, despite Ed trying to calm her down and make her see reason. Evy slipped her friend's grasp, and a crowd was starting to form. The chant of "fight! Fight! Fight!" could be heard loudly over and over. Randall was just recovering his balance and starting to get up when Evy punched him in the chin, knocking him down again. She got in one more punch, right to his eye, before…
"Miss Winchester!"
Suddenly Evy stopped; her principal, Mrs. Jackson, was standing there looking at her with a mix of shock and anger. Evy suddenly realized what she'd done and hung her head down, not wanting to look up at the scene she'd caused. Her father's voice rang in her ears.
"You have to lay low at school. We can't afford you getting into big trouble."
"Everyone either go back inside or start heading home!" Mrs. Jackson ordered sternly. "Show's over."
Despite the crowd's reaction of "Aww, man!" and "Come on!", they all started to disperse. Evy stood there shaking. Ed walked back over to her and placed her arms around her to try and comfort her. Randall immediately tried defending himself.
"Mrs. Davis, she jumped on me! She started it…."
"You liar!" Ed screamed. "That is not true…"
"Enough!" Mrs. Jackson said. "Both of you go to the nurse while I call your parents."
"Yes, ma'am." Evy said, starting to walk inside.
"Mrs. Jackson, may I please go with her?" Ed asked.
Mrs. Jackson nodded, and watched as Evy walked inside. She threw a hard look to Randall, who immediately scurried behind Evy, not saying anything. The three students arrived before the school nurse did. Mrs. Jackson stepped in the doorway to make sure they were all there, then headed back to her office. Ed helped Evy up onto the exam table in the nurses' office, and stood between her and Randall, who stood right next to the wall.
"Who's she gonna call for you?" Randall taunted. "Guess you'll be waiting here forever."
Ed suddenly grabbed Randall by the shirt collar and slammed him into the wall. "I swear to you, if you don't stop teasing her, it's gonna be me they pull off you next."
Randall held up his hands in surrender. He murmured "all right, all right" and Ed let him go. She sat up on the exam table with Evy, wrapping a protective arm around her shoulder. Evy was still looking down, unwilling to look anyone in the eye. Ed noticed a tear drip out and fall to the floor, even though Evy still wouldn't look at anyone. Ed pulled her close to her for a hug.
"What's wrong?" She asked, whispering.
"He's right." Evy answered.
"What do you mean he's right?" Ed asked, before she remembered a conversation they'd had a few weeks earlier, after Evy's tenth birthday. "Have you heard from your dad?"
Evy shook her head.
Ed sighed. "Hey, he's not right. Your dad may be a jerk, but your brother loves you. Right?"
Evy smiled. "Yeah."
"There you go." Ed assured her, speaking slightly louder so that she could be sure Randall could hear her. "Randall's just a jerk. And you're my hero now."
Evy laughed, and Ed noticed that Randall looked distinctly displeased. Before he could say anything though, the school nurse walked in. Nurse Jenner was a kind, slightly hunched over woman in her seventies, who treated every student who came to her as if they were her grandchildren. She examined Randall first, as his injuries appeared the worse of the two of them. He had a black eye forming, and his nose had been bloodied but wasn't broken. She sent him to Mrs. Jackson, then turned her attention to Evy. She noticed that Evy had been crying.
"Are you alright, dear?" She asked.
Evy nodded. "Yes, ma'am."
"Are those hurt tears or sad tears?" she asked.
Evy smiled. "Sad tears." She answered honestly.
They were suddenly interrupted by Mrs. Jackson. "Miss Downs, can I speak to you, please?"
Ed turned to Evy, who nodded and answered, "I'm okay."
Ed reluctantly left and stepped into the hallway with Mrs. Jackson. Nurse Jenner turned back to Evy. She smiled sincerely and held up one finger, as though she had just thought of something.
"I have just the cure for that." Nurse Jenner went to her desk drawer and pulled something out. "Do you like nuts?"
Evy was thrown by the odd question. "No, ma'am." She said.
Nurse Jenner pulled out a full-size Hershey bar from the drawer and handed it to Evy. "You are not allowed to leave this office until that is completely gone."
Evy grinned, and did as nurse Jenner said as her knees were patched up. When the Hershey bar was gone, and both her knees were cleaned, disinfected, and had bandages on them, nurse Jenner took the wrapper from her and threw it in the trash can. She took Evy's hand before letting her leave to go to Mrs. Jackson's office.
"If you ever need that, don't be afraid to come back. Okay?"
Evy nodded. "Thank you."
"You're welcome, dear." Nurse Jenner said. "Go on and get to Mrs. Jackson's office."
Evy's legs suddenly felt like jello, and the last place she wanted to be was in Mrs. Jackson's office. She knew Sam was probably here by now, and aware of what had happened, and she didn't want to see the look on his face. She slowly dragged herself to Mrs. Jackson's office. Sure enough, Sam was sitting in the office, but his back was turned to Evy. Mrs. Jackson was at her desk, and Randall was on the other side of the room. A man and a woman were there. The man was arguing passionately with Mrs. Jackson. Randall was looking rather subdued, so Evy assumed they were his parents. Mrs. Jackson finally spotted Evy and waved her in. Evy took a deep breath and walked in, taking the seat next to Sam.
"Are you okay?" Sam asked immediately, looking her up and down for signs of an injury.
Evy nodded. "I'm fine, Sammy."
"Well, I'm glad someone is!" The man said loudly. He turned on Evy. "Would you care to tell me why you beat up my son?"
Evy flinched. Mr. Davis reminded her too much of an angry John and she instinctively shrunk back against Sam. Sam laid a protective hand on her shoulder and Mrs. Jackson replied.
"Mr. Davis, sit down." She said. "I still haven't heard Miss Winchester's story yet."
"What's there to hear?" Mr. Davis shouted. "Look at my son!"
Evy felt Sam tense up behind her, but before he said anything, Mrs. Jackson stood up angrily. "Mr. Davis. This is my office. You will sit down and you will allow Miss Winchester to talk or you will be escorted out."
Mr. Davis huffed. "You can't speak to me like that! Do you have any idea how much I put into this school…"
"Mr. Davis, I will allow the doors of this school to close due to lack of funds before I allow a child to be bullied here. Whether that be by a parent or by another child. Now, I'll give you one more chance, sir. Sit. Down."
Evy was amazed at Mrs. Jackson. With the exception of Sam, no one had ever stood up for her like that, especially not another adult. She was doubly amazed when Mr. Davis sat down and waited on Evy to start speaking. But Evy felt like she was choking. Mrs. Jackson turned and asked her kindly,
"Would it be easier if Randall was in the hallway?"
Evy nodded. "Yes, ma'am."
Mrs. Jackson sent Randall out to sit in the hallway. Evy felt all eyes in the room on her, so she closed her eyes and ran through her story slowly, including every detail she could remember. By the time she finished, she was crying softly, and she opened her eyes and checked the faces of all the adults in the room. Sam seemed angry and sad, Mrs. Jackson seemed to be contemplating exactly what to do, and, most surprising of all, Mr. and Mrs. Davis seemed to be in disbelief. Mrs. Davis was the first one to speak.
"Randall said that to you?"
Evy looked up at her and just nodded. She was too upset to answer her fully.
"Randall!" Mr. Davis suddenly shouted. "Get your butt back in here."
Randall walked back in and sat down beside his mother very slowly.
"Mr. Davis, I've now heard three different versions of this story. Two of them match up. Care to guess which one doesn't?" Mrs. Jackson asked.
"Son, Miss Winchester says you've been bullying her ever since she got here and that you bullied her today about her parents. Is that true?" Mr. Davis asked.
Randall, the big, tough school bully of less than two hours earlier, seemed to falter under the gaze of his father. "Yes, sir."
"Boy, you better be glad it was her that kicked your ass today." Mr. Davis said.
"Mr. Davis, I need to say something." Mrs. Jackson replied. "The first thing I need to know is whether or not anyone here wants to press charges."
Evy sighed with relief when both Randall's parents and Sam shook their head.
She then looked at Randall. "I've spoken to your coach. He tells me that he's warned you about bullying before. You've also been in this office three times in the last six week for the same offense. So congratulations, Mr. Davis, you are the first recipient of the three strikes, you're out policy."
Sam looked a little confused, but Evy and Randall's mouths each hung open. Randall looked to his father for help, but Mr. Davis was silent. Evy was trying not to smile. Randall finally spoke out.
"That's not fair!"
"Miss Winchester, until today, has never done anything to you, am I right?" Mrs. Jackson asked.
"She attacked me!" Randall fired back.
"Before today…" Mrs. Jackson repeated slowly, "…did Miss Winchester ever hurt you, physically or verbally?"
Randall looked as if he wanted to say no, but one glance at his father made him back down. "No."
"So her story is true? You've bullied her since she got to the school, and she only reacted today to what you did to her?" Mrs. Jackson said.
Randall knew he was defeated. "Yes."
"You're benched, Mr. Davis." Mrs. Jackson said firmly. "You are not allowed, for the rest of the school year, to participate in any sports, athletic events, or pep rallies. If you want to participate in any other extracurricular activities, you will have to get permission from both me and your parents. Is that clear?"
"Dad…" Randall started.
"Don't look at me like that. You would've been grounded from sports anyway. Is that all, Mrs. Jackson?" Mr. Davis asked.
"Not quite." Mrs. Jackson said. "The only reason I'm not suspending you from school, Mr. Davis, is because your injuries are worse than Miss Winchester's. But if you are back in this office ever again for bullying, I will suspend you for a week minimum. Is that clear?"
"Yes, ma'am." Randall said.
"Do any of you have questions for me?" Mrs. Jackson asked.
"I just have something to add." Mrs. Davis said. She turned to Randall and said, "You're grounded at home too. The only reason I'm not making you apologize right now is because you are going to write a letter of apology to this young lady over the weekend. It will be thoughtful, and you will give it to her in person. And if I ever hear about you bullying her or anyone again, your father and I will ground you from everything but school for the foreseeable future. Do you understand me, Randall?"
"Yes, mom." Randall said.
Mr. Davis was nodding his head in agreement with his wife's statements.
"I'm very disappointed in you, son." Mrs. Davis said. Randall looked physically wounded at his mother's words. "You know my twin sister killed herself because of bullying when we were in high school. I don't care how cool you think it makes you. I better not ever hear of this again. Go wait in the hallway for me and your father."
Randall nodded, picked up his backpack and walked into the hallway. He sat down on a chair, his leg bouncing up and down. Mrs. Davis turned to her husband and whispered something in his ear. Mr. Davis nodded in agreement, and Mrs. Davis said,
"Mrs. Jackson, we'd like to ask you not to do anything to Miss Winchester."
Evy and Sam were both shocked. Mrs. Jackson was looking thoughtfully at everyone in the room. She had a pen in her hand, which she twisted in her fingers as she thought. Finally she said, turning to Evy,
"I can't just let this go completely. I understand you were provoked, but you did hurt another student. That's not okay. You understand that, right?"
Evy nodded. "Yes, ma'am."
"But since this is your first offense here ever, and your disciplinary record is completely clear, all I'm gonna do is suspend you for a day." Mrs. Jackson said, smiling.
"That's all?" Sam asked, speaking for the first time since Evy had walked in the office.
"That's all." Mrs. Jackson said. "You can come back on Monday. Mr. and Mrs. Davis, I assume you have no problem with that?"
"That's fine." Mr. Davis said.
"Great." Mrs. Jackson said, an air of relief at putting the matter behind them. "I'd like to speak to Miss Winchester and her brother alone for a minute."
"Sure." Mr. Davis said. He walked over to Evy and held a hand out to her. Evy shook it firmly and he said, "It's nice to meet you, young lady. I just wish it could have been for a different reason."
"Nice to meet you too." Evy answered.
Mrs. Davis bent down in front of Evy, a sorrowful look on her face. She placed her hands on the side of Evy's chair and said kindly,
"I'm very sorry my son was so mean to you. That he's been so mean to you. Please don't listen to anything he said."
Evy smiled down at the kind woman. "Thank you." She said sincerely. "I'm sorry about your sister."
"That's very sweet of you. You remind me a lot of her. You seem like a very good girl." Mrs. Davis said.
Evy felt Sam take her hand and smiled when he said, "She is."
"We're gonna go now." Mrs. Davis said. She seemed to decide on something she'd been thinking about. "It's okay to say no if you want. But may I give you a hug?"
Evy nodded and grabbed Mrs. Davis' neck. Mrs. Davis embraced Evy, and kissed her on the cheek before turning to leave. Evy felt a twinge of jealousy. She had never known her mother, and wondered briefly what her mom would think of what had happened today. Mr. Davis clapped her on the shoulder, and they were both gone.
Mrs. Jackson began to talk to Evy. "I want to ask you something. How are you doing here?"
"I'm okay." Evy said.
"I'm not going to ask you if anyone else is teasing you or picking on you. Because I have a feeling it's more than a few people, isn't it?" Mrs. Jackson asked.
"Yes, ma'am." Evy answered, though she really didn't want to.
"Sweetheart, I wanted to tell you something. I'm really proud of you."
"Really?" Evy asked. "Why?"
"Because it's hard enough dealing with high school when you're thirteen or fourteen and you're supposed to be here." Mrs. Jackson explained. "But you're ten. In the tenth grade. I think it's a brave thing for you to be here."
Evy smiled. "Thank you." She said, as she tucked some of her hair behind her ear.
"It must be hard though. Being the youngest student here." Mrs. Jackson said.
"Sometimes." Evy answered. "But not all the kids are jerks. I've got a couple of friends so far."
"Like Miss Downs?" Mrs. Jackson asked. "She's the other story I got that I mentioned to Mr. Davis."
"Mostly." Evy said.
"Look, sweetie. I know it's not really the cool thing to do to tell an adult when you've been bullied. Especially in high school. But I'm here for you. Okay? If you need something, just come find me. Even if it's just to talk, okay?"
"Okay." Evy answered. "Thank you."
"You're welcome." Mrs. Jackson said. "Now go wait in the hall. I want to talk to your brother for a minute."
"Yes, ma'am." Evy said, picking up her backpack.
As Evy went into the hall and sat down, Mrs. Jackson turned to a very tired looking Sam. Sam had been mostly silent in the proceedings, and took advantage of their privacy to let out a massive groan of exasperation.
"Mrs. Jackson, I'm so sorry." He said.
"If you ever tell anyone I said this…" Mrs. Jackson told him, "I'll deny it. Okay?"
Sam looked up in surprise. "What?" he asked.
"Don't apologize. I'm so unbelievably proud of that kid." Mrs. Jackson said. "Do you realize that she put a kid who's five years older than her and twice her size in his place?"
Sam had not thought of that, but realized she was right. "Oh, my God." He said.
"I know." Mrs. Jackson said, barely containing a laugh. "I'm not saying this to be mean, but she's so tiny I didn't think she had it in her."
Sam was laughing now too. "Me neither."
Mrs. Jackson calmed down a little before speaking again. "Look, I wanted to ask you a couple questions too. And it's totally okay to tell me to mind my own business. Okay?"
"Okay." Sam said.
"How do you think she's doing? Really?" Mrs. Jackson asked. "Has she heard from her father?"
Sam frowned. "He sent a birthday card to her after the party a couple weeks ago. Thank you for coming to that, by the way."
"No problem." Mrs. Jackson said. "Every kid deserves a good birthday."
"Yeah. Anyway, he sent the card and it got here two weeks late. But he won't talk to her." Sam said. "She pretends it doesn't bother her…"
"But it does." Mrs. Jackson said. "Poor kid." Both were looking out in the hallway where Evy was sitting, and Mrs. Jackson just shook her head. "I just don't understand that. My kids are my world."
"That's the problem." Sam said. "I think my dad loves her, I really do, but there's a thousand things more important to him than her. And she deserves better than that."
Mrs. Jackson finally turned and looked at Sam. "She certainly does. I think she found that with you. I don't know if you've ever been told this or not, but it's an amazing thing you're doing for her."
Sam smiled sadly. "Thank you. I just wish it wasn't necessary."
"Look, what I told her goes for you too. If you need anything, call me." Mrs. Jackson said.
"Thanks." Sam said. "I appreciate that. I really do."
"One more thing." Mrs. Jackson said. She leaned forward and pulled one of the pictures on her desk forward so Sam could see it. "These are my kids. Farrah, my daughter, she's twelve. Jack, my son, is nine. I don't know what you're planning to do with Evy at home, but maybe once the dust has settled, she could come to my house and meet them. Maybe make a couple friends closer to her own age." Sam was eyeing the photo thoughtfully, and Mrs. Jackson continued. "Miss Downs is a good kid, but maybe it'll do Evy a bit of good to meet some other kids."
"I think that's a good idea." Sam said. "Thank you."
"If you don't mind my asking, what are you planning to do?" Mrs. Jackson said.
Sam sighed and leaned back in the chair. "I don't know." He answered honestly.
"May I give a little advice?" she asked.
"Please." Sam said. "I'm kind of lost. She's never done anything like this before."
"Don't be too hard on her." Mrs. Jackson said. "I don't think she meant to hurt Randall. I think he just pushed the wrong button. And I don't think she'll do it again. She seemed really guilty when she saw Randall's face."
Sam nodded. "I was thinking about just letting her squirm in her room a little then letting her off the hook."
Mrs. Jackson grinned. "That's perfect. I think you're getting the hang of this parenting thing."
Sam smiled. "Thanks." Sam looked out in the hallway, where Evy was nervously twirling her hair. "I guess I better go."
"Alright. You guys have a good weekend." Mrs. Jackson said.
"You too." Sam answered.
Sam got up and walked into the hallway. "Let's go, kiddo."
Evy grabbed her backpack and followed Sam outside. They were only a couple blocks away from their apartment, so they walked back. Sam kept a hand on Evy's shoulder as they walked. Evy kept stealing glances at Sam's face. She bit back a groan when she noticed his mouth twitching. Great. I'm in for it now, she thought. They arrived at the apartment five minutes after leaving the school. Sam did not release his hold on Evy's shoulder until after opening the door and walking inside. Jess was waiting for them when they got there. Evy stood just inside the entrance, her head hung down.
"What's going on?" Jess asked.
"Go to your room." Sam said simply.
Evy bit her bottom lip and nodded. She turned and went to her room without a word.
Confused, Jess turned back to Sam. "What happened?"
Sam held up his index finger, waiting until he heard the sound of Evy's door closing. When he did hear it, Sam immediately placed his hand in front of his mouth. He closed his eyes and all Jess saw was that Sam was shaking. She was concerned at first, until she realized…
"Are you LAUGHING?" she asked.
Sam tried to shush her, but was laughing too hard, so he just beckoned her to follow him outside as he nodded. The two of them stepped outside and sat on the top of the three stairs. Sam wasn't worried about Evy coming out; she was too worried about disappointing him, so she'd wait until he came to get her. Sam was still laughing so hard that he had to lean against the railing.
"Sam, what the hell happened?" Jess asked.
Sam took a couple deep breaths so he could stop laughing and talk. He was still laughing a little but he managed to get out, "She beat up a kid at her school that's five years older than her and twice her size."
Jess's mouth nearly hit the ground. "What? Why?"
"Apparently he's been bullying her since she started at the school. He pushed her down today and bullied her about our dad and her mom and she turned around and wailed on him." Sam said.
"How bad did she hurt him?" Jess asked.
"He had a bloody nose and a black eye." Sam said.
"So, he's been picking on her since she got to school. She's walked away every time. Today he hurt her, then picked on her about her parents. That's what made her go after him, right?" Jess asked.
Sam nodded.
Jess shook her head smiling. "I know I'm new to this whole parenting thing. But I shouldn't say atta girl about this, right?"
Sam snorted. "Don't you dare!"
"So what are you going to do?" Jess asked.
Sam sighed. "Nothing."
"Really?" Jess asked, surprised.
Sam nodded. "Yeah. I'm just gonna let her squirm in her room for fifteen minutes and then let her off with a warning."
Jess laughed. "Sam, that's mean!"
"No, it's really not." Sam said. "I need the fifteen minutes so I can stop laughing…"
Back in her room, Evy was sitting on her bed. She was thinking about what had happened at school. She knew she shouldn't have hurt Randall. She knew it was wrong. But she wasn't sorry. Not really. She thought about how her dad and Dean would've reacted to today. Dean no doubt would've waited until they were alone to tell her how proud he was of her. John would've started lecturing her as soon as he picked her up from school, and probably wouldn't have stopped anytime soon after. But it was Sam's reaction that worried her. She hated disappointing him. Sam had given up a huge part of what should have the best time of his life to raise her. All because she asked him to. And she had paid him back today by fighting. Before she had a chance to think anything more about it, her bedroom door opened. Sam was standing there with Jess, and they walked in to join her, one sitting on either side of her.
Sam sighed. "Tell me what you did wrong today."
"I got in a fight when I didn't have to. I didn't walk away or find an adult." Evy said. "And I hurt Randall."
"Exactly." Sam said. "Cricket, I don't know what to say here. This is so unlike you. What happened?"
Evy took a shaky breath before answering. "I don't know. I was already upset because he pushed me down, then when he said what he did about mom and dad…"
"You snapped." Sam guessed, and Evy nodded.
Evy finally looked up at Sam. "Are you mad at me?"
"Don't you think I should be?" Sam asked. Evy flinched and look back down at the bedspread. "But I'm not."
Evy's head snapped back up in surprise. "You're not?"
"No." Sam said. "But that doesn't mean I'm okay with it. You understand?"
"Yes." Evy answered, swallowing. "How much trouble am I in?"
Sam had to fight a smile. "You're not."
"What?" Evy asked. Now she really didn't believe him.
"You're not." Sam repeated. "This time. But listen to me, and listen to me very carefully, okay? There's three reasons you're getting let off with a warning here. First, Randall did start it when he knocked you down. Second, you were provoked. And third, this is the first time ever that you've gotten in trouble like this at school. If I ever get called to school for you fighting again, and it wasn't entirely self-defense, that won't save you. You'll be grounded to your room for one week and this apartment for another week. And you'll have a hundred lines to write every single day. Got it?"
Evy finally let out a relieved smile. "Got it." She suddenly pulled a face as if she was eating something disgusting.
"What?" Sam asked.
"Do I have to apologize?"
Sam had not considered that. He knew he should make her do it. But she had been provoked, and Randall's parents were a lot more upset with him than with her. She seemed to understand what it was she had done wrong that day. Plus, he was impressed that she had even thought to ask. So he decided against it.
"No. You have to do whatever assignments you miss tomorrow, but other than that, you're off the hook." Sam said.
Evy grabbed him around the neck and kissed his cheek. "Thank you, Sammy."
"You're welcome, Cricket. I love you."
"Love you, too." Evy said.
"What about me?" asked Jess, who hadn't spoken the entire time.
Evy grinned and let go of Sam to hug her too.
"Hey, Cricket?" Sam asked.
"Yeah?"
Sam was afraid to ask this, but he needed to know. "Does anyone else bully you at school?"
Evy sat back down and started picking at a loose thread on her blanket. "Sometimes. But Randall was the meanest one."
"Does anyone else hurt you like Randall did today?" Sam asked.
"No." Evy answered. She grinned and replied, "I think they're too afraid of Ed to try anything like that."
"Ed?" Sam said. "Is that the girl who was waving at you when we left?"
"Yeah." Evy said. Evy explained how the two of them had met.
"I'm glad you have a friend." Sam said. "Do you like your school?"
"Yeah." Evy answered. "I love it. I finally look forward to going to school every day."
Sam smiled. "Good." After a brief pause, he asked, "So are you nervous that Randall's gonna start bullying you again?"
Evy grinned and was trying not to laugh. "I don't think I have to worry about him anymore."
"What? Why?" Sam asked. "What makes you so sure?"
Evy explained as if it was the simplest thing in the world, "Would you want to admit you got beat up by a ten-year-old girl?"
Jess snorted and all of Sam's efforts not to laugh suddenly were in vain. He grabbed her into another hug, ruffling her hair and kissing the top of her head. Jess asked for a recap of the fight, which Evy gave her, then suddenly she remembered something.
"Isn't Dean supposed to call tonight?" As if he'd read her mind, the phone rang. Sam told her to go pick it up, then laughed again when he heard the start of the conversation.
"Hey, Deanie. Guess what happened at school today…?"