"He... he hit me, and I started crying. I don't know where he hid the brick!"
The little girl's story was surprisingly coherent, leaving very little room for doubt.
"What more is there to ask?" Mr. Yates bellowed.
Penelope's mind raced as she processed the situation. "Your daughter claims my son hit her, and my son insists he didn't. This is actually very easy to resolve. Let's just have the teacher pull the security footage from that section of the school. We'll see who's telling the truth and who's lying."
"Mrs. Stapleton, the security cameras in that specific area are currently broken," the teacher interjected, looking intensely apologetic.
Penelope frowned. Broken?
"However, there is another student who witnessed the incident. She saw Julian strike her," the teacher added.
"Could you bring this student here to verify her claim face-to-face with my son?"
"Well..."
"We need to get to the bottom of this. We can't simply assume that just because someone is injured, every word they say is the absolute truth."
Seeing the teacher hesitate, Penelope let out a cold scoff.
"The cameras are broken and haven't been repaired, leading directly to this messy situation. Should we discuss the school's liability in this matter?"
The teacher's heart skipped a beat. She had originally hoped to smooth things over quickly, especially since Mia's father was so aggressive. Her plan had been to wait for Julian's mother, force an apology, act as the mediator, and close the case. Clearly, she had vastly underestimated Julian's mother. The woman possessed an overwhelming aura of authority, completely subduing even a violently angry man like Mr. Yates—let alone a simple school teacher.
Without another word of protest, the teacher scurried off to the classroom to fetch the witness.
"Don't be scared, sweetie. Dad is right here. I'm going to get you justice!" Mr. Yates proclaimed loudly to his daughter, throwing a venomous glare in Penelope's direction.
"Okay."
It was obvious the two girls were close friends. After exchanging a few supportive whispers, Queena turned her attention to Penelope.
"Mrs. Stapleton, Mia and I were playing on the field. I saw with my own two eyes when Julian attacked and hurt her."
Penelope's eyes darkened. Queena again. This little girl loved stirring up drama just as much as her mother did. Penelope thoroughly disliked children who behaved this way.
"You hear that? This classmate saw it happen! Are you trying to say both these girls are conspiring to frame your son?" Mr. Yates said, his arrogance flaring up once more.
"Mrs. Stapleton, perhaps it would be best if Julian just apologized to Mia. Regardless of the reason, getting physical is never acceptable," the teacher chimed in.
"I didn't hit her! They're both lying!" Julian yelled, his panic rising.

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