Author's Note: Hello, Dear Readers. I hope you are all doing well. I've mostly recovered from my bout with COVID. I still have some mild lingering lung issues that I just can't seem to shake off, but otherwise I came through it relatively unscathed.

I'm currently snowed in and am putting off going out to clear off my car and shovel the driveway. We got the full winter package over the last two days – ice, sleet, and snow. I really don't look forward to what has to be done for me to be able to get out and go to work on Monday.

Once again, thank you to everyone who took time to leave a comment or send me a message. I really love hearing from my readers. I write mainly for the purpose of getting the stories that are rattling around in my head down "on paper", but I'm glad to see that others are enjoying them as well. So, if you like what I've written, please let me know. If you have any suggestions or constructive criticism, I'll accept those as well. Unlike Krissy (you'll see what I mean when you read this chapter), I can accept being critiqued.

CHAPTER 21

Krissy made herself comfortable in her nest of pillows and picked up the remote to her new tv. Sam had helped her set it up on the dresser across from her bed. She pulled up her Netflix account and navigated through the screens to the show she'd been streaming. It was such a different experience to watch it on a screen larger than her laptop.

She watched the show for a few minutes before her thoughts began wandering. Most of the birthday and Christmas gifts she'd received from her dad had been practical or, like the duffel she'd received from Dean, something she'd needed. She wasn't sure what to think of the television, though. It was so normal, she supposed -- something a normal teenager (or at least a teenager who weren't involved in hunting the supernatural) could have expected to receive as a birthday gift. She wasn't used to normal, and it made her a little uncomfortable.

She pulled her legs up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them. Her thoughts drifted to the nightmares she had continued to have about the cougar attacking her and the conversation she'd had with Dean a few days prior. She was starting to doubt whether she still wanted to be a hunter, and she didn't know how she felt about that. After all, becoming a hunter had been her sole driving ambition since her dad had been killed. If she wasn't a hunter, she didn't know what she was going to do to honor his memory or do with the rest of her life.

A knock on her closed bedroom door interrupted her thoughts. "Come in," she said as she wiped the dampness of tears from her cheeks and shifted to sit cross legged against the headboard of her bed. She wasn't all that surprised when Sam opened the door and stepped into the room. He always knocked softly and waited for her acknowledgement before he entered. Dean, on the other hand, always knocked firmly and would barge in after waiting a few seconds.

Sam eyed her as he pulled the chair away from her desk and closer to where she sat on her bed. Rather than turn it around to face the bed, he straddled it and rested his folded arms on the back of the chair. He tilted his head slightly as he continued to study her face. "What's wrong?" he asked.

Krissy shook her head. "I've just got something on my mind," she said as she took another swipe at her lingering tears.

"Wanna talk about it?"

Krissy took a deep breath and sighed. "No, at least not right now. I still haven't figured it out enough to be able to put it into words."

Sam nodded and gave her a slight grin to show he understood. "Just know that when you're ready to talk about it, I'll listen. So will Dean or Jody, if you'd rather talk to one of them."

Krissy nodded. "I know, and I appreciate it." It was her turn to study Sam. "Um, was there something you wanted?"

Sam stood and stepped aside so he could turn the chair around and sit in it properly. Once he was seated again, he regarded the teenager in front of him with a serious expression on his face.

Krissy shifted and wracked her brain, trying to remember if she had done anything to get into trouble. "What?" she questioned uneasily.

"There's a little matter of a research paper and work on the library's card catalog that we need to discuss." Sam knew the moment Krissy realized what he was talking about.

"What about it?" she asked, not sure if she really wanted to know where this was going.

Sam leaned back in his chair. "Seems to me you've had plenty of time to get that paper written, but I haven't seen any evidence of you actually working on it."

"My arm," Krissy said as she reached up to run her other hand down the bandage that encircled her left upper arm.

"Hasn't prevented you from doing anything else you've wanted to do this week." Sam interrupted her before she could finish her protest. "Or did you think that because you were injured, I'd give you a pass on writing it?"

Krissy blushed slightly at the accuracy of his statement. Sam nodded and sat forward, pinning her with a hard look. "Today is Saturday. I expect that paper to be in my hand no later than 5:00 on Friday afternoon. If you don't have it to me by then, there will be consequences. Am I understood?"

"But school starts on Monday," she protested.

"It's early afternoon. You've got the rest of today and tomorrow to work on it, and school isn't going to take up much more than a couple hours of your time each day. No, Krissy, even with your lore training in the afternoons, you have plenty of time to get it done." He rose to his feet. "And next weekend you'll be putting in time on the card catalog to work off your debt." He eyed the television that still played in the background. "I suggest you get busy."

Krissy watched him leave the room and close the door behind him. She sighed heavily and picked up the remote to turn the TV off. She hoped her notes from the research she'd already done were still in her backpack. She hadn't seen them since before they'd left on the hunt. It would really suck to have to start all over again from the beginning.

XxxxxX XxxxxX XxxxxX XxxxxX

Krissy checked her video on her computer for the fifth time in fifteen minutes to verify that it was working and wouldn't show more of her room than she wanted. She had received an email the day before reminding her that her first online class session was at 8:30 that morning. It was an orientation session with one of the school counselors, and the email clearly made it known that students were expected to have their video on during the session.

She and Sam had had quite the discussion about the best place for her to set up so that her video wouldn't accidentally show something that would raise questions about where she was living. After ruling out the library for that reason, they'd ultimately decided to do it in her room at her desk. Her computer was angled so that it picked up only a corner of the foot of her bed and the wall beyond with its framed poster of a purple dragon lounging on a pile of books.

She checked the clock and saw that she still had another ten minutes before the first online session was scheduled to start. Seeing that she still had a few minutes before she could log in, she rose and began pacing the room. She didn't know why she was so nervous. It was just school, and it wasn't even in person.

She logged into the session a few minutes early and was surprised by the number of students who were already there. She counted fifteen other students in the conference. That seemed like a lot for such a small school system. Some of the students seemed to know each other and were chatting, while others, like her, were just listening in.

A thirtysomething black man who sported a goatee and short dreadlocks joined the group and introduced himself. "Good morning, everyone, we're missing a couple of people, so we'll give them time to join us before we get started. In the meantime, I wanted to introduce myself. My name is Alan Frazier, and I'm one of the counselors at Lebanon High School. I'm overseeing the homeschooling program for freshman and sophomore students."

A notification sounded as two more students logged into the session. "Great, everyone's here now, so we can get started. This session will be your homeroom, and we will meet every Monday at 8:30 to go over any announcements or changes to the program. We can also go over any issues you are having as a group. My contact information is in the email you received about this morning's session. Feel free to reach out to me if you have any issues you would like to discuss."

Krissy only half listened as Mr. Frazier went over how their homeschooling would work and the rules they needed to follow. She was paying more attention to the seventeen other boxes that were on the screen, watching what her classmates were doing.

Krissy's full intention was suddenly brought back to Mr. Frazier when she heard him say that they were all going to introduce themselves. "Tell us your name, whether you're local or you're joining us from outside the district, and one thing you'd like your classmates to know about you. It could be your favorite movie, your hobbies, what kind of pet you have, or anything else we might find interesting."

Krissy swallowed nervously. What could she tell them? That she was in training to be a hunter? She'd recently survived an attack by an ancient shape shifting shaman? That she lived in a real life batcave? Nobody would believe her, plus it would draw too many questions. She didn't have time to dwell on it for long though, until she was called on to take her turn.

"Um, hi," she said shyly. "My name is Krissy Chambers. I moved to Lebanon a few months ago, so I guess that means I'm local," she shrugged her shoulders self consciously. "And, um, I love to read," she blurted out before she had a chance to really think about it. She sighed in relief when she received a chorus of greetings from her classmates.

Mr. Frazier had called on the next student when a notification popped up that she had a message from someone. She opened it and read "I like your poster" from someone named Devin. She hadn't been paying attention as her classmates had introduced themselves, so she wasn't sure which of the other students pictured on the screen that was. She quickly typed back, "thanks. It has two of my favorite things -- books and dragons." She watched her classmates and spotted a boy with dark hair and an olive complexion look down like he was typing something. She moved her cursor over the image and smiled slightly when a box appeared identifying him as Devin P.

A new message popped up. "What's your favorite book about dragons?"

Krissy had to think a minute because her mind had gone blank. "Anne McCaffrey's Pern series," she typed. "The ones written by her rather than her children," she quickly added in a second message.

"Those are good," Devin responded. "Have you read the Inheritance Cycle series by Christopher Paolini?"

Before she could respond, she got another message. "Sounds like Mr. Frazier is winding up and is getting ready to let us go. Are you a freshman or sophomore?"

"Freshman. Why?" She typed back.

"Me, too. See you in English later," Devin responded and followed that with a smiley face emoji.

Krissy smiled and looked at Devin's image. He gave her a wink in acknowledgement before leaving the session. She shut down her own video and realized that she had no idea what Mr. Frazier had said after she had started chatting with Devin. She just hoped she hadn't missed anything important. She checked the time and saw it was a little past 9:00. According to the schedule she'd received, her other class that day, Freshman English, didn't start until 10:30. She had time to go get some breakfast and work on finishing her paper before it started.

Dean looked up as she walked into the kitchen. "What are you grinning about? Your first class go that well?" He sat back in his chair and watched as she went to the refrigerator and pulled out the carton of milk.

"It was just homeroom," she said as she went to the cabinet to grab the box of cereal and a bowl. "I think I might have made a friend."

"Really?" Dean sat up, suddenly intrigued.

"Really, what?" Sam asked as he walked into the room.

"Kid's already made a friend," Dean responded.

"You did? That's great. Who?" Sam asked.

"A guy named Devin. I don't know anything about him other than he's also a freshman and likes fantasy novels about dragons." She grabbed a spoon from the silverware drawer and carried her bowl of cereal to the table. "We didn't get the chance to chat much during homeroom. I don't know if he's local or not. Apparently, there are students from outside the local area who homeschool through that program. "

"Well, a shared interest is a good place to start," Sam stated as he poured a cup of coffee and came to join Dean and Krissy at the table. "But you're not to spend your class time chatting with your friends. You're there to learn. That means you pay attention to what the teacher is saying. Exchange information, and you can chat outside of class."

"Yes, sir," Krissy responded. At least neither of them had told her she couldn't chat with him, she thought as she spooned cereal into her mouth. Maybe if he was local, or at least didn't live too far away, they could get together and do something in person.

XxxxxX XxxxxX XxxxxX

Sam smiled as he walked up the steps into the library. Krissy was sitting at the table they typically used for her lore lessons. He watched as she looked at the computer screen in front of her, then wrote something in the notebook beside it. "Homework?" he asked as he approached the table and took a seat across from her.

"No, I'll do that later. I wanted to work on my paper," Krissy replied as she glanced up from the computer screen. She watched as Sam took a seat across from her and crossed his arms over his chest.

"I thought I told you no computers," Sam commented dryly as he gave her a hard look.

"No," Kristy said as she sat back in her chair and crossed her arms over her chest, imitating Sam. "You said I couldn't use a computer to do research and what I turned in to you has to be in my best handwriting. You didn't say I couldn't use my computer to organize my notes or do an outline."

Sam shook his head and blew a quick huff of air through his nose. The kid was right. The fact that she had outsmarted him bothered him more than he was willing to admit. "Looks like I'm going to have to be more specific in my instructions from now on." He studied her for a moment and was somewhat mollified when the look that briefly crossed Krissy's face was one of relief rather than smugness. "Either way, it's time to put it away so we can work on your knowledge of supernatural lore."

He watched as she closed the notebook she had been using then shut down her computer. "Did you get a chance to chat with your friend, Devin, before English class started?"

"No, he was a little late logging on. I just sent him a quick message with my information and asked him if he wanted to chat this evening around 4:30. He sent me a message back with his information and agreed."

Sam glanced at his watch and saw it was 2:30. "Guess we need to get busy, then, if you want to be finished in time to keep your date," he said in a light, teasing tone. Since it was her first day of school. He had planned a shorter lesson that shouldn't take more than an hour to an hour and a half to get through.

"It's not a date," Krissy commented as she left the table to retrieve her notebook and the book on supernatural creatures they'd been using from a nearby table.

Sam just shrugged his shoulders as if he didn't quite believe her, but was going to let it pass. The smirk on his lips clearly said that he was enjoying teasing her. "Okay," he said. "Since you've dealt with one recently, we're going to study shapeshifters today."

Krissy groaned as her arm throbbed at the mention of the creature that had wounded her, but she flipped through the tome in front of her until she came to the right chapter. "Alright, professor, what profound knowledge do you have to impart to me today?" she teased.

XxxxxX XxxxxX XxxxxX XxxxxX

It was 4:29, and Krissy was sitting on her bed staring at her phone. Sam's lesson on shapeshifters had gone quickly. He'd cut her loose a little before 4:00, but not before reminding her that her school work was to be done before she worked on his paper. She'd hurried back to her room with the intention of working on her English assignment that she hadn't yet started, but she was too nervous about the upcoming chat with Devin to concentrate on the assignment.

She was debating whether or not she should start the conversation when a message from Devin popped up. She grinned as she read, "hey, what's up?" It was such a simple message. But if she'd sent it, she'd have worried that she wasn't saying the right thing. Face it, she thought to herself, her social interaction with people her own age had been limited during the last several months, and she definitely felt out of practice.

"Not much. Just putting off starting that English assignment. What's up with you?" She typed back and hit send.

"Slacker," he sent back, along with an emoji showing that he was teasing her. "My mom makes me do the week's assignments right after class. Otherwise, I tend to forget them."

"My uncle isn't that bad, but he's promised dire consequences if I don't get the work done on time."

"Your uncle?" Devin messaged back.

"Yeah," Krissy responded. "My parents are dead, so I came to live with my uncles Sam and Dean this summer after I got into some trouble with the other family members I was living with." She debated about sending that message, wondering if she was giving too much information too soon. After all, she really didn't know Devin. Finally deciding that it would help with their cover story, she decided to send it.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have asked," was Devin's immediate reply.

"That's okay," she responded. "It is what it is, and you couldn't have known."

"What kind of trouble did you get into? Am I friends with a genuine juvenile delinquent?" Again the message was accompanied with an emoji face with tears of joy, showing that he was teasing her. "You don't have to answer that if you don't want to. I get that it could be something you don't want to share."

Krissy felt a flush of pleasure at being called his friend. "No, that's okay," she typed back. "I was living with one of my mom's cousins and his husband. We didn't get along, and I ran away. They decided I needed more 'structure and discipline' than they could give me. They called my uncles, who were my mom's younger half brothers and apparently grew up with a really strict dad. Anyway, my uncles tracked me down and then got custody of me." She sent the message and thought for a minute before continuing. "They can be serious assholes sometimes, but they're kinda cool sometimes, too."

She hit send, then thought for a minute before typing again. "So, what's your story?"

"Not nearly as interesting as yours. I've lived in Lebanon all my life. I learn differently than how they tend to teach in the classroom, and I get distracted easily. I've been homeschooling since the seventh grade."

Krissy read his response and sighed. It seemed so normal. She began typing, "my uncles both travel for their work. They decided to enroll me in homeschool in case they both have to be gone at the same time and I have to go with one of them. That way I won't have to miss school."

"That's cool," Devin responded. She was a little surprised that he didn't ask what her uncles did for a living. "What classes are you taking besides English?"

She told him and couldn't help the smile that crossed her face when he told her the only class they didn't have together was her Spanish class. He was taking Latin instead.

Krissy was getting ready to type another message when there was a knock on her bedroom door and Dean stuck his head in without waiting for an invitation. "Dinner will be ready in ten minutes. Be at the table." He didn't wait for her response before withdrawing and closing the door.

"I gotta go," she texted Devin. "Dinner's almost ready."

"Okay, if I don't talk to you later, I'll see you in Algebra tomorrow."

Krissy started to close the texting app when another quick message came from Devin. "Oh, in case you missed it, Mr. Frazier has reserved a room at the public library for Thursdays at 2:00. Those of us who live locally can meet up there and use it as sort of a study hall. The sophomores have a different day and time, so it would just be the freshmen. It starts next week. Hopefully, I'll see you there."

Krissy grinned. "Definitely! See you tomorrow." Now she would just have to convince Sam or Dean to let her go. That was still on her mind when she entered the kitchen a few minutes later.

"How'd your chat go?" Sam asked as she sat down at the table just as Dean sat an aluminum pan of pre-made lasagna on the table.

Krissy held her plate out for Dean to dish up a serving of lasagna and put her plate back on the table as she considered what she wanted to share. "It was good. I think Devin and I are going to be friends." She reached for the bowl of salad Sam had put together to go with their meal.

She took a bite and chewed as she contemplated how she wanted to broach the subject of study hall at the library. She really didn't want Sam to know she'd learned about it from Devin rather than during her homeroom session earlier that morning. She swallowed and picked up her glass to take a drink of water. "I forgot to mention it, but Mr. Frazier has reserved a room for us at the library to use as a study hall on Thursday afternoons. Can I go?"

Dean gestured toward Sam to indicate it was the younger man's decision. Sam studied her for a moment p, watching as she squirmed a little in her seat. "We'll see."

"Saaaam, please."

"I said we'll see," Sam repeated in a slightly firmer tone. "It depends largely on whether we're here or gone for a hunt, as well as how you behave between now and then."

Krissy huffed and sat back in her seat, and Sam's expression hardened. "If you want to act that way about it, the answer is going to be no," he stated.

"Fine," Krissy replied, trying and not completely succeeding in keeping the snippiness out of her voice.

XxxxxX XxxxxX XxxxxX XxxxxX

Krissy quickly muted her microphone at the light knock on her closed bedroom door. Her last class of the week was over, and she was participating in a group chat with the other local freshmen. Devin had set it up to introduce her to them. The others had become good friends through the shared experience of homeschooling, and had been willing to open their group to another member.

Sam entered her room a moment later and handed her the notebook containing the research paper she'd turned in to him the evening before. He raised his eyebrow in question at the group displayed on her computer screen. To his knowledge, her last class had already ended.

"I'm just getting to know some of my classmates," Krissy explained quickly.

"That's good," Sam responded as he glanced at the screen. "I made some comments and notes on your paper. Look them over, then come find me to talk about it."

Krissy nodded. "Okay," she responded quickly as she dropped the notebook onto her desk before she glanced back at her computer screen. She hoped Sam would take the hint and leave her room.

Sam had understood her pointed hint, but he chose to ignore it for a moment. "How's your homework going?" He was concerned that she had been neglecting it for more attractive activities, and he wanted to nip that problem in the bud.

"I've got most of it done. I just need to finish the Earth Science assignment and do the Geography homework that was assigned today." The lie came easily, and she didn't see how she would be found out. She had actually done very little of it, but was confident it would be finished and submitted by the deadline for each class.

Again, Sam nodded as he turned to head toward her bedroom door. "Sounds good. Enjoy your chat, and don't forget to come find me to talk about your paper." He slipped out the door and closed it behind himself.

"Sorry about that," Krissy apologized as she turned her computer's microphone back on. She shrugged to indicate that she really hadn't had a choice.

"Who was that?" a girl named Shelby asked in a curious voice.

"Oh," Krissy was a little surprised by the question. "That was Sam, one of my uncles." She hadn't given the others as much information as she'd given Devin. She had only told them that she had moved to Lebanon over the summer to live with her uncles. She hadn't gotten the same sense of trust with the others that she'd immediately had with Devin, so she was going to be a bit more careful about what she shared with them.

"Well, your Uncle Sam is hot," Shelby responded. Zoe, the other girl in the small group nodded her agreement.

Krissy just shrugged in response. She'd never really thought about him or Dean that way, even before they'd become her unofficial guardians. "He's a bit of an asshole, and my other uncle is even worse," she commented.

"They can't be that bad," Zoe commented.

"Well, not all the time," Krissy conceded. "Sam can be pretty cool at times, but they both have their moments."

"Why did you come to live with them?" The question had been asked by Micha, the remaining member of their small group.

Krissy swallowed heavily. She had shared the information with Devin, but she didn't know if she wanted to share it with the others.

Micha noticed her discomfort, and he quickly held up his hand. "Hey, if you don't want to tell us, you don't have to. I was just curious."

"That's okay. My mom died when I was little, and my dad died a couple of years ago. I'd been living with a cousin, but we didn't get along. I got into some trouble, so they thought I'd be better off with my uncles. I came here over the summer."

She saw the pity in Shelby's and Zoe's eyes and the support in Devin's. Micha winced. "I'm sorry," he said, "I shouldn't have asked about something so personal."

Krissy gave him a quick smile. "It really is okay that you asked me about it. If I didn't want to say anything, I wouldn't have. Something you'll learn about me is that I don't often do anything I don't want to do." She grinned a little at that. "And that's one of the reasons I'm here."

"You go girl!" Shelby said as a grin spread across her face.

XxxxxX XxxxxX XxxxxX XxxxxX XxxxxX

It was late afternoon before Krissy picked up the notebook Sam had returned to her and opened it. She'd spent the earlier part of the afternoon doing her geography homework. It was finished, and she just needed to use the scanner on Sam's printer to be able to upload it and submit it to her teacher.

Sighing heavily, she opened the cover of the notebook and immediately spotted a note written in Sam's neat handwriting at the top of the page. It read, "I've made some corrections and comments. Come see me to talk about them after you've reviewed them."

She looked through the pages. There were a few corrections to her grammar and a number of places where Sam had suggested breaking up long sentences or paragraphs into multiple shorter ones to make the information easier to read and understand. Those didn't bother her as they were technical corrections. What really bothered her, though, were the critiques about the quality of her work. She'd put a lot of effort into writing it, and Sam's comments sprinkled throughout the twenty page paper about poorly concluded paragraphs and unsupported statements just rubbed her the wrong way. She couldn't have said why, but his critiques felt like a personal attack.

She practically growled as she slapped the notebook closed and tossed onto her desk as she stood up. She wanted something to drink. Maybe if she was lucky, neither Sam nor Dean would be in the kitchen and she could sneak a beer. She'd gotten away with it a few times before, and she was sure she could get away with it again if she was careful.

She was quiet as she made her way to the kitchen. She'd heard music coming from Dean's room, so she felt safe that he wouldn't be making his way to the kitchen in the next few minutes. She entered the large room and grinned when she saw it was empty. She quickly made her way to the industrial sized refrigerator and glanced over her shoulder to make sure she was still alone in the room before she pulled open the door. She reached in and pulled a bottle from the cardboard carton and nearly jumped out of her skin when a stern voice from right behind her ordered her to put it back.

She nearly dropped the bottle as she spun around to face Sam. "Um …" Her mind raced as she tried to come up with an excuse for being caught red handed holding the beer bottle.

Sam eyed her and crossed his arms over his chest. "Put it back," he repeated as he nodded in the direction of the still open refrigerator door. "I'm not going to tell you again." The threat of unpleasant consequences if she didn't comply was left unsaid.

He watched as Krissy turned and put the beer back in the carton and grabbed a can of soda instead. He nodded in approval before asking, "Did you take a look at my comments on your paper?"

She huffed, causing him to raise an eyebrow. "Yeah," was all she said.

Sam studied her for a moment before sighing. "Go get your notebook, and we'll talk about them," he directed. He sighed when she just crossed her arms over her chest. "Really, Krissy? You're giving me attitude over this? You have to know that there's only way this is going to play out if you keep it up. Is that what you want?"

Krissy didn't say anything as she turned on her heel and stalked from the room. She stopped and turned back to glare at Sam when he called her name.

"Get your notebook and bring it back here. You've got five minutes, and I advise you to lose this attitude. I don't know where it came from, but you'd better lose it fast."

She didn't say anything as turned around. But she muttered, "maybe I wouldn't have this attitude if you hadn't ripped my paper to shreds," under her breath as she left the kitchen.

"Hold it right there," Sam said sternly before she got two feet into the hallway. "Get your ass back here!" He pointed to the space in front of him. "Now!" he ordered when she didn't move.

She turned and dragged her feet back to the point Sam had indicated. He grabbed her arm and turned her to the side before landing a stinging swat on her backside. "Keep it up, and you'll be very sorry. Now, do you want to repeat what you just said?" He asked when he turned her back around.

"No, sir," Krissy responded quietly. This was not how she had planned this to go.

Sam nodded. "Go get your notebook and bring it back here, so we can discuss your paper."

He watched as Krissy turned and headed back out of the kitchen toward her room. He sighed heavily and glanced longingly at the refrigerator. He really wanted a beer now, but he was going to have to settle for coffee at the moment. Thankfully, the last pot hadn't been dumped yet. He filled a ceramic mug with the dark brew and stuck it in the microwave to warm up.

He was sitting at the table sipping the now hot liquid when Krissy returned to the kitchen. She dropped the notebook onto the table and sat down across from him. "What did you mean when you said I ripped your paper apart?" Sam asked after he'd studied her for a moment.

Krissy sat back and crossed her arms over her chest. "You kept pointing out the places where I'd screwed up."

Sam huffed out a heavy breath through his nose and rubbed his hands over his face. "Krissy," he said softly, "my notes on your paper weren't meant against you personally. Your paper was good, but I wanted to help you become a better writer. I had a professor do that for me in college, and I wanted to do it for you."

"Would have been nice if you'd told me beforehand," Krissy grumbled.

"That's why I asked you to come find me after you looked over my notes." Sam paused to let his words sink in for a moment. "I hadn't intended to make you rewrite the paper based on my comments, but with this attitude you just treated me to, I've changed my mind."

"But," Krissy started to say, but she was interrupted before she could finish her protest.

"However," Sam continued as if she hadn't started to say something. "This time you can use your computer to type it. I think you've learned your lesson by handwriting it, so this re-write is to teach you to keep your attitude in check and not make assumptions. You have until bedtime on Sunday to turn it into me. You're still doing your time in the library tomorrow, but you should have plenty of time to do it on Sunday."

"But," Krissy continued again. "I won't have time to get it done by then, I have to," she suddenly stopped as she realized the implications of what she was about to say.

Sam eyed her suspiciously. "You have to do what?" he asked. "Krissy," he said in a stern voice when she didn't respond. "Answer my question."

"I have to do all of my homework," she admitted in a quiet voice.

"You have to do all of your homework," Sam repeated. His face grew harder with each word. "I thought you told me earlier that you had already finished most of it and only had part of your Earth Sciences and your Geography assign left to do."

Krissy winced at the tone of Sam's voice. It never boded well for her when he used it. "I, uh, may have exaggerated a bit."

"Uh huh," Sam said. "Sounds to me like you lied to me about it. What have you done this week instead of doing your school work like you knew you should have done?"

"Other stuff."

"What other stuff, Krissy. Be more specific," Sam directed sternly.

"I worked on the paper," Krissy said, hoping he would be satisfied with that answer.

"And maybe spent your time chatting with your friends and watching tv?" Sam questioned.

Krissy nodded slightly in response. Tears were already forming in her eyes.

"No, I want to hear you say it. You committed the crime, own up to it."

"Yes, sir." Krissy hoped that showing some respect would win her a little leniency.

"Go get your phone and bring it here. You're grounded for a week for not doing your homework. That's a bad way to start off the school year, young lady," Sam commented.

Krissy stood and reached into the back pocket of her jeans and pulled out her cell phone. "Here," she said, holding it out to Sam.

Sam nodded and took the phone from her hand. "You are to finish your homework and bring it to me to review by dinner on Sunday. You are still doing your time in the library tomorrow. Until I say otherwise, you are to finish your homework for each class on the day it is assigned, regardless of where we are or what we might be doing. You are to bring it to me when it is finished so I can review it. Is that understood?" He asked.

"Yes, sir," Krissy responded quietly.

"Good. Now, go to your room. I'll be there shortly to discuss your lying to me when you told me you'd already finished your homework. I suggest you get started on it while you wait for me. "

TBC