**I am so sorry I disappeared for a while. A lot has happened this semester but I hope to resume writings now that I am on summer break! Thank you all so much for your patience. I'll be answering your messages soon! ~ K.A.

NAOMI'S POV:

With fall break finally here, it's going to be a long stretch at the Academy. We won't return to school until next Thursday, which means Mr. Davis will have to be here to help Mr. Patry with the students. Unfortunately for me, that means I'm also within Mr. Patry's reach as the Administrators generally become more strict during school breaks. Lord knows Mr. Davis has been down my throat about upcoming midterms.

"So are you ready for a fun break?" Jasper teased, bumping his shoulder against mine.

I chuckled, "Oh yeah, it's going to be so much fun with Mr. Patry doing more random checks and Mr. Davis breathing down my neck at all times."

"Hey, Mr. Patry is a lot harder on the guys than he is with you." He flashed his eyebrows. "Last week, while you were at Mr. Davis', he gave us this big lecture on decorum and what it takes to be a 'Braxton man.'"

"Oh?" I laughed. "So, tell me, what does it take to be a. . .." I stopped immediately when I caught a glimpse of the big front doors opening, exposing the sunlight and a handful of dark figures.

Jasper and I stood at the same time, taking a step forward eagerly anticipating whether it was an arrival or a departure. Once the doors closed, we both could tell from the grieving look of the first girl that she was here for an arrival.

"How old do you think she is?" I asked Jasper, studying her demeanor as Mr. Patry greeted them.

Shrugging, Jasper leaned down to whisper his response: "Probably around fifteen."

"Is that. . .?" I asked lunging forward to get a better view.

"No way." Jasper exclaimed in shock.

Charging forward, I bypassed the new family and went straight to the second where I found Jess. She bowed her head in shame, tilting it only slightly just to release a faint whisper "Hi Naomi."

Ignoring protocols, I took Jess in my arms because she looked like she was almost in tears. Mr. Patry recognized it instantly and cleared his throat, trying not to make a scene in front of the new parents. His warning caused me to release immediately but I stayed close so she and I could talk without interference from her parents.

"What are you doing back here?"

Motioning to her parents, "They bought a new house. . . they only brought me back home so I could help them move everything into it and get settled for a couple of weeks."

"Are you serious?" I glanced at her parents, who were shaking Mr. Patry's hands warmly. "That's awful, I am so sorry."

"Yes sir, if you would please follow Mr. Davis to his office," Mr. Patry motioned as Mr. Davis emerged from the receptionist desk. "he will proceed with the intake."

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MR. DAVIS' POV:

Glancing toward Naomi, who was comforting Jess, I tried to remain focus on the intake at hand. Jess' intake would be easy; she was recently admitted and her parents openly disclosed that they intend to keep her here for the remaining school year. So I gave that one to Jim, he's been handling a lot more work here than I have since I've been trying to balance my job here with Naomi at home.

"So, here is everything you sent in the admissions packet." Her mother pulled a stack of papers from her purse. "We filled out everything and provided a couple of other things that are included in there."

"Great, thank you ma'am." I took the papers from her hands and watched as yet another couple say goodbye to their child for the foreseeable future.

This was always the awkward part. Somehow, giving the first punishment to a stranger never bothered me, nor did disciplining and guiding someone else's child. The most awkward was watching a couple surrender their authority to me, essentially giving their child away to be raised, even temporarily, by me. It was in this moment, that I always felt the most empathetic towards students.

But this was not a child I was unfamiliar with; she had been here maybe three years ago, and she was very volatile. Highly manipulative, she was a common disruption in the peace of the Academy. I had thought we got through to her last time, but clearly she needs more help than we last gave her.

"Goodbye, be good and try to have a better attitude." Her mother said sweetly as she kissed her cheek.

Lowly snickering, her father was not as supportive: "Maybe you won't have to come back again."

"Alright," I interfered, hating how some parents would patronize their kids. "let's go to my office and finish the intake, Kelly. Goodbye, take care."

Motioning her forward as I grabbed her suitcase, I headed forward toward the staircase trying my best to hurry away from this awkwardness. She stumbled behind me, a little fearful for obvious reasons and despaired.

There was something off about her approach this time; she had neither the attitude nor condescension in her character as she last did. When she left the first time, she had improved a great deal. I'll admit I am surprised by her return, but old habits die hard.

"You can have a seat." I motioned inside after I opened the door for her.

Assuming my left chair, I placed her suitcase just inside and closed the door behind me. I grabbed an intake folder and assumed my chair, studying her as I shuffled through some papers.

"I'll briefly review the rules with you." Handing her a cheat-sheet of the expected rules, I waited until she read through the first couple of lines. "Most of them have not changed since your last visit. The curfew, however, has been moved up to seven p.m., just after dinner, since we are during the semester. Wake-up is now at 7 a.m., but 8:30 a.m. on the weekends. You will attend school regularly," I waited until she made eye-contact, since she frequently skipped classes during her last stay. "and we will monitor your grades."

Nodding, she continued to skim the rules to avoid making eye-contact with me.

"Alright, I assume your parents didn't sign the corporal punishment waiver?" I asked, watching as her attention shifted to observing my office. "Last time you were here, they handicapped our use of it."

"I. . ." she stopped, rubbing her hands against her thighs. "I think they. . .."

Shuffling through the papers, I found the corporal punishment consent form and it was actually signed by both parents. That would explain her timid behavior. During her last admission, she was ruthless, dauntless, and most of that was chalked up to the fact that her parents did not consent to corporal punishment.

"They did." I showed her the form. "Did they explain what that means?" I asked sincerely.

She nodded, "It means you're allowed to use corporal punishment."

"Yes, and you know what that entails, correct? You've been exposed to plenty of it during your last visit here."

"Yeah." She avoided eye contact with me.

"'Yes sir'" I corrected her.

Flickering her eyes in my direction, she nodded her head. "Yes sir."

Sighing, I collected the papers into her new folder for her and locked them in my desk drawer. "Listen Kelly, the last time you were here you caused a lot of problems for us. Many of which led to less severe consequences because we were not allowed to use corporal punishment." Standing from my chair, I walked to the front of my desk and folded my arms. "But neither I nor Mr. Patry will hesitate to inflict a reasonable punishment for your actions, including a variety of forms of corporal punishment. Is that understood?"

Fidgeting her hands together, she nodded. I cleared my throat to get her attention, shooting her a warning look.

"Yes sir, sorry." She whimpered.

"If you accept the help we offer, through many of our programs, and follow the rules, I can promise you that we won't need to resort to that."

"Yes sir." She repeated, tapping her foot vastly against the floor.

As much as I wanted to instill a harder message to her right now, she doesn't have the same turpitude as her former self. She clearly needs a break.

"Let's get you to your room. I am going to put you next to someone who is a model student." Grabbing her suitcase again, I motioned her out into the hallway.