Headmaster Dunn sat back in his chair. “But since this was extremely uncharacteristic of you, and you were doing it in the service of helping your fellow students, I’m not going to do either of those things.”

I let out such a deep breath that I’m surprised I didn’t sag in my chair. “Ohmygoshthankyou,” I said in a rush and then stood up, reaching across the desk to shake his hand.

Headmaster Dunn flinched back, and Mom tugged at the hem of my skirt. “Sit down, sweetie.”

As I did exactly that, Headmaster Dunn added, “You’re not getting off scot-free, though, young lady. I expect you to dedicate at least a hundred service hours to the school before the end of the year.” His gaze flicked past me and toward the door; he was no doubt picturing the English hall. It was still standing, but the smoke and water damage were bad enough that classes had been moved into the cafeteria for the time being. “Lord knows we’ll have plenty for you to do,” he said on a sigh, and I stood up again, this time not reaching for him.

“Thank you,” I said again. “I promise, nothing like this will happen again, and I’m going to do a totally great job helping out.”

Headmaster Dunn gave a snort and went back to tapping his pen. “We’ll see about that.”

Once we were back in the main office, I turned to both my parents, giving them my best smile. “See? It all worked out.”

Dad shoved his hands in his pockets, rocking back on his heels. He had this way of looking at me where he sort of tucked his chin down and raised his eyes. He’d looked at Leigh-Anne like that, too, and it was always a sign that we were in trouble.

That was clearly still the case now, since his voice was firm when he said, “Just because you managed to avoid expulsion doesn’t mean you’re in the clear with us, young lady.”

Mom reached out, setting her hands on my shoulders. “We’re still worried, sweetheart. You have not been yourself for...” She looked up toward the ceiling. “Months, it seems like. And if you’re having panic attacks so severe you assault your principal—”

“It wasn’t assault,” I said quickly. “It was an instinctive reaction so that I could help people.”

Mom was still watching me, a deep crease between her brows, and I gave her my best “I’ve totally got this” smile.

I could tell she wasn’t buying it, though—that crease only got deeper—so I hurried on, adding, “So I should get to class, and I promise we can talk more about this after school. Or after I get back from the pageant sign-ups.”

Mom frowned at that. “Pageant sign-ups?” she repeated, and I nodded.