Chapter Text
Terry Jr looked out the window to the playground where his team sat, watching him in turn. His hands still trembled slightly with the remnant nerves of admitting his preference in how he was referred to.
“Hey, how was today? It wasn't too bad, was it? I know you shouldn't have been there in the first place, but at least you had the team, right?” Samamtha glanced at the rearview mirror to see her child anxiously rubbing his hands together.
“Mm? Oh, yeah, it was alright. I don't think the other guys did any homework. Other than Grant, maybe.”
“But you got yours done?”
“Yeah. Wasn't much else to do, anyways.” He shrugged.
The rest of the ride was quiet other than Ron's attempts to make conversation, which were pointedly ignored by Terry. Eventually, they made it home where there were leftovers in the fridge for him; he took the container and, after giving his mother a quick hug, went upstairs to his room.
Terry scrolled aimlessly through his phone. He considered messaging one of the boys he had spent the day with, but decided he would rather spend the evening on his own. As the sun set, the only light in the room was the screen in front of him and the hallway light shining under his closed door. His thoughts drifted to the meeting with the principal.
“As I'm sure you're aware, your son has had an… incident, if you will.” Ms. Pepperoni sat behind her desk across from the Stamplers. Samantha gave her a sharp look.
“And by ‘incident’, you mean an outburst caused by overstimulation that one of your teachers didn't care enough to learn about?” She rested a hand on Terry Jr's shoulder. “Rather than try to figure out what happened, a member of your faculty decided to punish him. Is that the kind of reputation you want your school to have?” The principal matched her gaze, though with a clear sign of trepidation.
“What exactly are you implying? I'll have you know that I run one of the highest ranked schools in the district.”
“And I'll have you know that I work with several students in this district that have had similar experiences.” The two women stared at each other for a long moment before the principal sighed.
“What do you want, Mrs. Stampler? There isn't anything I can do until he can get himself under control.” A harsh silence filled the room as Terry Jr's nervous fidgeting stopped. His shoulders slumped, and he collapsed forward in his seat with his forearms on his knees and his head buried in his arms. He didn't remember much after that, beyond suppressing his sobbing, his mother saying things like ‘insensitive’ and ‘ignorant’, and Ron tentatively putting a hand on his shoulder. In the state he was in, Terry Jr was willing to take comfort from anyone; even if it meant acting like he didn't hate his stepfather. At some point, Samantha gently got him out of his seat and into the car. Rather than stepping into the driver's seat beside Ron, she sat down in the back beside Terry Jr.
“Don't listen to her. All we can do is figure out what triggered this, and make a plan for next time, alright?” She rubbed her thumb over his shoulder. He looked up at her with tear-stained, reddened eyes.
“What am I doing wrong?” He could barely get the words out before breaking into a new round of tears, this time not trying to quiet himself at all. She quickly wrapped her arms around his shoulders as he leaned into her, with her lips pressed into the top of his head.
“You aren't doing anything wrong, baby.” She said softly. After a few minutes like this, he eventually wriggled out of her arms. She gave him one last kiss on the cheek before moving to the driver's seat and heading home.
He didn't realise that he had started crying again. A spot on his pillow was damp as he lay there, staring blankly at the home screen of his phone. When he checked his notifications, he saw that Lark had sent a picture in a newly formed group chat. Opening the message, he saw a photograph of the drawings they had made during detention. A small smile crossed his face and he sent back a simple reply.
“Thank you, guys.”