DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN INCEPTION.

"Have a good day at school, sweetie."

Arthur glanced into the rear-view mirror, catching a glance at his children.

Samantha sits, staring out of the window, winding her hair into her fingers, simply staring into space. She does this at lot, Arthur notes. He can only suppose it's from Ariadne, who often takes the same position and stares into nothing for a while. She kicks her legs slightly, which hang from the seat since she still isn't tall enough yet. Concentration flooded her face as she pulled her backpack over her shoulders. Arthur smiled from the front seat.

"Love you."

She looked up quickly and gives him a hint of that smile he loves so much. "Love you, Daddy." She slid out of the car before giving him a quick wave. Arthur waved back without caring that she'd already turned her back and was walking into the building. He hovered in his car for a moment, making sure she entered the building safely. He gripped the wheel for a moment before pulling away.

Since Samantha had started school, admittedly, Arthur missed her. He missed her a lot. He missed having his little girl around in the day. He missed having lunch with her, and he missed her wake up calls if he fell asleep on the couch during the day. He knew that she was out socialising with other kids, growing up. He swallowed knowing that from this point on…it would only get worse.

Ariadne had taken Thomas to a play group. Arthur took a second to soak in the peace. The TV was off, the garden was free of toys or mud. Control was something Arthur like, and something he had seen a lot less of since he and Ariadne had children. But he also liked the sweet surprises that spontaneity brought.

The shrill sound of the phone made him frown. He picked it up and cleared his throat.

"Hello?"

"Hello, is this Mr Roth?"

"Yes, this is he," Arthur replied, quite proud with the safe last name he had created for himself many years ago.

"Mr Roth, this is Ms Channing. I'm the Principal."

Arthur's eyebrows knitted together in a mask of confusion. And slight worry. "Oh, what can I do for you?"

"Mr Roth, if possible, we need you to come in. There are matters concerning your daughter-"

"Is she alright?" he asked, a little too snappy.

There was a brief pause on the other side of the line. "Yes, Samantha is fine. She has a few scratches and bruises but nothing to be too concerned about."

"What? What happened to her?" he snapped, a little more aggressively this time.

"Mr Roth, if possible, we need you to come in to discuss your daughter's behaviour. "

Arthur frowned. Behaviour? His hand reached for his car keys straight away, and he found himself walking to the door. "I'll be right there."

Arthur more or less ran through the entrance of the school, becoming more anxious by the second. Following the signs, he hurried down the hall and turned the corner to the Principle's office. He looked into the room, were there was a desk, several elaborately painted pictures hug up on walls to give the place some sort of culture. Next to the door of the office, there were a few chairs, one of them occupied by a very sad looking girl, kicking her feet on the chair.

"Samantha." Arthur walked over and bent down, placing his hand on her knee. "Sweetie what happened? Are you alright?"

Samantha looked up at her father, eyes guilty. "I'm sorry Daddy. Am I in trouble?"

Arthur sat next to her and pulled her closer to him by the shoulders. "I don't know."

The door opened, giving a light squeak. A woman walked out, and Arthur's first thought was how can this woman be the Principal of a school? The strict, dull vibe this women had about her reminded Arthur of his childhood piano teacher. He hated her too.

"Ah Mr Roth, please come in. You too Samantha."

He followed her into her office, Samantha's hand tightly in his. He sat down and stared for a moment at the woman, waiting for some explanation.

She folded her hands and placed them on her desk. "Mr Roth, sorry for calling you in like this, but there was an incident today concerning your daughter."

"What was the incident?" he asked, curiously.

"During recess, Samantha got into a fight with another student."

Arthur frowned. "Really? I find that hard to believe, she's not a violent child…"

She sighed. "All I know is that your daughter and another pupil were fighting in the playground. Look, we've tried talking to Samantha about it, but she just won't co-operate."

"I'm sorry, but have you actually talked to the other student involved?" he asked, eyebrow raised. "It seems that the blame is being placed upon Samantha."

She nodded. "Yes, I've already spoken to the student. They were able to give a proper explaination, unlike Samantha."

Arthur felt angry at her tone. He wasn't going to accept anyone blaming his daughter for something she didn't do.

"Well, what do you want to do?" he asked, slightly bitterly.

"Well, we can try and get the story from Samantha's side, or we can give her a detention."

No way in hell are you giving her a detention. "I'll talk to her," Arthur said, standing up. "Is there anything else?"

The woman swallowed. "…No. You can go now."

"Thanks," Arthur muttered, guiding Samantha out of the office.

"Daddy?" Samantha asked, noticing her father's anger. "Are you mad at me?"

Arthur shook his head. "No sweetie, I'm not mad at you. But we are going to have to talk when we get home."