Case Reopened

The Assembly (Part 3)

As you are a smart cookie and can see from the title there are other parts that led up to this so make sure you know what happened in them before reading this! Now off we go!

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Sophia: I'm in my closet.

With the message sent to her father, since Mama left early for a work emergency, Sophia set her phone down by her crossed legs and waited.

Tucked beneath her rack of shirts, the shadow it cast on her felt soothing and safe. In her closet, all the noise from the busy streets, the loud world outside couldn't penetrate. In her closet, everything was organized in colors and everything had its perfect place. Even the soft scent of fabric softener added to the closet's comforting atmosphere.

The door to the closet opened and her father stuck his head in. Sophia didn't move from her spot, she knew even with the shadow of her shirts, he'd see her curled legs.

After entering and closing the door behind him, Mason took the spot across from Sophia, mirroring her cross-legged position. The cabinet he leaned against held her shoes which meant his face wasn't hidden from her. She appreciated the fact that he placed himself where she could see him clearly.

For a long moment, Mason held her gaze but said nothing. Sophia locked her fingers together and rested them in her lap. She knew she needed to explain her presence in her closet. But she knew he'd understand that hiding in here held significance. With the previous day's events, she accepted that he might even be able to infer why she was in her closet. But his silence told her that he would let her talk first.

"Yesterday," she said. "I went to school not knowing about the rumors being spread. Though the day was challenging, you resolved the situation, Mama and you made me feel safe again."

She squeezed her hands together and looked down at them as they turned red from her grip. Her father's hand appeared in her vision as he gently laid his hand on top of hers. His hand seemed big enough to encompass both of hers. Strong capable hands that made her feel safe and protected when they held her own.

But today she wouldn't be able to hold his hand as she faced the day.

"Though the ones who spread the rumors are going to be punished and today they will apologize to the whole school... I do not know how I feel about going to school."

With the reassuring pressure of her father's hand, Sophia relaxed her tight hold on her hands.

"You don't have to go today," Mason said.

"That is an option I considered." She met her father's gaze. "But not attending school for one day would not change needing to return the following day. And if I am not there for the assembly what would be the point of it, it is for me that it's being held?"

"That's true," Mason said, retreating to his side of the closet. "But one day means we could do something together."

"You have work."

"I'll call in sick."

"That would be a lie."

"Technically not since I'm sick of work."

At the tiny wordplay, Sophia felt her face soften with a half smile. But even as the smile came it went away again at the thought of her indecision.

"I feel like I need to be brave and go," she said.

"You're brave even if you chose not to go."

"No, I wouldn't be. Because I feel uncertain and apprehensive about being around people who felt threatening yesterday. The next day it might not be that way and my bravery for facing those people wouldn't be as impactful."