What is this Assistant Principal Mackenzie's Mackenzie's normally smooth voice skittered into a register Indigo had never heard before Finally Indigo snatched another glance toward the cafeteria cafeteria window and smothered a smile They were watching watching All of them Abbie Trinity Camila and Lily mouths open lunch trays poised above the table Indigo shook the can again and pressed the nozzle -um tum Give me that Mrs. Mackenzie huffed lunging at Indigo What are you doing Indigo backed up and lifted her chin shaking the can one more time Expressing myself Minutes later she was in the main office arms wrapped around her waist knee jiggling Mom wouldn't be able to come in she was in the middle of her shift in the emergency room Dad had worked late last night he'd be frustrated because he was supposed supposed to be sleeping Dad strode into the main office mouth pressed in a thin line offering curt greetings to the principal's principal's assistant Mrs. Dahlquist As he signed in
flicking a hard to read glance at Indigo Mr. Belkin Belkin appeared His scuffed black loafers creaked as he lurched toward them Mrs. Dahlquist I'm looking for Indigo Fitzgerald's Fitzgerald's parents Mr. Belkin nodded at Dad then looked over Dad's shoulder I'm Indigo's father Nice to meet you Mr. Belkin Belkin The pulse on the side of her father's neck beat faster Oh Ah I mean Belkin cleared his throat It's nice to meet you Mr. Fitzgerald I guess because Indigo is usually so well behaved and the other time with the ah cell phone incident it was Mrs. Fitzgerald of course so we haven't ever had the pleasure I mean probably since Back to School Night although I meet so many people in that one night it can be hard to remember Dr. Fitzgerald said Dad his deep voice punching punching the d Both Indigo's mother and I are Doctor Fitzgerald The oak brown color of his face made it difficult to see whether emotion heated his cheeks but he clipped each of his words tightly Mr. Belkin was not making a good impression Oh Two parents as doctors aren't you the lucky one Indigo
Dad inclined his head I do need to be at work in a few hours They followed Mr. Belkin down the hall to the privacy of the back office Once they were seated at the round table which was supposed to make them all seem like equals Mr. Belkin shifted in his seat coughing behind a faded red handkerchief before finally filling Dad in And in addition to the fact that property defacement is a serious offense I'm concerned because Indigo's actions today are entirely out of character Dad sat listening with his hands folded in his lap They were the smooth hands of a man who wore medical gloves most hours of the day They were also deep brown which meant that when he wasn't in scrubs although he was triple board certified in emergency medicine pediatrics and immunology and was a senior attending physician at the Jamesville Jamesville hospital sometimes strangers thought he was a janitor And why is it you believe Indigo was the one with the paint can he asked Mr. Belkin's eyebrows hitched way up but the rest of his fish belly white face didn't move Because Mrs. Mackenzie caught her doing it
Dad turned a neutral face toward her What were you writing Winnie the Pooh The hum he sang when he walked through the forest Dad's lips twitched Why Winnie the Pooh Indigo shrugged He's funny Originally she'd planned to quote a song she'd always loved about a sixteenth century astronomer named Galileo who got thrown in jail for telling the truth about how the planets revolved around the sun instead of the other way around But Pooh's silly quote was less complicated to write with spray paint Mr. Belkin folded his arms Until recently Indigo has been a great role model for the other students here at Loon Lake her ah reporting notwithstanding Are you saying there was something wrong with my story on school uniforms She lifted her chin That video had gotten tons of likes and new subscribers for her page Abbie and Manning had stopped avoiding her in the hallways but they had yet to invite her to eat with them and the Tictacs and the jocks Mr. Belkin's face reddened I'm saying you've been an exemplary student your whole life I've seen your elementary school transcripts There's no
