My pre-briefing with Angeline was short and to the point. “You will act apologetic and contrite,” I told her as we sat outside the principal’s office.

“What’s contrite mean?”

“Apologetic.”

“Then why didn’t you just say—”

“And,” I continued. “If pushed for reasons, you will say you were overwhelmed and panicked. You’ll say you don’t know what came over you.”

“But I didn’t—”

“And you will not mention how stupid they were or say anything negative whatsoever.”

“But they are—”

“In fact, don’t speak at all unless you’re asked something directly. If you let me handle this, it’ll be over fast.”

Angeline apparently took that to heart because she crossed her arms and glared at me, refusing to say anything else.

When we were ushered into the office, the principal and vice principal—Mrs. Welch and Mr. Redding, respectively—were both sitting on the same side of one desk. They were side by side, presenting a united front that again made me think they feared for their lives.

“Miss McCormick,” began Mrs. Welch. “I hope you know that what you did was completely out of line.” McCormick was Angeline’s fake last name around here.

“Violence and fighting of any kind are not tolerated at Amberwood,” said Mr. Redding. “We have high standards—standards meant to ensure the safety of everyone at this school—and expect our students to adhere to them. None of your other violations of school rules come close to what you did today.”

“Even if we didn’t have those other transgressions on file, there can be no question here,” said Mrs. Welch. “There is no place for you at Amberwood.”

My stomach sank. Expulsion. Although the Keepers weren’t entirely uneducated, her academic background had hardly been up to that of average high school students in the modern world. She was in a lot of remedial classes, and getting her into Amberwood at all had been quite a feat. Expulsion wasn’t as bad as someone investigating how a petite girl like her could do so much damage, but it still wasn’t an outcome I wanted. I could already imagine one of my superiors asking, why didn’t you realize how volatile the school was making her? To which I would have to respond: because I’ve been too busy going on dates and helping vampires who aren’t my concern.

“Do you have anything to say for yourself before we notify your parents?” asked Mrs. Welch. They looked at Angeline expectantly.

I braced myself for an irrational tirade. Instead, Angeline managed to produce some tears which, I had to admit, certainly looked contrite. “I… I panicked,” she said. “I don’t know what came over me. So much happened at once, and that guy was so scary, and I just freaked out. I felt threatened. I wanted everyone to get away from me…”

I was nearly convinced, probably because it was seeded with truth. Angeline had had a number of flustered moments at Amberwood, no matter her bravado. There were more people at the school than had been in her mountain community, and she’d been so overwhelmed in her first week that we’d had to take turns escorting her to class. I really should’ve been paying more attention to her.