Zia had to take the bus to get to the school from the doctor's office. Papa Charlie and his associates had given her permission to get off work early for the day due to the nature of the circumstances. She got off at the closest bus stop, walked briskly to the school, and headed straight for the principal's office where she had been invited to learn about what happened. She knocked on the door, and Mr. Tanner's voice indicated that she should enter.

She walked in to find Tom sitting in a chair on one side of the room, and two boys in chairs on the other side of the room, next to who she assumed were their mothers. The two other women glared at her as she entered, their eyes clearly suspicious and accusing. The principal looked up from some papers on his desk as she entered, and waved a hand to an empty chair by Tom. Zia sat.

"What happened?" Zia asked calmly, although she didn't feel nearly as calm as she sounded. She was trying to think of all the different things that could have happened and wondering what she would do about each scenario she came up with. Tom looked up at her, his face expressionless except for a hint of sullen anger she could see turning the corners of his mouth down slightly and the almost dangerous flash in his eyes. She shook her head 'no' very slightly, and she knew he understood that he was not to speak unless it was absolutely necessary.

"Your son seems to have been involved in some kind of scuffle with these two boys," Mr. Tanner said. Zia looked directly at him, her face impassive.

"My nephew, you mean? What kind of scuffle?" The principal's eyebrows pushed together, as if he wasn't sure how to explain, but one of the other boys spoke up.

"That little freak somehow put us in a cage made of the building blocks he was using. I'm not sure how, but I know it was him. He's creepy. Maybe he's some kind of demon," the boy said, pointing a finger at Tom. Zia raised her eyebrows, and the principal seemed to have regained his confidence.

"Don't you think that is a little unreasonable, Danny?" the principal asked the boy. Danny's eyes narrowed.

"He did it. I know it was him," the other boy said. Zia turned to face the boys.

"Why do you think it was Tom? Would there perhaps be a reason that you are blaming my nephew for this? Did something happen that might cause you to think that he would feel the need to do something like this, assuming that it's possible?" she asked the boys. Neither of them said anything, and Zia watched with a small amount of satisfaction as they squirmed uncomfortably. She knew then that something had indeed happened to provoke Tom's actions. She had no doubt that their story about the blocks was completely plausible, excluding the demon accusations, but she was less interested in what had happened and more concerned with why it had happened. She sat patiently, eyes moving slowly from one boy's face to the other, making it clear that she expected answers, but they stayed quiet.

"Why don't you ask your nephew why he did it?" one of the women asked icily. Zia could tell that the two women saw her as inferior to them for whatever reason, and was determined to keep her ground. She turned her gaze to the woman who had spoken.

"Because I'd like to know the side of the story from your children's' perspectives. Obviously they feel certain that whatever happened was caused by my nephew. However, if I have gauged the scenario accurately, there is no proof behind those accusations. If they feel that there was a motive, I would like to know, in their words, what it might have been." The woman, who appeared as if she was planning to argue while Zia was explaining her reasons, closed her mouth, and instead chose to glare at Zia. Zia turned back to the two boys. "So, what happened? It might be better if you told me now, because I have time to sit and wait for your answers, but I doubt that you two would like to remain here for any longer than necessary."

One of them looked at his friend, then back at Zia. "We were talking to him," he said.

"About…?"

"His family."

"And what about this conversation do you think could have made him upset enough to do something to you?"

"I don't know." Zia raised her eyebrows, and looked directly at the boy in a way that she could tell made him uncomfortable.

"I think you do know, because if you didn't know then you wouldn't be so sure that it was Tom." The child seemed to be hypnotized by her steady gaze, and the answer came out with difficulty as if extracted against his will.

"We told him that his parents didn't want him and that was why you were raising him," the boy began. Zia frowned, and the boy continued hastily "But it's the truth! That's why children are raised by other people, their own parents don't want them!"

"Is there anything else that was said?"

"We…we made fun of you."

"I see. Thank you for telling me," she told him, and looked up at the two women standing behind their children. "Now doesn't this make a bit more sense?" The women looked furious, but the principle seemed to be engaged in a struggle between his mind and his face as he attempted to look neutral but couldn't keep the amusement from creeping into his expression as he began to speak.

"Considering the circumstances, I think it might be best to have the boys apologize to one another, and then let them go home. I expect that you will discuss this with your children, and when they arrive at school tomorrow, they will meet with me individually to talk about what they learned from you. Is this agreeable?" he asked.

"It sounds good to me," Zia answered. The other two women agreed. Tom looked at the two boys.

"I am sorry that I was unable to stay calm while you insulted me and my family. In the future I will try harder to do so," he told them with a small smile, holding his hand out to shake. Zia looked over at the principal and he seemed close to laughter now, but fighting it diligently. The boy who had confessed came up first.

"I'm sorry I said those things to you," he grumbled, and shook Tom's hand, and the other boy repeated him. Then the two women and their children swept from the office. Mr. Tanner came out from behind his desk and held his hand out for Zia to shake.

"You handled yourself well, I'm impressed. Parents usually don't care to know why something happened, usually they just want to see someone punished so they can get on with their day," he told her.

"My goal is to help Tom learn from his mistakes, not simply be punished for them, and I felt that since those two boys were involved perhaps I could at least help them recognize their mistake even if I can't help them learn from it myself," Zia replied.

"From what I see, you've done it very well," he said, and then bent down to Tom's level.

"Young man, your teacher told me about your work in class today, she is very impressed. I hope that you will be able to continue your good work." The principal then shook Tom's hand and walked them to the door.

Zia walked with Tom to the bus, and then when it arrived they both got on and she sat him across from her.

"So, what's this about a cage of blocks?" she asked him quietly. He looked at her.

"It wasn't a cage, it was a jail. They were being bad, Auntie. And bad people go to jail."