“It shouldn’t, but maybe in Piper’s warped logic it would. And maybe that’s the case with me, too?” Lauren paced. “I’m angry, I’m a loose cannon. They want us all weeded out so when the filmmakers come, they’ll be documenting the school Piper wants to reflect, maybe the community she wants to reflect.”

“That isn’t fair,” Ronnie said. “This is the best thing for my daughter. There’s nowhere else I could afford to send her that’s half as good.”

“Arthur loves it, too,” Andrea admitted.

“It’s a good school, with caring staff,” Lauren said. “But this thing with Piper is madness.” She put her hands on her hips and looked toward the office door, which was locked. “Maybe we stage a coup.”

“A what?” Andrea asked.

“There’s got to be proof that Piper’s executing some cleansing initiatives on some of us. Maybe there’s some sort of evidence in her office. A list. We could grab it, make it public.”

Ronnie took a few steps back. “I’m not breaking in. What if she’s there?”

“You just said she was in the classroom hall. For all we know, she’s roaming around the rest of the school, dropping more notes into more backpacks. What if other parents are getting notes? We’d be doing this for the good of the community!”

Ronnie glanced warily at the closed door. “I can’t do anything that’ll get me in trouble.”

“Because of your job?”

Ronnie ran her tongue over her teeth. It was probably better to leave it at that.

Lauren looked like she wanted to say something but then seemed cowed. “Of course. I get it. It is nuts.”

But then, behind them, they heard a jingle of keys. A man in a janitorial jumpsuit ambled to the office door, barely sending them a glance. He tapped in a code on the keypad, and the bolt released. When he pulled on the door, it opened. Ronnie and the others stared as he disappeared inside and then, only a few seconds later, reappeared carrying what looked to be a wet vac. “The thing is,” he was saying, speaking to someone over the phone through a pair of AirPods. “. . . Jesus, Marie, can you give me a break?” He passed by without noticing them again.

Lauren’s gaze darted to the heavy office door; it was swinging closed. With lightning reflexes, she shot forward before the bolt caught.

“Lauren!” Ronnie hissed. “What the hell?”

Lauren glanced over her shoulder, held the door open, and gestured inside. “It’s a sign. It’ll only take a second.”

“What?” Ronnie cried. “No!”