Page 69 of Fool Me Twice

“Thank you.” I glanced around the room, looking for Sebastián, but didn’t see him anywhere.

In the next office, the principal shook my hand and gestured to a chair across from his desk.

“Thank you.” My anxiety level made sitting feel near impossible, but I planted my butt on the chair anyway. “I’m sorry Sebastián’s father cannot be here.”

“That is fine. I understand that he is a very busy man.” Mr. Rocha smiled at me, but there was tension there. “I’m not sure how much you know about Sebastián’s history at our school, but his behavior this year is unprecedented.”

“He’s so sweet at home. So smart and attentive. Hearing that he’s been fighting is such a shock.”

The principal inclined his head. “Yes, I can understand that.”

“Is it… is it possible that he was defending himself?”

I didn’t want to be one of those people who refused to believe that their precious angels could do anything wrong, but I needed to approach this situation from all angles. I didn’t want undue blame falling on Sebastián’s shoulders.

“We have footage of the fight,” Mr. Rocha said. “Sebastián actually approached another student and shoved him first.”

“Oh,” I breathed, my spirits sinking.

He sighed. “He is welcome to return to school tomorrow. I do recommend that he see a counselor.”

“Yes. That’s a good idea.” I shook my head. “Please forgive me for being ignorant. I’m new to the household, but… is there anything happening at school that could be bothering him? Making him this aggressive? I know that his grades have been poor.”

“That is another concern, yes.” Mr. Rocha spread his hands. “We keep a very close eye on our students here. We are the highest-rated private school in Rio de Janeiro, and our students score very high in happiness and satisfaction. There is also no possibility of harassment here, if that’s what you are thinking. We make sure that there is no one-on-one time between students and teachers, and the students are always supervised in order to prevent peer abuse.”

I breathed a sigh of relief. “Thank you,” I said. “I’ll talk to his father about counseling. Where is he now?”

“Right this way.”

Mr. Rocha opened a side door and led me into a hallway. There, Sebastián sat on a bench, his shoulders slumped forward. At the sight of me, he straightened up.

My disappointment must have been splashed across my face, though, because as soon as he saw my eyes he withered.

“Hi,” I said, not knowing where else to start. I wasn’t his parent and it wasn’t my place to discipline him.

So I offered him my hand, which he took gratefully.

“Thank you, Mr. Rocha,” I told the principal, and walked Sebastián to the car.

He waited until we were in the back seat and the driver was zipping away from school to speak. “Where is my dad? Why didn’t he come?”

“He’s in a meeting, and it looks like he forgot his cell phone in his office. He would be here if he knew what was happening.”

Sebastián stared at his feet.

“Whatdidhappen?” I asked.

“I don’t know.”

“You don’t know.” I nodded and looked out the window. “Okay.”

“Are we going home?”

“I have to return to the office, so you’ll just have to come with me.”

“Is my dad there?”

“He will be soon.”