Chloe’s mother covered her mouth and started crying harder.
That threw me.
Then Chloe’s father said, very stiffly, “Your daughter paid for new frames for mine.”
The room went quiet.
I said, “Yes. Because she thought Chloe needed help.”
His jaw tightened. “That is exactly the issue.”
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I felt Mia flinch beside me.
I said, “Then talk to me. Not to her.”
He looked at me for a long second, then asked, “Did Chloe tell Mia we couldn’t afford new glasses?”
The room went quiet.
“We thought making her wait until the weekend would teach her to be more careful.”
I said, “She told Mia you couldn’t replace them.”
Chloe finally spoke through tears. “I said that because I didn’t know what else to say.”
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I frowned. “Say what?”
Her mother took a shaky breath. “We are not poor.”
I just stared at her.
Her father finally looked less angry than ashamed.
She went on. “Chloe has broken or lost several pairs of glasses in the past year. We told her if it happened again because she was careless, we would make her wait a few days before replacing the frame. The optician said the taped one was still safe and usable for a short time. We thought making her wait until the weekend would teach her to be more careful.”
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I said, “And instead she got bullied.”
The mother’s face crumpled. “Yes.”
Chloe whispered, “I didn’t tell you because I thought you’d say it was my fault.”
Then Chloe’s father turned to Mia.
Her father finally looked less angry than ashamed.
He said, “We knew she was embarrassed. We did not know it had gotten this bad.”
Mia looked at Chloe and asked, “Why didn’t you tell me the truth?”
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Chloe wiped her face. “Because I didn’t want anyone to know my parents were punishing me again.”
That landed.
Then Chloe’s father turned to Mia.
She looked at him like the question itself was strange.
“Is it true you sold your Lego?”
Mia nodded.
“All of them?”
“Yes.”
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“Why?”
She looked at him like the question itself was strange.
“Did your mother tell you to do this?”
“Because she needed help.”
