They earned an A for their project. Shelby had squealed happily, clapping her hands together when Miss Zenon gave their papers back to them a few days later. All in all, Ravi was actually satisfied with the end result-more so because now the dreaded presentation was over.

Until the next time

Didn't think about that, did you?

You might have done well this time, but what about the next time?

You're going to fail

I didn't fail this time

You got lucky

That's it

Luck

You would've failed otherwise

The days blended into one another after that; he went through the same old routine, caught wind of familiar conversations, was asked the same old questions at dinner when he simply wanted to eat his meal in peace without being hounded. Jessie handed him his phone back and her words of I hope I won't have to do this again still echoed in his ears, the frown lines and pursed lips still vivid. Yes, he had messed up-according to her and his mother-but was it necessary to rub it in? Did she gain some sort of twisted satisfaction in how she conveyed her feelings regarding the matter?

Beyond that, there wasn't much going on. It was not yet the holidays, only the middle of October, although the majority of the student body was anxiously anticipating Halloween and their break, which would be during the week of Thanksgiving. Ravi was looking forward to it as well, but for entirely different reasons.

Now that the season had gradually changed into autumn, with a chill in the air that made it unwise to skip out on a jacket, leaves changing color and a hiatus of the blistering heat until next year, it gave Ravi an excuse to wear the clothes he preferred without the staring. Of course, he hadn't been the only one at school wearing jeans and a button up when it first began, there were a couple other boys, one of whom was in his grade, that was doing it, too.

But they're populer

It's different

Everyone knows you're a freak

And that you dress like one

Didn't you see how they stared at you and not the others?

Everyone else was wearing shorts

But you just had to stand out, didn't you?

All you needed to do was blend in and you can't even do that one thing right

No. No, he couldn't.

It seemed like he ruined everything, whether it was intentional or not. It was tiring, dealing with the same thing again and again, no resolution in sight. Why did it have to be him? What deity had decided to pour down a life full of misery on him? And he was without any support system whatsoever; the idea of pouring his innermost private feelings to someone was just unpleasant. Not that he'd ever get any support and he absolutely refused to submit himself to any anguish that would undoubtedly follow.

...

It was the evening of the first night of Parent-teacher Conferences. The principal had reminded everyone, over the intercom, that it was occurring and should their parent or guardian not show up, they would be receiving an email of their child's grades and how well-or not so well, in come cases-they were performing in their classes. Ravi's class-English-had groaned in dismay, all except for him and Shelby. She was the only one that was looking forward to it-naturally-apparently, she was quite eager for her parents to see her new school and meet all of her teachers. She'd asked him if he was excited-and she should have known the answer by now, really, but as he had come to find out, she was a bit...slow-he had merely given her a flat look, rolling his eyes when she giggled.

"Are you going?" she asked him when class was over as they trudged through the awfully crowded hallway. Ravi instinctively squished his body closer to himself, trying to be smaller so he wouldn't touch anyone as they passed by.

"Going where?" he said distractedly.

"You know where," she nudged him playfully. He glanced at her out of the corner of his eye, blinking. Finally, she elaborated. "Parent teacher conferences. Are you going? I hope I can go. I really wanna show my parents where my classrooms are and my locker and I really want them to meet Miss Zenon. She's so cool, isn't she? You should definitely go! Maybe you'll be able to meet my mom! My dad wants to see you again. Isn't that great? Oh, my gosh! If you go, I'll be able to meet your family! I wanna meet them so bad! Have you mentioned me to them? It's okay if you haven't, though. I don't mind. Should I bring them some cookies or something? Maybe they'll like that. I like cookies."

"Yes, I know," Ravi said patiently.

"Well? Are you going?" Shelby repeated. "I hope you can. That'd be nice. You know, I-"

"I don't know," he shrugged, then cringed after he accidentally bumped his shoulder into someone else, their head swiveled to level him with a glare, as if he had done something to personally offend them. A faint sorry left his lips, but in the midst of the noisy hallway, the person most likely hadn't heard him.

"Well, you should because-"

"It would be really fun?" Ravi finished for her, dryly.

Shelby beamed.

Ravi hadn't planned on attending, having no desire to sit through teacher after teacher informing Jessie of all his faults while she kept glancing at him in disbelief and disappointment. That would be followed by a lecture in front of his siblings because it never occurred to her that certain matters were best discussed in private. Luke's infuriating smirk would be staring right at him from behind Jessie and Zuri would pipe up with some needless remarks.

As it was, he hadn't gone to one of those, nor had his parents or Jessie, since the first year he started middle school. They'd been so sure that he was going to have difficulty grasping the material, blending into his new surroundings and finding where he belonged, finding people he could depend on and call his friends.

Well, they'd been right about that last part.

He did much better than they believed, and when he came home with a steller report card just a month or so into the school year, they'd actually been happy for him-but it was the way that they'd been happy that didn't sit well with him. It was that surprise in which Ravi had found it to be slightly demeaning. It was one thing to be skeptical about the whole transition, but entirely another to do what they did; checking it twice, exchanging one of those looks and then to act like they didn't just do it, congratulating him with a weak hug and a hair ruffle.

So, they just didn't go to those conferences for Ravi. It was never imperative for them to do so, being that the one time they did, his teachers had sung nothing short of praise for his intelligence and participation in class with no signs of a behavior issue because he never did anything that could irritate them-unless answering multiple questions and once correcting a teacher on the material mounted. Then, he might have done a thing or two.

He assumed that this year would be the same as the previous years; Jessie would go to talk to Luke's teachers and maybe swing by Zuri's school to have a chat with hers to make sure that Zuri wasn't causing any more problems with the teachers or her fellow classmates. All the while, he would stay in the penthouse. Bertram would gather all of his beloved appliances and some huge bowls filled with snacks to plop down in front of the large TV in the theater room for an evening to himself (their parents should really consider recommending Bertram a therapist, or at least give him some more time off so he could be around people his own age...or to make some friends his own age).

As for Ravi, he would retreat to his sanctuary-his bedroom, where he would remain for the rest of the night. It was the better option. Parent teacher night usually left Jessie in a bit of a sour mood, between Luke's (and sometimes Zuri) disobedience and inability to do a simple task such as handing in his homework on time, and the snappy teachers she was forced to deal with who saw no qualms about insulting her nannying skills right to her face. It was best to leave her be after those encounters, while she stabbed a spoon into some chocolate caramel ice cream, muttering furiously under her breath.

That was how he envisioned the evening going.

However, that was not what happened.

"Ravi, sweetie, I want you to come with me tonight."

He was pouring some juice into a mug when he froze, his brian short circuiting as he attempted to come up with a comprehensible response. It caught him off guard and he set the container down calmly. "To where?" He said, despite already knowing the answer.

Jessie knew that, too. She gave him a look. "You know where."

"Wha-you never go to see my teachers," he protested lightly.

"Well, this is different."

Different how?

"Different how?" Ravi voiced his thoughts.

"Just...different," Jessie said carefully, as if she were walking on eggshells around a wild animal that might leap out and attack her. She would do that when she was near his presence. Did she think so low of him? Did she regard him as someone who couldn't control himself?

You shoved Zuri

After she upset me! I did not do it willy nilly

That isn't how she sees it

"My nanny senses tell me different," she added. She put a hand on his shoulder, sympathy on her face. He despised it, the pity. That's what it was. Pity.

He didn't humor her. He saw what she was doing, trying to subtly get him to spill what was going on because she thought there was something.

But there wasn't something. There wasn't anything. Nothing that he wanted to talk about. So, he missed a few assignments and had struggled with some concepts and received a D on an English paper because he'd just been unable to properly concentrate because his brian had been elsewhere. It was bound to happen. He was nearly out of school, it was eventually going to get to where he would have trouble like every other student. He wasn't special. He wasn't gifted. But she wouldn't see it that way.

She'd just see it as another failure.

But perhaps that was accurate.

Perhaps he was a failure.

Because he was, wasn't he?

He didn't know at this point anymore. He didn't know what to think anymore. He was tired. That's all he knew. He was longing for the chance to slide underneath the covers and bury his face into his pillow.

You mean so you can spend the majority of the night staring at the ceiling again?

"I can't go," he pushed himself away from her, focusing all his energy on placing the container of juice back into the refrigerator, while Jessie's eyes bored into his back. "I can't. I have homework. I need to finish my homework."

He made to leave, but she grabbed his arm. "Oh, no you don't, mister. The email said you kids weren't getting any."

Curses. Ravi chewed on the inside of his cheek. "Well, I'm sure I am busy with something else." Again, he tried to leave, but she huffed, pulling him back by the sleeve of his shirt.

"No excuses. You're going. All three of you are. And I don't want to hear or see anything from you or Luke. You guys are getting way too old for this. Understood?"

Ravi kept a neutral facial expression, suppressing a glare. "Yes, Jessie," he muttered, sourly.

"And cop the attitude. Don't start this again. I mean it," she warned.

"Yes, Jessie," he repeated.

A soft sigh escaped her lips. "It won't be that bad," she half-smiled. "Not as bad as Luke, that's for sure. Or Zuri's." She closed her eyes, grimacing. "If her teacher tells me she's been on that phone again during class, I don't know what I'll do."

Take it away, perhaps?

No, then she might actually have to do her job

"You know, when I was in school, we only had flip phones," she nodded, looking as though she was getting lost within her memories again. "We didn't have all this fancy technology you kids have. I remember Darla had one, this pink, sparkly, glittery one, because she bought the kind that could be decorated. Ugh, I wanted one so bad but my dad wouldn't let me get one. Anyway, she used to flip it shut just to be dramatic and let me tell you, it was all the time. I hated it."

And I must ask...what does that have to do with me?

Ravi plastered on a tight smile whilst she prattled on. He drank his juice in one swallow, swiftly setting it side in the sink so he could depart from the kitchen.

Maybe Jessie would be so preoccupied with getting his brother and sister out the door that she would forget him again.

You're still better about that

Are you never going to let that go?

Who was he kidding? He would never be that lucky. The one time he wanted it to happen, it wouldn't.

And he'd been right. That was how instead of spending a night cooped up in his bedroom, Ravi was walking back through the doors of his school, trying to stay as behind his family as he could.

There were a handful of other parents there as well. It was still early, so there was time for more to arrive. It was easy to identify whose parents belonged to whose child-at least, going by what clique their child was a part of. One man wore a leather jacket and one earring. A woman with a close fitting blouse and pencil skirt with not a single hair out of place. Others were casual, not too close to either side of the spectrum.

Were they staring at him, too? Did they immediately just know that he was the one that some of their children ridiculed? Did he have that look to him, a dead giveaway? No, he needed to be rational. Of course not. That was crazy. Improbable. What interest did an adult have in a teenager? He was simply imagining things. Yes, that was it. It had to be.

It had to be.

"Ravi."

He was brought back to the present. Jessie and his siblings had turned back to glance at him. Apparently, unbeknownst to him, he'd stopped right in the middle of the hallway. Now some of those parents were looking at him. They probably thought he was crazy. Maybe their kids had mentioned to them how crazy he was and now they'd just seen it for themselves.

They think I'm crazy

Well, they aren't wrong, are they?

They think I'm crazy

Because you are

They think I'm crazy

Jessie gently gestured toward the direction they'd been going in for him to keep going. He did, so as not to attract anymore attention to himself. He could plainly see that Luke was itching to say something, to antagonize. Perhaps the only thing holding him back was whatever his own teachers were preparing to discuss with Jessie about him, that would land him in more hot water.

Feeling more than a little vindictive, Ravi hoped that would be the case.

"Alright, look," Jessie faced them. "I'll go see Ravi's teachers first. Luke, Zuri, go find somewhere to sit and please stay out of trouble."

His?

Why did he have to be first? Luke should have gone, he was older!

"Lead the way," she told them when his siblings stalked off.

He didn't want to. All of his instincts told him-screamed at him-to run away right now. The door to his English class was within sight, now. He felt like he was walking to his doom. Like in those suspenseful movies where the hallway was getting narrower the closer he got and then the door would open and something terrible would appear.

They went inside. Miss Zenon was sitting at her desk, clicking through something on her computer. She looked up and over at them, a smile coming to her face. "Ravi," she said jovally. "I'm so glad you came." She rose to her feet, extending her hand for Jessie to shake. "It's a pleasure to meet you. I'm Lyra Zenon. I'm Ravi's English teacher for the year."

"Jessie Prescott," Jessie introduced, shaking Miss Zenon's hand heartily. "Ravi's nanny. His parents are out on business so I'm sitting in for them."

"Of course. Not a problem," Miss Zenon sat back down. He and Jessie sat in the two stiffy chairs that were set across from his teachers desk for the parents to occupy for the evening. Miss Zenon placed her elbows up on the desk, clasping her hands together. "Well, I want to start by saying that Ravi's an excellent student. I've never had any behavioral issues with him; he's always on time, always pays attention during class. Overall, he's a joy to have in the classroom."

She's lying

She doesn't like you

She probably thinks you're annoying

She just can't say that to your face

But she's thinking it

I know she is

"However," Miss Zenon's voice changed to a more serious note. "His grades are another story."

Jessie blinked. "His grades?" It seemed as though she were waiting for Miss Zenon to start laughing at the joke. "What...Ravi has good grades. He's never gotten below an A."

She was astounded. Miss Zenon nodded sympathetically. "I understand that. But it's not entirely uncommon for kids to struggle later on in areas when they've previously excelled. Especially when the material gets harder."

"You didn't tell me you were struggling," Jessie addressed Ravi, frowning. "Why didn't you tell me? I would've helped you."

And that would have been a nightmare

Ravi didn't think she would appreciate it, nor would she want to know that he'd hid it from her because he'd just known better than to do it. Jessie didn't know what she was doing. Plus, he had no desire to listen to her remarks. Her comments about the matter, she didn't know he was having a hard time, how she never thought he'd be the one with a near failing grade and how she hoped he wasn't taking after Luke and his not-so-good habits.

He stared at the mahogany desk for the longest time, shrugging.

"Well, how bad is it, his grade?" Jessie got straight to the point.

Miss Zenon scrolled through the attendance sheet for the first hour, until she came to the R's. "Ahh, Ravi. I'm afraid that he's at a D minus."

"Ravi is?" Jessie couldn't believe it. "You're joking."

"I am not. School policy states that teachers are to call the parent or guardian when grades are D's or F's, but since conferences were coming up, I decided to wait and see if someone was coming to discuss this," Miss Zenon explained. "Is there something going on at home? Something that's taking his attention away from his school work?"

"No," Jessie said, shaking her head. "Nothing's going on. Well, his brother, Luke, picks on him sometimes but it's just a typical sibling rivalry."

How can you be so dense?

I don't understand it

"I see," Miss Zenon noted. There was a peculiar tone she'd used, one that made Ravi frown. "Ravi." He was startled at being addressed. "I don't want you to be upset, if I phrase a question that makes you feel like you're not here. I just want to get another opinion on the matter, alright?"

"Alright," he said quietly, because what else was he supposed to say?

She went back to conversing with Jessie. To his horror, one of the first things that spilled out from his teacher was from the first week of school, when he'd handed in half-completed work and hadn't planned on doing the rest at home to get the full points.

"I was concerned," Miss Zenon continued, unaware of the mental turmoil she was causing him or the impending eruption that was going to happen when they got back home. "It wasn't a particularly difficult assignment, either. Do you know if this has happened before?"

"No," Jessie responded in earnest. "No. I've never known Ravi not to do his school work. He's always had the best grades between him and his brother and sisters." Her head was going back and forth, from Miss Zenon then back to him. She looked to be at a loss for words, but only in a figurative sense, for she was still capable of speaking. "I'm sorry I don't have more answers for you. This is really surprising."

"No, no," Miss Zenon put up her hands. "Please, don't be. This isn't for either of you to feel bad about. I'm not pointing fingers and I'm not upset at either of you. I just want to get to the bottom of this so Ravi can be as successful as possible." Her eyes met him and he was instantly overcome with uncomfortability. "Ravi, I need you to understand this, by continuing to let your grade decline, you're at risk for failing the class and if you fail during the second semester, it could result in you having to be held back or repeating English Three during your senior year; and as much as I enjoy teaching you, I want you to move on next year."

She's lying

She wants you out of her classroom

She can't stand you

She's only saying it because Jessie's here

She wants to look good

"Do you understand?" Miss Zenon said softly at the end.

"Ravi," Jessie hissed, nudging him when he didn't immediately speak up.

Her elbow smashed into his side, he refrained from making a sound or flinching. "Yes," he ground out between grit teeth, knowing he was going to be hearing about that, about his disrespect later. "I understand."

"I hope you are," Miss Zenon said with uncharacteristic sternness. Look at that. You did that. "This may not be your last year yet, but it's still important. Colleges are going to look at how well you're performing throughout the school year. It won't look good if you're not living up to your full potential. I know you can do better than what you've been doing, Ravi. You and Shelby did so well on your project together. I know you can do the rest of the homework."

Oh, no

Here it comes

"And speaking of homework," Miss Zenon was again talking to Jessie. "That's another area that I've been concerned about. He's missing assignments and only doing some halfheartedly. It's another reason why his grade is so low. I've pulled Ravi aside and explained to him that he can't continue like this and I'd like to see some improvement, but I've yet to see any. I don't know if he's finding the work too difficult or if he's bored or just doesn't want to do it."

Their eyes flickered over to him. Crucial, critical, calculating. It was not at all pleasant to be under his teacher's eye or his ever growing irritated nanny. His first instinct was to shrink, avert his gaze onto something else that wasn't going to stare back.

"Ravi," Miss Zenon prompted, "do you have anything you'd like to add?"

No

I'd rather not

"No," he mumbled.

His teacher nodded, although it was plain to see that wasn't the answer she'd been hoping for. "I see. Well, we don't have a lot of time left, but I do want to say this: whatever the reason may be, there needs to be an improvement before Thanksgiving."

"There will be," Jessie promised on his behalf, with a pointed edge to her tone that it would not be within his best interest to contradict her. All three of them stood up and the two women shook hands. "Thank you, Miss Zenon."

"Oh, thank you for coming," Miss Zenon smiled. "I'm glad that Ravi has someone in his life that cares like you do."

She is joking, isn't she?

Any sort of 'care' that comes from Jessie is merely out of obligation to ensure that she keeps her job

In reality, she cannot stand you

"Aww thanks. Have a good night," Jessie called as they made their way out the door. Back into the hallway where stragglers of parents, some accompanied by their kids, were waiting to get into classrooms or being directed to where they needed to go.

The air was suffocating, filled by nervous anticipation. Tension of what might happen now, how she was going to respond. He briskly took the lead to his next classroom, with the sharp click of her heels following from behind.

It didn't get any better after that. The rest of his teachers echoed Miss Zenon; he was missing this, he'd failed that, he wasn't paying attention like he should. Even in P.E. his grade had dropped due to a lack of participation, only that hadn't been all his fault. Some of the other boys were well aware of his lack of athleticism, so anything involving a ball was routinely kept away from him. They were all highly competitive, a stark contrast to how he wasn't. Because of that, his teacher began deducting points from their daily grade. It really wouldn't do any good to explain, so he sat there silently while Jessie was being informed.

That was what he did the whole time. Sat there and listened to how much of a disappointment he was.

By the end, Jessie was thoroughly unhappy and totally sideswiped. It was one thing to hear from one teacher that he was struggling, now there had been six. She wouldn't hesitate to ground him again, call up his parents so they could read him the riot act. Or maybe she was going to scream at him right now in front of everyone, exclaiming her disappointment and how she expected better from him.

She didn't. She stayed quiet, which was decidedly worse than if she were vocal. It meant that things were going to get quite ugly at home. That did not do anything to ease the hollowness in his stomach, which went quickly from feeling empty to downright nauseated.

When they got back to where Zuri and Luke were sitting, scrolling through their phones with bored expressions that clearly conveyed how they didn't wish to be there, Jessie ordered Luke to get off the phone and come with her now. His brother's eyebrows flew up to his hairline; usually she was in a foul mood after she got finished talking to Luke's teachers.

That left Ravi with Zuri. But she'd been restless and got up to use the bathroom about four minutes later. So, he was alone. Per usual. The bench, he'd come to the conclusion, was made with the purpose of being distinctly uncomfortable so students wouldn't dilly dally and stay there when they should have been on their way to class.

He squirmed. Changed his position about a dozen times. Sighed. Groaned.

Maybe it wasn't the bench. Maybe it didn't have anything to do with it at all. It might have been his nerves, the unknown of what could happen later on, how he was virtually powerless now to stop it or to put the fire that had ignited.

You've done it now

You're going to be grounded until next year

In his defense-

Ravi buried his face in his palms. He had no defense. Nothing that was going to placate Jessie or his parents. They'd be furious, after they got over their astonishment. Livid that they just found out and that he'd allowed things to get that far.

He hadn't known his grades were that bad. Granted, he didn't bother to check online. He'd figured that with what he was getting back on homework it wasn't great, and he'd had no desire to confirm any of that. He didn't want bad grades, on some small scale. But for the majority, he'd just...stopped caring.

And now, with most of his grades being below a C, things had spun drastically out of control within mere minutes. His teachers had gone over some of his worst produced work, which looked like it was from a different person. He sure didn't recognize himself in it.

He felt helpless.

"Well, hello there, Ravi!"

He jerked up so fast that the back of his head slammed against the wall behind him. The pain was instantaneous. He winced, eyes squeezed shut.

"Whoa there," Mr. England appeared in his spotty vision, checking him over to ensure that he was alright. "You alright there, son? Looked like you hit it pretty hard."

"Put some ice on that when you get home. That will help with the pain and any swelling," a woman who was with him, who Ravi deduced to be Mrs. England, advised. She was pretty, though it was quite obvious as to who Shelby had taken after-appearance wise. Her hair and eyes were a stark contrast to her daughter's. She stood only slightly shorter than her husband, but wore a friendly smile all the same. "You must be the infamous Ravi I've been hearing all about. I'm Lorraine. My daughter talks about you all the time. She's quite fond, you know."

Ravi was doing a fabulous impression of a fish stranded out of the water, his mouth opening and closing and opening again. Mrs. England didn't remark on that. It was only when he remembered his manners that he got to his feet and stammered out a greeting. "Hello," he cleared his throat. "It's, erm, nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you as well," Mrs. England nodded, adjusting the strap from her purse that was sitting on her shoulder. "I was hoping I'd get the chance to, seeing as you've already met the rest of my family. Shelby talks about you so much I feel like I already know so much about you."

But you don't

"Don't scare the boy too much, Rae," Mr. England chuckled at his wife's words. "He's going to think you're some stalker by this rate."

She swatted his arm. "Oh hush, you. " Then she turned back to Ravi. "You'll have to excuse my husband, the jokester. I only meant that Shelby has taken it to you, and I must say I'm grateful."

Mr. England, added, "We weren't sure how the kids were going to take the move. It was a hard decision, taking them away from their friends and family. But, clearly things have worked out."

But you're wrong

I'm not a good friend

I'm not her friend at all

Why can't they understand that?

More importantly, why does Shelby speak of me so much?

Surely, I'm not that interesting

To her, you are

But that hardly makes any sense!

It doesn't have to make sense

"I know our daughter can be a bit of a...handful," Mr. England grinned and his wife nodded in agreement with an amused smile of her own. "But we sure appreciate how patient and kind you are with her."

Are you sure you're talking to the correct person?

Patient?

Kind?

"Yes," Mrs. England said. "Our Shelby is very lucky to have a friend like you."

But I haven't done anything.

"She was hoping we'd run into you tonight," Mr. England told him.

"Oh. She isn't here?" Least then he wouldn't have her trying to tackle him into a hug or jabbering on about something in front of his siblings or Jessie.

"No. She's at home, babysitting Elliot. The grade school isn't doing conferences yet and we didn't feel like dragging everyone out on a school night," Mr. England said. "She is hopin' that you'll be comin over again real soon."

"We'd love to have you," Mrs. England said warmly. "You're certainly welcome over for dinner any time, if you'd like."

She's lying

She's just being polite

She doesn't mean it

She hopes you'll decline

"Oh. Well, I-"

"You don't have to, of course," Mrs. England said kindly. "If you're too busy or unable to, that's fine. But don't be a stranger."

"We loved having you over," Mr. England smiled.

Ravi was so confused. He didn't know what to believe, what was real or what was not. Something seemed to be telling him that they were lying, they were going to laugh behind his back, thinking that he believed them. Every single part of him didn't want to believe them. But then, there was that same raw sincerity that he'd seen in Shelby. That same warmth and kindness he'd brushed off time and time again, was staring at him.

And it made him feel good.

So, he didn't know why he said what he said when he swallowed, promising,

"I will...I'll see what I can do."