He unlocked his phone.
***
Claire was sixteen, gentle, funny, and stubborn enough to argue with a parking sign. At school, she had almost no friends.
Kids mocked her thrift-store sweaters, hid her backpack, and once wrote a cruel word across her locker.
I’d called parents, spoken to Mrs. Evans, her teacher, and documented everything. Claire hated that.
« They’ll get bored eventually, Mom. »
At school, she had almost no friends.
« They haven’t yet. »
« Eventually, they’ll find a new hobby. »
« Cruelty shouldn’t count as a hobby. »
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