Valeria's POV
I drove Elliot to school the next day. I let him sit in the passenger seat beside me instead of his usual bumper seat. I wanted him to be close to me. He sat looking forlorn. I knew by his expression that he was not eager about school today. I tried to talk to him about some science documentaries I downloaded on his tablet recently, and that I knew he must have watched. All efforts to make him cheerful proved abortive, however.
It made me clench my knuckles on the steering wheel so hard. I was going to talk to his principal today. She would have those kids tender an apology to my son at the very least, so he could be his cheerful self. I missed our little chats and teasing.
We pulled up to Whitmore Prep and I parked in the visitors lot, turning off my engine.
"Ready?" I
