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Outwardly, your expression was stern and wooden. But inwardly, you were overflowing with pride for your ward. She really stuck to her guns and tried her best to stick up for the little guy. So you tried your best to stick up for her as well.
During her admittedly impressive demonstration of simultaneously telling two different stories, the teacher repeatedly interrupted her story to comment on her strange behavior. Surprisingly, Carlie picked up on her plan fairly quickly and jumped in to say that she was having Cindy tutor her in ASL, and was using this as a “prime learning experience”.
The teacher neither liked nor believed their excuse, but he had no real way of confirming the story for himself, seeing as how he didn’t know ASL, and the gestures Cindy was throwing up were ultimately harmless.
You supported these claims, saying that the two had been conducting study sessions over the phone all summer. The teacher had no choice but to accept this as well.
You had no idea how much of Cindy’s story Carlie was able to interpret, but judging from her facial expressions, you were willing to guess that she’d learned enough to figure out just how much of a badass her new friend was.
And as far as you knew, the teacher was the only one in the room that was unaware of what had truly unfolded out there.
<span class="mu-r">“I think it’s clear here that Cindy didn’t do anything wrong. She was just in the wrong place at the wrong time.”</span> you said, sparing a glance at Carlie’s Step-bro. <span class="mu-r">“Same with Mr. Cooper here.”</span>
The boy raised an eyebrow at that, but tried his best to keep the smirk off of his face. He was just lucky that in her tailored version, he was an innocent victim. No one seemed to have truly bought that part, though.
<span class="mu-r">“As such, I’ll be pulling her out of detention for today.”</span> you declared, gesturing for her to stand beside you.
She tried, and failed, to keep the smirk off of her face.
The teacher sputtered and tried to object, but you quickly shut him down by citing that most schools don’t hold priority over parents and legal guardians. It’s entirely their choice as to whether their child can and will be subjected to disciplinary measures in some cases. There are even times when students themselves can refuse to attend detention. You can learn a lot from a few quick google searches and a decent amount of research.
The teacher didn’t look too keen on arguing the matter with you further, and you were already halfway out the room when Cindy skipped after you to put an early end to her detention.
<span class="mu-g">“Bye, Cindy! See you tomorrow.”</span> Carlie said, giving her a friendly wave and a warm smile.
<span class="mu-r">“Catch you later, Karate Kid.”</span> her brother added.
Cindy winced slightly at that, but managed a sheepish smile and an awkward wave in return.
<span class="mu-g">“Andre, be nice.”</span> his stepsister chided.
He gave her a half-hearted shrug, got up from his seat and prepared to leave the room as well.
(Cont.)