“Yes.”
“Why?”
“He pushed me into the locker.”
Connor’s mother interrupted.
“There is no proof.”
Megan looked at her.
“I wasn’t asking you.”
Isaac whispered, “He’s been doing stuff for months.”
Megan turned toward the principal.
“Months?”
Adams adjusted his papers.
“We’ve addressed several interpersonal concerns.”
“Interpersonal concerns?”
Isaac stared at his shoes.
Megan saw the frayed lace.
“What happened to your new shoes?”
He said nothing.
“Isaac.”
“Connor cut them.”
Connor’s mother laughed.
“This is getting absurd.”
Then someone knocked.
The school custodian entered.
“Sorry.”
Principal Adams frowned.
“We’re in a meeting.”
“I know.”
The custodian looked at Isaac.
“I think you need this.”
He placed a small black object on the desk.
A flash drive.
“What is it?”
“Camera footage.”
Connor stopped moving.
Principal Adams frowned.
“From today?”
“Not just today.”
The custodian explained that a hallway camera had been malfunctioning.
While repairing the storage system, he discovered the recordings had not been deleted as everyone assumed.
Months of footage remained.
Megan stared at the principal.
“You told me there were no cameras near his locker.”
“We believed there weren’t usable recordings.”
The custodian looked uncomfortable.
“There are.”
Connor’s mother stood.
“My son is not sitting here while you conduct some kind of witch hunt.”
She grabbed his arm.
The custodian spoke.
“You may want to stay.”
