Chapter 13: Chapter 13: Gwen's Outburst
"Morton, Peter would never harm anyone, I assure you," Ben said solemnly to Vice Principal Morton.
Ben took off his hat, his expression serious as he spoke to Vice Principal Morton.
"We'll get to the bottom of this, don't worry, Mr. Parker," Morton replied, smiling at Ben. "I remember who Peter is now; he's Richard's son, must be him."
He hadn't known Peter before, but seeing Ben made him realize Peter's identity.
Apologizing to Ben with a smile, Vice Principal Morton continued, "With so many students in the school, after four or five years, they all become someone else, you might call a boy by his brother's name, things like that, unavoidable."
Then he glanced at Peter and sighed, "You see a kid who looks familiar, then you realize his father was one of your first students. It's a strange feeling. Richard was my student before, I remember him well. He once built a rocket chair in class, wanting to send his classmates to the moon."
"Ahem, sorry for digressing. Back to the point, the police have already been here earlier. They want Peter to come in for questioning. Going to the police station alone, I think a kid like him might need the company of family."
Morton explained to Ben why he had called them to the school.
"Thank you, Mr. Morton," Ben said, tightly shaking Vice Principal Morton's hand in gratitude.
Thinking Vice Principal Morton might be difficult to talk to, May also stepped forward to thank him.
"Peter, what happened exactly?" May asked worriedly, after finishing talking to Vice Principal Morton.
"Josh Robertson was found dead in the storage room. I had a conflict with him before," Peter explained briefly to May.
"Oh my, what a tragedy!" May said, feeling sad. "None of us wanted to see something like this happen."
"Knock! Knock! Knock!"
May was about to say more when the door was knocked.
Vice Principal Morton opened the door, revealing a police officer standing outside.
Gwen was standing beside him, her anxious gaze fixed on the door.
"Vice Principal Morton, I'm George Stacy, Chief of the New York Police Department," George introduced himself to Morton.
Seeing Peter, Gwen didn't pay attention to her father and hurried over to him.
"Peter, are you okay?" she asked.
"I'm fine," Peter replied.
"I called my father to come over. You'll be fine with him," Gwen said, her tone slightly breathless with worry.
Peter's calm expression wavered slightly as he watched the beads of sweat on Gwen's nose.
"Don't worry, Gwen. This was never about me. Once the police clarify things, everything will be fine," he reassured her.
He explained a bit more to Gwen.
"I believe you," Gwen said firmly.
Meanwhile, Vice Principal Morton was talking to George.
He explained to the police chief about the conflict between Peter and Josh on the day before Josh went missing.
"It wasn't just a conflict!" Gwen couldn't bear to listen to Morton's words any longer and strode up, standing in front of him angrily.
"They've been bullying Peter all along," she said indignantly. "Hiding Peter's coat, putting a snake in his shoe, pushing him into the water, and pushing him again."
"That time Peter fell asleep in class, Billy smeared peanut butter on his head; in the hallway, someone stuck out their leg and tripped him; someone knocked his books off his desk; they put a dirty postcard in his bag; and once, Kingston even carved the word 'nerd' on his desk."
"All of this, all the bullying, teasing, and malice towards Peter, just because he's a good person who isn't good at socializing, just because he doesn't fight back."
Gwen's pent-up anger finally erupted.
"And you teachers, you all turned a blind eye, or like Miss Del, you think all students are good kids."
Gwen became more and more excited as she spoke. "And now Josh is dead, and you suspect the one who has been bullied by him countless times, just because he fought back once. It's all so unfair!"
Gwen's sudden outburst stunned everyone in the room.
George Stacy looked at his daughter, then glanced at Peter beside her, faintly understanding what was going on.
Ben and May, on the other hand, looked at Vice Principal Morton with disbelief. They couldn't imagine their nephew had endured such bullying at school.
Peter was initially stunned, but then a slight change appeared in his calm expression.
Although these experiences were originally experienced by the previous owner, there was still a warmth flowing through Peter's heart.
The girl's sudden change had touched him.
As Gwen finished speaking, Vice Principal Morton, with his usual amiable demeanor, suddenly turned red-faced and stood still.
The whole room fell silent, not a sound could be heard.
"Mr. and Mrs. Parker, you can take Peter home now," George Stacy's voice broke the silence in the room after a while.
"The officers have already questioned Peter briefly earlier. I think that should be enough."
He took the initiative to step forward and help Gwen out of the situation.
Although according to the procedure, Peter should have been taken to the police station for questioning, he could exercise his authority as the chief of police to skip this step.
"Is that okay with you, Mr. Morton?" he asked.
"Y-yes, of course," Vice Principal Morton nodded instinctively.
On the way back home, George, driving the car, glanced at Gwen sitting in the passenger seat.
Gwen rested her chin on her hand, looking out the window at the passing scenery.
"You shouldn't have said those things today, Gwen," George said to his daughter. "You're not usually this impulsive."
"I know," Gwen replied, her tone tinged with sadness. "I just thought, something like this shouldn't have happened."
She turned her face and looked at her father.
"Dad, why did you become a police officer?"
"I..."
"Because you wanted to help everyone, you wanted every community in this city to be safe and stable, free from the harm of criminals. You always tell me that," Gwen interrupted.
Gwen turned her head, looking through the windshield at the sky ahead.
"Dad, you fight for justice. You stand for righteous actions to ensure that everyone is treated equally. But... why haven't I seen justice at school?"
"Gwen, there are things we can't change—"
"No, it's because your idea of justice can't truly help those who need it," Gwen's voice was firm, conveying the determination that even if she couldn't do anything, she would still be angry about these injustices. "I can't pretend I haven't seen anything!"
...
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