Kirsten stood in the parking lot, tired of pacing back and forth. Sandy should have been here by now. Reaching into her purse, she pulled out her cell phone and hit one of the speed dial buttons.

"Hi hon," rumbled her husband's voice in her ear.

"Where are you?" she asked.

He chuckled lightly. "Turn to your left. I'm just pulling up."

"Oh," she said, feeling a little foolish. "Sorry." She swung around, snapping the phone shut. Sandy's car pulled into the spot beside her and he stepped out, giving her a quick kiss. "So tell me again what Dr. Kim said on the phone."

"It wasn't Dr. Kim," he corrected, as they started walking towards the administration building. "It was her assistant. She just said that Seth had been in a fight and that Dr. Kim wanted to speak with us."

Almost an hour ago, Kirsten had been in her office, going over an agenda for a meeting tomorrow. That's when Sandy had called to say the school had contacted him about Seth. They had both dropped everything to come here. She couldn't seem to wrap her mind around the fact that her son had been fighting. When he was younger, he'd been bullied sometimes. She and Sandy had been to numerous parent-teacher conferences back then but as he'd gotten older, the problem seemed to have faded. Or at least, she'd stopped hearing about it, whether it was from Seth or his teachers. But they had never been asked to come in because he'd been in a fight. "This doesn't sound like Seth," she stated aloud.

Ever the practical one, Sandy urged, "Let's get our facts first before we make any conclusions."

They entered the office and Sandy stopped to speak with the woman at the front desk. Kirsten's eyes roamed through the room and she spotted Seth sitting in a row of chairs just outside of Dr. Kim's door. Walking up to him, she quickly scanned him for visible signs of injuries. Other than a little swelling on his cheek, he looked okay.

"Are you all right?" she asked.

He glanced up at her. "Yeah, Mom, I'm fine. Is Dad here?"

"Yes."

"Great," he mumbled.

Just as Sandy came to stand beside her, the door to Dr. Kim's office opened. A boy with a cut lip and a banged up eye came out, followed by a smaller woman – his mother, Kirsten presumed. Although the boy kept his head down, the older woman glared at Seth and shot Kirsten a dirty look as well. Kirsten stepped back to let them pass, a little shocked at the boy's bloody appearance. Seth had done that to him? Why?

Dr. Kim came into view in her doorway. "Mr. and Mrs. Cohen? Come inside, please. Seth, I'll have you join us in a few minutes."

They stepped into her office, the rich wood paneling and dark colours exuding all the wealth and prestige the school prided itself on. Kirsten planted herself in the leather chair, back ramrod straight. Sandy assumed his usual casual posture, looking mostly at ease. She noticed, however, that one of his hands clutched the armrest so tightly his knuckles were almost white. The only sign of any discomfort.

Dr. Kim was the picture of cool, poised perfection. She spoke first and cut straight to the point without conversational pleasantries. "Thank you for coming. I don't think I have to tell you, I'm dismayed and disappointed by Seth's behaviour. He's always been a model student."

"Why don't you start by telling us what happened?" Sandy suggested.

"Usually in cases like this, we have wildly differing stories between the parties involved. However, to the credit of Seth, Justin, and Summer, no one is disputing the facts of what happened."

"Summer was involved?" Kirsten couldn't help interrupting.

Dr. Kim nodded. "Indirectly, yes. This happened during the start of last period. Summer was at her locker and a fellow student, Justin, approached her. He made some inappropriate comments and got a little physical by grabbing her arm. Seth saw this happen and threw the first punch at Justin. Justin then retaliated and they started fighting until two teachers broke them apart. Those are the facts."

"So Seth was merely looking out for Summer. Trying to protect her," Sandy tried to reason.

Dr. Kim looked skeptical. "Given the circumstances, I think Seth overreacted. And even if that were the case, I wouldn't condone physical violence to solve the problem. However, because Justin fought back, I find them equally at fault."

"What about the fact that Justin was harassing Summer?" Kirsten pointed out. "Doesn't that matter?"

"Yes it does. And I've spoken to both Justin and Mrs. Voss about it. If the harassment had been more serious, it would weigh more heavily against him."

"Oh, so my son should have waited until the situation got out of hand and Justin actually hurt Summer?" Sandy said rather bitingly.

Kirsten shot her husband a warning look. She didn't think that line of argument was going to score points with Dr. Kim. And she was right.

The woman behind the desk narrowed her eyes at him. "Mr. Cohen, Seth could have chosen any number of means to deal with the situation. Talk to Justin. Get a teacher involved. But instead, he chose to punch Justin in the jaw and bloody his lip. I will not have that kind of behaviour in my school."

Sandy looked slightly aggrieved at the lecture but he wisely remained silent. Dr. Kim continued on. "But I do understand that Seth has had a difficult few months since his accident. In fact, I had been thinking about calling you in for a meeting anyway. A few teachers have come to me with concerns about him. Nothing overly serious but I'm wondering if you've noticed any changes in him at home?"

Sandy and Kirsten shared a glance before she answered. "Well, he's been more quiet than usual. Less hyper. We were more worried the first month or so after he came home from the hospital but lately, he seems to be doing a lot better. What are his teachers saying?"

"They've also noticed that he's more quiet in class. Doesn't participate as much as he used to. These are only teachers that he's had previously, of course. But perhaps a little more worrisome, his grades have been lower than we'd expect on recent tests and assignments. It's not by a significant amount but I'm afraid it may be a reflection of his apathy lately."

"We did notice they're a little lower," Kirsten admitted. "But he genuinely seems to be trying his best. He has so many other burdens right now, we haven't been pushing the academic end of things as much."

As the Dean of Harbor, Kirsten wasn't sure how Dr. Kim would take that admission. But she seemed to accept it in stride.

"I see. I'm also wondering if there's been any change in his temperament. Does he perhaps fly off the handle a little more quickly than he used to?"

Sandy replied this time, with a question of his own. "What are you trying to allude to, Dr. Kim?"

"I think we all agree that fighting is out of character for Seth. I'm trying to understand if it's perhaps related to the stress he's been under with his amnesia."

"It's possible," Sandy conceded. "He has been more moody. But as Kirsten pointed out, he's improved the last couple of months. He's been happier."

Kirsten decided to add a significant fact. "The neurologist did tell us that sometimes, personalities can change after head injuries."

Dr. Kim pursed her lips, looking thoughtful. "Well, perhaps we should bring Seth in now. I've only talked to him about the fighting. Not about school in general."

She got up from her chair and a few moments later, Kirsten found herself flanked by her husband and son on either side.

Dr. Kim took the reins again. "Seth, I've just been speaking to your parents about your performance in school so far. How do you think you've been doing?"

He looked a little surprised. Clearly, he hadn't expected this to be the topic of conversation. "Okay, I guess."

"Your grades are slipping a bit. Did you know that?"

He shifted in his seat uneasily. "Yeah, I know. I mean, that's what my parents tell me. But it's still early in the year, right? I can try to do better."

"Good. That's the response I was hoping for. I'll be keeping in closer contact with your parents and teachers. I know you can pull those grades up. I'm sure I don't have to tell you how important your senior year is."

"I know," Seth mumbled.

"All right. Now on to the real reason you're in here today. You must know that fighting is not acceptable under any circumstances. No matter how honourable your intentions may have been."

He resorted to nodding. "There will be consequences, of course," she went on. "Usually, there would be an automatic two days suspension from school, as well as a notation on your student record. This would not reflect well on any college application."

Kirsten's heart sank with those words, as Dr. Kim paused dramatically for a beat. "However..."

Now, a little flicker of hope shot through her. A 'however' at this point was a good sign.

"I feel there are extenuating circumstances to grant some leniency, for both you and Justin. It's a first offense for both of you and I know, Seth, that you've been going through an especially rough time. I've decided on one week's detention. This will not go on record. But..." Dr. Kim raised an eyebrow for emphasis. "I suggest you don't go looking for anymore fights. There won't be any leniency the second time around. Am I making myself clear?"

Seth looked up at her directly. "Yes, Dr. Kim. Thank you. And might I add, that blouse looks fetching on you. Red is definitely your colour."

"Seth!" Kirsten admonished.

Dr. Kim's lip twitched slightly; the only sign of any amusement. "So, that's enough from me. Is there anything anyone else would like to add before we call it a day?"

Kirsten shared one more glance with her husband before she spoke. "Just a thank you from us as well. You've been more than fair."

She stood up, relieved the session was over. After she and Sandy shook hands with the Dean, they left the office, Seth trailing behind them. Walking to the parking lot, no one said a word, though Sandy patted his son's shoulder a couple of times.

"Well," Kirsten said, as they reached their cars. "I have nothing planned for dinner. I'll stop for some take out on the way home. What does everyone feel like?"

"Chinese?" Seth suggested.

"That sounds good," Sandy agreed. "Nothing like Kung Pao Chicken to soothe the nerves."

Kirsten fished in her purse for her keys. "Chinese it is. Seth, we'll talk more later."

Sandy opened his car door and motioned for Seth to get in. "I just want a minute with your mother."

After the door was shut, the concerned parents faced each other. "So what do you think?" Kirsten asked.

"Looks like Dr. Kim has a heart after all. I thought suspension wouldn't be avoidable. Schools have zero tolerance for just about everything these days."

"I can't help feeling there's more going on here. I'm sure Seth was looking out for Summer but did you see that boy...Justin's face? Seth was angry. Really angry."

"Mother's intuition?" Sandy gently teased. When she gave him a look and crossed her arms, he said, "We'll eat dinner, then sit down for a talk. Find out what really happened. Okay?"

They went their separate ways. As Kirsten drove, she fretted about what was going on with her son. Distracted, she almost went through a red light and had to slam on the brakes. A little shaken, she decided to plan out the menu instead. Ryan's favourite was mushroom fried rice. She couldn't forget to order that.

And, of course, some Kung Pao Chicken to help Sandy's nerves.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Seth sat in the car, watching his parents converse. He'd been relieved by Dr. Kim's verdict. While punching Justin had felt great, he really hadn't considered the consequences. Regardless, he wasn't sorry. He was probably lucky that Dr. Kim hadn't demanded an apology. If she had, he really didn't know how he would have responded.

Sandy hopped in the car and they were on their way. "We'll have to get some ice on your face," he commented. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah. My hand hurts a little. But don't worry, I made a proper fist and everything."

They were soon caught in some rush hour traffic. Sandy drummed his fingers on the steering wheel. "Has Justin been bullying you?" he asked abruptly.

"No, Dad. It's nothing like that," Seth replied. "Can we save the big talk until after dinner? I'll come clean, I swear."

"Are you still having those lessons with Ryan?"

Seth suppressed a sigh. It didn't seem like his dad was going to let this drop. "No. I've graduated now. Top of my class."

"So it would seem. Okay, we'll talk later."

Once at home, Seth leaned against the kitchen counter while his father made up an ice pack. In the car, Seth had checked out his face in the visor mirror. Not bad at all. His left cheek was red and swollen but the throbbing had dissipated. Tomorrow, if the ice did the trick, it would hardly even be noticeable.

"Here." Sandy handed him the makeshift bundle, consisting of ice wrapped in a dishcloth.

While Seth pressed it to his face, Ryan walked in. His eyes widened at the obvious signs of post-fighting ice pack recovery.

"So it is true," Ryan stated, with a tone of wonderment.

"Maybe. Maybe not," Seth said cryptically. "What have you heard?"

"That you kicked Justin's ass. Sorry Sandy," Ryan added quickly.

Seth couldn't help the smile that spread across his face. "That, dude, is most definitely true. Is everyone talking about it already?"

"Yeah, pretty much."

"I thought you had practice today," Sandy commented.

"It was cancelled. The field was double booked or something, so I got a ride from one of the guys."

"Excellent," Seth said happily. "Then I can give you all the gory details now. Mi casa or su casa?"

Ryan quirked an eyebrow and stared at him. "What?"

Seth started backing towards the side door. "Let's just go out on the deck. We've got time before Mom brings home some grub."

Ryan followed him out and sat on one of the chairs. Seth remained standing, one hand continuing to cradle the soothing chill of the pack against his face, the other gesticulating wildly. "Man, you will not believe the day I had today. Check this out. First, Andy comes by at lunch and swipes my iPOD. Then he flings it across the room. Guess who was there to catch it?"

Ryan shrugged one shoulder and didn't reply but his eyes followed Seth's every move. "Summer! It was unbelievable. So she gives it back to me, tells Andy off. She is so cool. Threatened to eat his eyeball." Seth laughed at Ryan's comical expression of disgust. "Gruesome, I know. Anyway, I'm standing there and lo and behold, I actually got a memory back."

"Hey, that's great!" Ryan grinned. "So I was right, huh? That was a sign, the other day."

"Guess so. It was really weird because it was so...vivid. You know how memories get fuzzier with age. Like, even though my last memories are when I was twelve, everything is still sort of vague. I can't remember details. Know what I mean?"

"Yeah."

"But this memory with Summer. I can tell you what she was wearing. How she smelled..." Seth trailed off, fully aware that he just might have a goofy smile pasted on his face but not caring.

"Was this an R-rated memory?" Ryan teased.

Seth rolled his eyes, though the smile remained. "Buddy, get your mind out of the gutter. We were thirteen."

"Your point?"

"Ha ha. This is my life we're talking about. Not yours. Now, where was I?"

Seth told Ryan everything. The kiss with Summer. Her agreement to meet with him to talk. Tanya's startling revelation. And of course, his fight with Justin. He was getting hyped up about the moment again, demonstrating some of the impressive moves he had made, when Kirsten popped her head out the door.

"Boys! Come inside for dinner."

At the table, Seth gave his parents a drastically edited version of the day's events. Basically, he only told them about the memory he'd regained. Thrilled, they pressed him for details and he gave them generalities about how Summer had helped him retrieve his skateboard. The good news seemed to bolster his parents' spirits and the mood at the table lightened considerably.

Finishing off the last bit of chicken on his plate, Seth got up from the table.

"Not so fast," Sandy advised. "We need to talk."

Ryan hastily shovelled a forkful of rice into his mouth. "I'm done anyway," he mumbled. Pushing his chair back, he took his plate and disappeared into the kitchen.

Seth sat back down, bracing himself for the lecture.

"Your mother and I talked things over while we were setting up dinner," Sandy informed him. "But before we get into all that, we want to know what really happened today."

Kirsten picked up the thread. "Fighting isn't like you, Seth. I know you must have been angry when you saw Justin harassing Summer but was there more to it? Or...do you think it has to do with your accident?"

Seth was confused for a moment. "My accident? Oh, you mean that change in personality thing?" He hadn't thought about that in a long time. "Huh. I never thought of that. Guess I don't really know. But yeah, there was more to it with Justin. He's the reason why Summer and I broke up. Well, most of the reason." His gaze flickered between his parents who were both waiting with curious looks on their faces. He had told his dad in the car that he would come clean so he supposed it was time to 'fess up. "Okay, remember that party I went to a few weeks ago? Summer caught me kissing a girl. We had a fight and broke up. You knew that already. Well, not the kissing part, but whatever. Anyway, today I found out from the girl – her name's Tanya – that it was all a set up. She's friends with Justin and he asked her to come on to me so he could get it on with Summer. Are you following me?"

He paused for breath and to gauge parental reactions again. His mom's eyes were drawn together, causing a deep furrow between her brows. His dad's mouth was parted slightly, a similar crease between his ginormous eyebrows. "Yeah, so, as you can well imagine, I was pretty pissed at Justin. I went looking for Summer and there was Justin, grabbing her arm. And he grabbed her pretty hard. I'm sure it hurt. And even though she was all brave and telling him off, she was probably a little scared. So I just saw red. I mean, I wasn't even thinking about anything. I just wanted to smash his face in. So, uh, that's kind of what I did. And you know what? I'm not sorry. Don't try to make me apologize for it because I won't. Even if you ground me for the next hundred years. I won't say I'm sorry when I'm not. Whether a personality change has anything to do with it, I really have no clue. But you know, if that's what's really been happening to me, maybe it's not such a bad thing. At least I have the guts now to stand up for myself. And I know fighting in school wasn't the smartest thing to do and I'm in deep crapola if it ever happens again. I know that. So don't worry. I don't exactly want to have a repeat meeting with the Dean so it's pretty safe to say, my fighting days are over." Running out of steam at last, he crossed his arms and sat back in the chair.

Silence ticked by for a few seconds before Sandy ventured to ask, "Are you done?"

"Why, you want more?"

"No," Sandy said quickly, with a wave of his hand. "That was very...eloquent."

"So no more fighting at school," Kirsten said.

"Agreed. Does that mean fighting outside of school is okay?" As his mother tilted her head and gave him a look, he smirked. "Kidding."

"You're lucky that Dr. Kim cut you some slack today," Sandy said, his tone grave. "You can't afford to get suspended."

"I know."

"And you need to start working harder at your schoolwork. Get those grades back up."

"Right."

"So you've got detention at school," his father went on. "In addition, you're grounded for two weeks. No allowance for two weeks. No driving privileges. No video games. No TV."

Seth felt that he had to protest a little. "No TV? Dad, isn't that a little harsh?"

"Want to make it three?" Sandy challenged.

"No TV. Gotcha." Seth closed his eyes for a moment. "Wait. Is the lock-down starting today?"

"Of course."

"Okay, I will totally abide by all your rules. I swear I'll even do it without my usual whining and complaining. You just have to grant me one teensy little thing."

"What's that?"

"You have to let me see Summer tonight."

"Are you planning to apologize to her?" Kirsten asked.

Seth nodded at his mother. "Yes. I might have redeemed myself a little today but ever since the party, she thinks I'm this massive jerk. Which, I guess I kinda was. Not that I want you to think this was totally one-sided, because it wasn't. I was mad at her for some stuff too. But she doesn't know about Justin's master plan and we were going to meet after school to talk. So you've gotta let me go over to her house. Then I'll come straight back here. Please?"

His parents exchanged glances as Seth literally held his breath.

"You know where the keys are," Kirsten said at last. "You can drive yourself over just this once."

Seth smiled in relief. "Thanks, Mom. Dad. Really, you guys are the best."

Remembering to take his plate and glass with him, he dumped them in the sink and grabbed the keys to the Range Rover off the hook. He wondered if he should call Summer first but chances were, she'd be home. After what had happened today, he didn't think even Summer would have gone shopping after school. She must have gone straight home.

As he drove, he tried to plan out what he was going to say but found his mind just running in circles. In the end, he decided to just wing it. Be honest and be himself. Whatever that meant these days.

A/N: A very talkative chapter that may have been boring after the last action-packed one, but oh well. Hope you liked it anyway.

To alexis: The CD Seth picked out will be revealed in a later chapter.

To orange-tide: Mr. McKenzie...yeah, of course that would sound familiar. Whoops. But I swear I picked that name at random. Maybe subconsciously, it wasn't as random as I thought.

To everyone else, thanks so much for the continued reviews. Guess you liked reading about Seth kicking Justin's butt, hmmm? It was fun to write. More to come, so keep reading.