Cheat
Amy asked for a oneshot of Neal cheating several times on tests and Snow confronting him.
Neal sat in stony silence in the back of his mom's car. Snow was in no great mood herself. In fact, she was completely mortified.
"That is the third time Neal." She said, breaking the wall of silence between her and her son. "The third time Mr Jeudy has called me saying that you were caught cheating on your algebra assignment. They're not letting you resit this time. Three strikes and you're out Neal. That's it, you've blown it." Snow looked up in her rear view mirror, Neal was giving her no response what so ever. "Neal Leopold we are discussing this. You will tell me why you decided to make such bad choices rather than actually study for the test."
"I don't know ok?" Neal snapped. "Can you just get off my back?" Snow's eyes narrowed dangerously.
"You take that tone with me again young man and there are going to be serious repercussions." She warned him. Snow took a deep breath, calming herself. "Why'd you do it Neal?" She asked, the disappointment clear. "You're a smart boy, you're getting good grades in all your other subjects. Why did you cheat on this one?"
"Because I suck at maths, alright? I don't get it at all. I know how much you and dad hate it when I do badly on tests so I tried to do well." Neal finally admitted. Snow pulled over at the first opportunity and turned round to face Neal.
"Neal, your father and I only want to know that you're trying your best. We only get upset when you don't perform to the standards we know you're capable of. You should have said that you were struggling with algebra and we would have gotten you a tutor or something. Neal you know cheating is never the answer."
"I didn't know what else to do." Neal said, and Snow could easily hear the hopelessness in his voice.
"Talk to someone." Snow answered him. "It doesn't have to be me or your dad, or even your sister. Just an adult that you trust. I'll call my Jeudy tomorrow and explain the situation, see if he'll give you one last chance. But Neal you need to promise me that you will never do something so reckless again, ok?"
"Ok." Neal promised. "For what it's worth, I am sorry." He added.
"I know you are." Snow said as she started the engine again. "And your apology is accepted, but you're still grounded for a week. You can use it as extra study time. She knew he hadn't done it out of laziness, but she still had to send the message across.