“Not anymore! I’m going to be expelled.”
“Why is my daughter going to be expelled?” Carbon asked.
“Dad!” Ruby Sage cried and ran to him. “It was an accident!”
“What happened?” Carbon asked.
“I’m not sure. I was following the steps in the book, but smoke appeared suddenly. I barely had time to shove Skylar out of the way before flames shot up to the ceiling.”
“Excuse me!” a woman called, waving her hands as she approached us. “I’m not sure what’s going on over here, but the fire in the lab was an accident.”
“And you are?” Carbon asked.
“Mrs. Dubey, Ruby Sage’s chemistry teacher. You must be Mr. Walker. It’s nice to meet you. Ruby Sage is an excellent student.”
“She seems to think she’s being expelled,” Carbon said.
“You’re going to have to try a lot harder than that if you want to be expelled,” Mrs. Dubey teased.
“I’m really sorry,” Ruby Sage said.
“It’s okay. Accidents happen. I’m thrilled no one was hurt and everyone followed the safety protocols.”
“So, I’m not in trouble?”
“Not at all, but you might want to go home for the rest of the day. Some of these kids can be brutal, and the entire school is going to hear about this.”
“Can she leave now?” Carbon asked.
“I don’t see any reason she needs to stay. We’ve heard Ruby Sage’s statement, and I can answer any other questions about the fire.”
“Thank you, Mrs. Dubey,” Ruby Sage said and wiped the tears from under her eyes.
“Well, it seems like you all have this under control,” Chuck said. “If you’ll excuse me, I’m needed at the office.” As Chuck passed me, he stopped for a moment to say, “I don’t know what he was up to, and I’m done trying to find out. I’m firing his ass right now.”
“Thanks, Chuck.”
“All right, my little genius, let’s get you home,” Carbon said.
Ruby Sage giggled. “How’d I do?”
“Judging by the look of shock on Ink’s face, I’d say you did great,” Carbon said proudly.
“Hold on. You did that on purpose?” Flint asked.
Ruby Sage smiled sheepishly. “Yes. I knew creating a lot of smoke would set the fire alarms off, but I didn’t know the flames would shoot up so high.”
I chuckled and held my fist out for a bump. “Thanks, kid.”
“Remember this,” she said.
“Why?” I asked slowly.
“I’m twelve now, which means I’ll be starting college by the time I’m sixteen. I’m sure I’ll find myself in need of help, and most situations don’t require my dad to show up and tear people apart. So, I’m stacking my favors now.”
“You’re gonna have your hands full with that one,” I said to Carbon.
“Nah,” he laughed. “She’s resourceful and clearly knows how to handle situations, current and future.”
