Archive of Our Own

Chapter Text

Emergency Faculty Meeting
March 6, 11:52 AM

“Look at this,” John murmured solemnly, sliding the newspaper across the table.

“I do not wish to see it. I cannot read it again. I can’t even think about it again.”

“Geoff, just look. You really need to see this.”

Geoff sighed, dragging the paper toward himself. He looked down, and there, splashed across on the front page, taking up nearly all of the space above the fold, was a black and white picture of Geoff… and Awsten.

Room 121
February 17, 8:16 AM

The classroom door flew open. Every student’s eyes slid toward the kid with purple hair carrying a coffee tray and smacking a bright pink wad of gum between his teeth.

“Welcome. Glad you could join us, Awsten,” Mr. W commented softly, just like he did every morning when Awsten waltzed in long after the bell had rung.

“Ya miss me?” Awsten grinned.

“Of course,” Mr. W replied. No one cared more about their students than Mr. Wigington - although this time, Awsten caught him glancing wearily at the clock before he marked Awsten tardy. More than fifteen minutes late today - that would warrant some kind of punishment for sure.

Awsten winked at his friend Alex as he made his way to his chair. “Caramel latte for Chloe,” he announced, pausing halfway through the sea of desks to pass a pretty girl a drink.

“Aw! Thanks, Awsten,” she smiled.

“No problem. Black coffee for Alex…” He handed the cup to his friend and then put another one on his own desk. “Hot chocolate with extra whipped cream for me…” He turned around, one drink left in the tray. “Who wants an iced mocha?” 

Hands shot up, but Awsten held the Starbucks cup out to their teacher. “Mr. W?”

“No, thank you. I would just like to resume teaching,” he replied, but he didn’t sound angry.

Awsten ignored the pleas of, “Me, me!” and strode back up to the desk. “Here; you can have it.” He set the coffee down and tossed the tray toward the garbage from at least twelve feet away. Naturally, he missed, and he laughed loudly and jogged over to put it in.

“Recycling,” Mr. W murmured.

“What?”

“It is composed of cardboard. Please put it into the recycling bin.”

“Oh. Sure.” Awsten dumped it in the trash.

A couple of kids laughed, but most of them just stared.

Mr. W was the only teacher in the entire high school who hadn’t given Awsten a detention yet, which meant that Awsten was on a mission to really earn it. He took his time walking to his seat and then slid into his desk.

“You didn’t bring your backpack?” Alex inquired in a whisper.

Awsten replied at normal volume. “Fuck no.”

“You want some paper?”

“Fuck no,” Awsten repeated.

Alex snorted and shrugged one shoulder. “Alright.”

“Hey, how’s the coffee?”

“Awsten,” Mr. W warned softly.

“Sorry!”

He wasn’t sorry, though. He talked through the rest of the period, completely ignored the discussion, and, toward the end, started bothering the kids in the row in front of him with his feet.

“Awsten,” Mr. W finally murmured, “please leave your friends alone.”

Awsten smirked. “Kay.”

When class finally ended, Mr. W stopped Awsten at the door and kept him until everyone had trickled out. “I understand that you are being kind, bringing treats for your friends, but it’s making you tardy, and I do not want you to miss any information. You know that you have an examination tomorrow, so it is-”

“We do?" Awsten interrupted. “Wait, on what?”

Mr. W gave him a patient but slightly frustrated smile. “I just spent the last several minutes going over it, Awsten. You will have to check with one of your peers.”

Awsten did feel a little guilty about that. “Oh.”

“Your coming in late truly is a distraction to the other students,” Mr. W continued. “If it was solely affecting you, I wouldn’t say anything since you are a senior; you are old enough now to be responsible for yourself. But Awsten, it is difficult for everyone to maintain their focus when you come in halfway through the lesson and make everything pause. You are very self-aware, so I know that you know better than that.”

Awsten looked down at his feet. He’d meant to anger Mr. W, not disappoint him…

"I am just letting you know that it needs to stop," Mr. W told him. “You are not in any trouble.”

Of course not. “I know,” Awsten mumbled.

“Alright. It is nearly time for your next class, but please remember that the test is tomorrow. Taylor takes good notes. If you speak with her kindly, she may just be willing to help you.”

Awsten forced a cheesy smile, nodded, and headed out the door.

“What did he say?” Alex asked. He’d hung back to wait even though they didn’t have second period together.

“That when I show up late I’m a 'distraction.'”

Alex winced.

“Whatever. He still didn’t give me a detention.”

“Okay,” he sighed.

Something about Alex’s tone got Awsten to look at him as they navigated the hall. "What?"

“Dude, Mr. W is everybody’s favorite teacher for a reason. You know that, right?”

“Duh.”

“So why are you trying to make him hate you?”

Cause all the other grown-ups do, and he doesn’t, and it’s weird. “I don’t know.”

“Well, I kinda think you should stop,” Alex confessed. “He’s really nice, and he’s actually a good teacher. He wants you to do well even though you treat him li-”

“I don’t treat him like anything,” Awsten interrupted with a fake laugh. “Go to math. I’ll see you later.”

“Awst-”

Awsten pushed past Alex and kept walking.

Teacher’s Lounge
February 17, 9:02 AM

“How was your first period? Was Grapes late again?”

“As always,” Geoff sighed. He wasn’t usually one to offer up information, but Awsten’s behavior had been growing stranger, so he added, “Do you recall when I told you that he brings coffee in for the other students sometimes?”

“Yeah.”

“He brought one for me today, as well.”

John laughed. “You think he might be trying to butter you up? Keep out of trouble?”

“No, I don’t believe so,” Geoff responded truthfully. “He seemed the same as always.”

“Crazy,” John supplied.

"No," Geoff replied, but he didn't say anything else.

John shrugged and then asked, “You’re giving them the Slaughterhouse-Five test tomorrow, right?”

Geoff hummed, absently stirring his coffee. “Yes, I am. I conducted a brief review at the end of the period and allowed them to ask their questions, and afterward, I called Awsten up to have a word with me.”

“You what?” John asked incredulously.

“While we were speaking, I mentioned the exam, and he said, ‘We have an exam? On what?’" Geoff shook his head. "I thought I might just topple over.”

“I can’t believe you talked to him after class!” John exclaimed.

“Why do you look so pleased about that?”

“Because! You’re taking a stand!”

“I am not 'taking a stand,'” Geoff huffed. “I was merely reminding him that there are seven other students in the class as well and that he needs to be considerate of th-”

“You are!” John crowed. “You’re taking a stand! Hell yeah, man.” He punched Geoff amiably in the shoulder. “I’m so proud of you. He needs it.”

“He seems like a kind person beneath his exterior.”

John barked a laugh. “Right. And I’m a sexy French girl.”

“That is repulsive,” Geoff replied with a hesitant smile.

Room 121
February 18, 8:04 AM

“Ah, just in time. I am glad that you could join us,” Mr. W noted to Awsten. “Please take a seat.”

Oh, fuck. As soon as Awsten left Mr. W's room yesterday, he had forgotten all about the test. He wasn’t even sure what book he was supposed to have read. While Mr. W started passing out papers, Awsten headed to the back row, trying to decide whether or not he cared that he was definitely going to bomb this.

“As always, if you have any questions, please raise your hand and I will come to you. Just relax, take your time, and remember: nothing on this exam is intended to trick you. I am confident that all of you are going to do an excellent job.”

Awsten kept his eyes cast down as Mr. W spoke; he understood that the encouragement and pep talk didn’t apply to him. God, he hated getting like this. It didn’t even make sense. He was supposed to not care that he would fail. That’s what everyone else thought about him, but there was no denying that it sucked getting Ds and Fs back on all his papers. He wished he would have tried. But he also knew that come next test, he’d probably be in exactly the same boat.

Michael handed Awsten the last test from the stack Mr. W had given the row, and Awsten scribbled his name in the top corner.

1. On the last page of chapter one, Vonnegut writes that his book is ________.
          a. a success
          b. a failure

2. What is the nickname that Weary comes up with for himself and the group?
          a. The Three Musketeers
          b. The Protectors
          c. Alpha Team

3. What title does the narrator agree to call his novel to appease Bernard V. O'Hare's wife Mary O'Hare?
          a. My Time in the War
          b. To Dresden and Back
          c. The Children's Crusade
          d. Slaughterhouse-Five

4. Which of the following phrases is repeated throughout the novel?
          a. What will be will be.
          b. Breathe in, breathe out.
          c. Everything will be alright.
          d. So it goes.

5. Which best describes the Tralfamadorians’ appearance?
          a. They are invisible to Billy, and he can only sense their presence
          b. Thin, grey men with fly-like eyes
          c. Shiny, silver, mechanical-looking creatures
          d. Two feet high, green, and shaped like plungers

Awsten stopped reading at that point and dropped his head into his hands. Goddamn it. He didn’t know fucking any of this. He wasn’t about to try to cheat, though; that would get him far more than detention, and he’d never forgive himself if he got Alex in trouble, too.

Awsten took several deep breaths and tried to tune out the sound of pencils scratching on paper. It was so quiet in the room that he could hear the clock ticking overhead. When he glanced up, Mr. W was staring right at him with a concerned expression on his face, so Awsten quickly looked back down and started re-reading the questions on the test.

Room 121
February 18, 4:39 PM

Geoff pursed his lips as he looked down at Awsten’s exam. He had saved it for last, which probably hadn’t been a good idea, because Geoff had a feeling that he’d be left with a sour taste in his mouth. If the boy’s unusually quiet, closed demeanor as he exited the classroom was any indication of how the exam went, this was not going to be good. Geoff hoped that his green pen wouldn’t run out of ink. (He never graded in red.)

Question one: wrong.

Two: wrong.

Three: wrong.

Geoff breezed through the pages, marking nearly every answer incorrect. He dreaded turning the packet over to the free response section. The rest of the class had done exceptionally well - six As and one B - but Geoff had a strong suspicion that Awsten hadn’t even cracked open the book.

The first open-ended question read, “The colors of the banners flying on the POW train and the colors of the tent set up for Billy's daughter's wedding are orange and black. What is the significance of these colors in the novel?”

Awsten had doodled a little jack-o-lantern, a lollipop, and a few pieces of candy corn in lieu of a response. Geoff drew a line through the art and, since the second one had been left entirely blank, moved on to the final question. 

“Briefly discuss the paradox of free will and predestination. In the novel, is anyone able to exercise free will, or are all things pre-determined? How do you think Kilgore Trout would answer this question?”

Awsten’s only response was a small, I’m sorry.

Geoff rubbed a hand over his forehead and turned in his chair so he could face the computer. He jiggled the mouse, bringing the monitor to life, and reluctantly composed an email to the school counselor.

Room 121
February 19, 8:03 AM

“HEY,” Awsten half-shouted, bursting into the classroom.

Mr. W looked up at him in surprise. Awsten briefly wondered whether it was due to the fact that he was relatively early or because he’d taken that tone so early in the morning. “Awsten?”

“Are you fucking kidding me?”

The class went dead silent, and every eye was trained on either Awsten or his teacher.

Mr. W slowly set down the book he’d been holding. He asked calmly, “Pardon me?”

Awsten crossed his arms tightly over his chest. “You know what you did. Why the hell-”

“Awsten, take a breath, please. You will not speak to me like that."

“I'll talk to you any way I want! You told Miss Harrison about my fucking test?!”

“I would be happy to discuss that with you after class, but this is inappropriate. If this conversation is going to continue, you need to choose your words more carefully-"

“No, I’m not waiting til after class! Why the fuck would you do that to me?”

Hesitantly, Alex spoke up. “Awsten...”

Awsten whipped his head toward him with a wild look in his eyes, and he felt a vague satisfaction at the shock on Alex's face. “He told Miss Harrison about my test,” Awsten spat, “and she sent me an email this morning and copied my parents on it. My parents, Alex.”

Alex swallowed, and Awsten could see understanding dawn on his face. Quietly, Alex began, “Do you want to go to the l-”

“No. I want this piece of shit to explain what the fuck he was thinking,” he snapped, cutting Alex off and whirling back around to face Mr. W.

There was a collective gasp from the class, and Mr. W said evenly, “Awsten. Detention.”

Awsten flung his hands into the air. “Are you fucking kidding me? Oh my god, now you give me detention?”

“That is two detentions. Would you like to continue?”

Awsten blew out a breath and turned on his heel, stalking back out and slamming the door.

The Hallway Outside Room 215
February 19, 8:58 AM

Geoff had been on the way to the office to report the incident with Awsten before one of the students - or, god forbid, one of their parents - could, but he paused outside of a classroom door when he overheard Alex mention Awsten’s name.

“What?”

“Yeah. And then he said all calm that he hopes none of us ever talk to our teachers like that, and then he went back to talking about the new book like nothing even happened.”

“And Awsten never came back?” 

Geoff recognized the voice as Otto Wood's. He figured that Alex must have shaken his head, because the next sentence was Otto's as well.

“Crap."

There was a beat, and then Alex wondered timidly, "Do you think he’s gonna be in band later?”

Otto sighed. “No, dude, I don’t think so. He always bails when something goes wrong."

"I texted him a couple times, and I even called and left a message, but he’s not answering.  You think he went to his spot?”

“Yeah. We're at school, so he doesn't have anywhere else to go right now.” 

The pair fell quiet for a moment, each lost in thought. Then Alex muttered, “I hope he’s okay.”

As bad as that morning had been, Geoff hoped so, too. Students never acted out the way Awsten had unless there was something bigger going on.  Geoff dragged himself to the front office, knowing that whatever had been bothering Awsten… well, he was about to make it worse.

The Lake
February 19, 9:06 AM

Awsten angrily fired a pebble into the water, finally looking up from his knees. He brushed off his calves, which were drawn up against his body as he sat in the grass, and stared at the ripples he'd created. Fucking Lakeview. He wished he hated the town as much as he was supposed to, but he didn’t. It had always been comforting, not too much of one thing or another.

This morning, on the other hand, had been too much of everything. How was Awsten ever supposed to go back to Lakeview High after that?

He’d rushed to school, cursed Mr. W out in front of the entire class, and sped all the way to the lake. Yeah. Even if they didn’t suspend him, he was never going back. Whatever the school would do to him was nothing compared to the punishment he'd receive from his parents if they found out what had happened. He should probably just run away. It wasn't like anybody would really care anyway except Alex and Otto, but they had other friends. There was no way Mr. W would ever want to lay eyes on him again.

Congratulations, Awsten. You got exactly what you wanted.

Desperate for a distraction, Awsten turned over his phone. The screen was a little wet from the grass, so he wiped it off on the bottom of his shirt before he scanned his notifications. A bunch of worried texts, missed calls, and voicemails from both Alex and Otto, and two missed calls from… Why did Awsten recognize that number?

“Two two one four…” he read aloud, and then he groaned. “Fuck!” That was the school. And if they were calling him… They’d definitely called his parents, too. 

Hopelessly, frustratedly, furiously, Awsten smashed a fist into the grass.

Room 121
February 19, 3:47 PM

Geoff’s desk phone rang. He looked down and saw Annie Harrison’s name stamped on the small display screen, but he had a circle of kids gathered in his room for Creative Writing Club, so he silenced it instead of answering. Not a single one of the students had looked up from their papers. Geoff couldn’t help but give the group a fond smile; he loved how lost they all got in their stories. 

The phone automatically sent the counselor's call to voicemail, and it soon began flashing with a message notification. Geoff turned the volume down to the lowest setting and lifted to the receiver to his ear. 

“Hey, Geoff, it’s Annie. I know you had given Awsten Knight a detention for today, and I’ve spoken with the front office; they explained what happened this morning. Awsten was marked absent from all of his classes today, and he didn’t show up for detention, either.” She sighed. “I’m not sure what’s going on with him, but, um. I just wanted to let you know. Feel free to call me back. Alright. Bye.”

Geoff set the phone back in its cradle and composed another email to her instead.

Hello, Annie.
Thank you for the update. I have students in my room, so I am unable to call back at the moment, but I would like to inform you that I overheard some of Awsten’s friends this morning. They mentioned that Awsten was not responding when they reached out, and they seemed concerned.
Is there something that I should do?
GW

The response came just moments later.

Hi Geoff,
Thanks for sharing that with me. Unless we have explicit knowledge that he’s in immediate danger, no, we’ll just have to wait until tomorrow and see what happens.
Annie Harrison, LPC

But the next day, Awsten was nowhere to be found. Geoff wanted to believe that the boy had just been trying to avoid his consequence, but Awsten had spent enough time carrying around detention slips to know that the system didn’t work like that. The punishment would still be waiting for him when he returned to school.

Alex grew visibly worried when Awsten didn’t come strutting into first period after five minutes. Or ten. Or thirty.

Geoff called him over to his desk at the end of class. “Alex, are you alright?”

He nodded distractedly.

“You look anxious,” Geoff told him softly.

Alex bit his lip and tugged on one of the straps of his backpack.

Geoff dropped his voice. “I couldn't help but notice that you stared at the classroom door for the majority of the period,” he gently admitted.

“Um, yeah. We… None of us heard from Awsten after he left yesterday.”

“All day?”

“Yeah. Not this morning, either.”

That didn’t sound good.

“Is he in, like, a lot of trouble?” Alex pressed. “For what he said to you? Cause he’s…” Alex trailed off, looking like he was trying to figure out how much to say. “He doesn’t like to get in trouble.”

Geoff raised his eyebrows. Awsten had detention nearly every day.

“Real trouble,” Alex clarified.

As though detention didn’t count as real trouble.

“You know, stuff they write home about. That’s - that’s why he was all crazy yesterday. I know he shouldn’t have said all that stuff to you, but I promise he’s really sorry. He’s just scared.”

“Scared? Of what?”

Alex faltered. “Um, I told you. He doesn’t like to get in trouble.”

Geoff nodded, watching Alex carefully. “Well, please let me know if you hear from him, yes?”

“Yeah. I will.”

“Alright.” Geoff watched Alex retreat, but it didn't feel right letting him go when he was so stressed and upset. “And Alex?”

The boy turned.

“If you need anything, or your friends need anything - someone to talk to, or perhaps a place to spend time - my door is always open.”

Alex fumbled with his fingers and looked down at the floor. “I…” He swallowed. “His parents are really awful.”

“Awsten’s parents?”

Alex nodded.

Geoff hadn't necessarily meant right that moment, but he was more than glad that Alex had decided to open up to him. “Come,” Geoff instructed, getting up and motioning to two desks in the front row. The pair sat side by side, and Alex let his backpack fall off of his shoulder and onto the ground.

“I know I haven't been in Lakeview too long, but - wait, won’t someone come in?”

Geoff shook his head. “No, this is my free period.”

“Oh, okay. Um, well yeah, just... His parents aren’t great.”

“Could you elaborate?” Geoff prompted kindly.

Alex shrugged. “They’re not nice. I don’t know. He can do whatever he wants whenever he wants because they don't care about him. They're never even at their house. That's why he doesn't care that he gets bad grades and he's in detention all the time and he's constantly in trouble or whatever, they’re just - they don't even talk to him. Unless they're yelling at him, I guess.”

Geoff nodded to show that he was listening.

“He’s dealing with stuff already, you know? I-” He huffed a quiet laugh. “I think a lot of my friends are. Me, too. And it sucks, but… but it doesn’t m… I don’t know.” Alex looked up at Geoff, his eyes pleading. “I mean, what do we do? I’m getting scared he did something.”

“What do you mean, ‘did something’?”

“Like, to himself,” Alex explained quietly. “It’s not like him to not answer his texts.”

“Shall we call Miss Harrison?” Geoff asked urgently, starting to stand up.

“N-no!” Alex quickly replied. “No, don’t.”

“You know him far better than I do. If you believe that there is even a chance-”

“There’s not,” he rushed out. “I’m overreacting. I’m-” He stood back up and shouldered his bag. “It’s fine. I’m sure he’s fine. He’s probably just… sleeping. It’s still really early. Um. I’m-”

“Alex, please wait.”

“No, I’ve got to get to stat. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said anything.”

“I am glad that you did,” Geoff responded honestly. “It helps me to understand. Here, allow me to write you a pass."

"No, that's okay."

"Alex," Geoff murmured, his tone firm but kind. "Just in the case that you need it, alright?”

The boy paused and then nodded.

“I do mean what I said,” Geoff told him as he retrieved a small notepad from the top drawer of his desk. “If you are in need of anything, I am available. And should you decide that you would like for me to call someone, all you need to do is tell me.”

Alex nodded again. “Thanks.” He gave Mr. W a tiny smile. “You’re the best.”

Awsten's Room
February 20, 10:23 AM   

Awsten woke up to sun streaming through the blinds, not surprised that neither his mother nor father had come flying into his room to tell him off for oversleeping. He reached for his phone; the numbers on the screen declared that it was past 10 AM. Although he had several more texts and missed calls, he set the phone back down without reading them.

He thought he would feel better. That’s what was supposed to happen, right? You go to sleep, and you wake up the next morning, and then your problems don’t seem so overwhelming. Plus, he even got the saving grace of his parents leaving for... whatever they were doing and not caring (or, more likely, not even noticing) that Awsten’s bike was still propped up by the front door. But he didn’t feel better.

Somehow, he felt worse.

Miss Harrison’s Office
February 21, 9:06 AM

On Friday, Awsten skipped first period to avoid Mr. W, but Miss Harrison removed him from his second class and brought him to her office as soon as she caught word of the fact that he'd signed in. 

“Awsten, I’m so glad to see you back at school,” she told him with a smile.

Awsten laughed. Yeah, right. “Did you miss me?” he teased.

“We did,” she responded seriously, but Awsten wasn’t about to fall for that counselor bullshit. She had to say that.

“I wanted to check in with you, see how everything has been going. Some of your teachers and friends have contacted me; they’ve been concerned about you and your well-being.”

Awsten grinned and smacked his bubble gum - bubble gum that he wasn’t allowed to be chewing. “I’m great.” He glanced around animatedly; despite being in trouble so often, Awsten had only spent a handful of minutes in the counselor’s office. Because he seemed so happy and carefree, he supposed.

“Awsten, this is a safe place. You can say whatever you need to here, and I can’t repeat it.”

She was looking at him like he was about to have some breakdown, like he was on the brink of erupting into a puddle of tears, like she'd start foaming at the mouth if she got the opportunity to pass him a box of tissues. Fucking hell. He wasn't about to give her that satisfaction.

Awsten shrugged. “Nothing to say.”

“Then let’s talk about what happened with Mr. Wigington.”

“What do you wanna know?” he asked, leaning forward like he was willing to tell her anything.

“Whatever you would like to share.”

“Nothing,” Awsten replied frankly.

“Well, why did you get so angry with him?”

Awsten shrugged. “Overreaction."

“Hmm,” Miss Harrison frowned. “And why haven’t you been at school?”

“I was puking my guts out,” he lied.

“I’m sorry to hear that,” she replied evenly. It was plain to see that she didn’t believe him.

“So, then, uh. I don’t wanna be rude, but… are we done here?”

Miss Harrison raised her eyebrows. “No, Awsten, we are not ‘done here.’ We still have some things to discuss.”

“Oh yeah?” he grinned. “Like what?” He made a big show of getting comfortable on the couch.

“Like the fact that swearing at teachers is unacceptable. And swearing at teachers in front of a room full of your classmates is even less acceptable.”

“Won’t happen again,” he replied brightly.

“And skipping school is not appropriate, either.”

“Yes, ma’am!”

“Awsten, stop smiling like that.”

“Like what? You don’t want me to smile?”

“I want you to take what I’m saying seriously. The administration is considering your punishment, and-”

“My punishment?” he echoed. “I already got detention twice.”

“Well, it’s likely you’ll be suspended.”

He laughed blandly. His dad was going to murder him. “Fuck. Just my luck, right?”

“Language, please,” she chastised sharply.

He widened his eyes in mock-innocence. “What about it?”

“Awsten, I’m not playing games with you.”

“Games? Who’s playing games? I just wanted to go back to class, that’s all. Don't wanna miss anything important!”

She sighed. “Awsten…”

“Annie,” he smirked.

Her eyes snapped to his. “Awsten, talk to me about your parents. What are they like?”

“Nah, I don’t wanna talk about them,” he responded, pulling his legs up onto the couch so he could lie on his side.

“Why not?”

“Well, why don’t you tell me about your parents,” he deadpanned. “What are they like?”  She pursed her lips in annoyance, and Awsten had to hold back a grin.

“I’m trying to help you.”

“Yeah, and maybe I’m trying to help you. Hey, do you do art?”

Skeptically, she replied, “I like to paint. Why?”

“Can you draw?”

“I suppose.”

He pulled one of his arms up over his head. “Would you draw me like one of your French girls?” he teased.

“Aaand you’re done,” she said tonelessly, standing up and ushering him toward the door. “When you decide you can be mature, come back. I’d love to get to know you better.”

He laughed. “That’ll never happen.”

Awsten - 1. Miss Harrison - 0.

Room 121
February 21, 3:29 PM

Geoff had a new email in his inbox from Annie Harrison with a subject line that read, “A.K. Update.” He quickly double-clicked on it and scanned the message.

Hi, everyone,
After my meeting with Awsten today, it has become glaringly clear that he should be moved to another senior English class. He refused to discuss (or even acknowledge) what happened on Wednesday and instead continued to act out.
I have attempted to get in touch with his parents multiple times in the last few days but have not gotten a response. I will have to contact DFCS if this continues.
Thanks,
Annie Harrison, LPC

Geoff winced. Refusing to discuss what happened? Changing classes? Reaching out to DFCS?!

Geoff was simultaneously relieved and disappointed. Yes, lessons would be easier with less distraction present, but he hoped that Awsten wouldn’t view the change as Geoff giving up on him. Geoff was worried that Awsten would assume that Geoff had asked for him to be removed. Truth be told, Geoff's frustration had dissipated, and he was left only with concern.

But little did he know, things with Awsten were about to get worse. Much, much worse.