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a chair opposite her, and in the light from the overhead fixture, Bennie could see unevenness on the skin over his cheeks, a residual pitting from childhood acne scars. His forehead showed a pinkish indentation where his hairline used to be, and his eyes were a rich, warm brown behind his steel-rimmed glasses, each lens with a visible bifocal window at the bottom.
    â€œTell me what happened yesterday, as far as you know.”
    â€œOkay.” Matthew reached for his coffee and took a quick sip. “I was at work, and I got a call that Jason and Richie got into it at school.”
    â€œSeventh grade. A twelve-year-old.” Bennie still couldn’t wrap her mind around it. She tugged a legal pad from her bag.
    â€œYes, at Crestwood Middle School in Mountain Top.”
    â€œWho’s Richie?”
    â€œRichie Grusini.” Matthew shook his head. “Kid’s a bully, a loudmouth, a hood , he gives Jason a hard time, always has, since elementary school.”
    â€œAre they in the same grade?”
    â€œYes, but my wife used to take care o’ all this. She knew everything, I’m playin’ catch-up. I’ve been hearin’ about Richie Grusini since I don’t know when. They all tease Jason, he’s pudgy like us. My wife used to make homemade pierogies, they were great.” Matthew paused, grief furrowing his forehead. “Once I said to my wife, I’m going over to the Grusinis’, give ’em a piece of my mind. She said it would make it worse for Jason. Jason said the same thing. Richie told Jason, ‘snitches get stitches.’” Matthew swallowed hard. “So I didn’t say nothin’, I wanted my boy to fight his own battles, I sure do regret it now.”
    Bennie could imagine the bind as a parent, which seemed no-win.
    â€œJason just finally snapped, he just snapped. He pushed Richie, then Richie pushed back.” Matthew rubbed his face. “So then the lunchroom monitor calls the principal, and the police arrest Jason and Richie.”
    Bennie couldn’t believe what she was hearing. “Was anybody seriously hurt?”
    â€œJason was the one who took a punch and he didn’t look that bad to me. I told him when I saw him, you’re fine. Richie didn’t have a mark on him.” Matthew shook his head. “The way I was raised, that’s jus’ boys bein’ boys, the worst you should get is detention, maybe suspension, that’s it.”
    â€œRight, I agree.”
    â€œBut not with the ‘zero tolerance,’ that’s the new thing. They started it at the schools, all over the district. That’s the policy, after that shooting in Columbine, when those kids shot up that high school, in ’99.”
    â€œIn Colorado, you mean?” Bennie didn’t see the relevance.
    Matthew nodded. “Like I said, my wife was the one who was always in the school. She told me they don’t tolerate any trouble anymore, they take the troublemakers out of school, and they go right to juvie.” Matthew hesitated. “I told her, ‘good’! I liked the idea. Too many troublemakers, they ruin it for the good kids like Jason. They’re the juvenile delinquents, not Jason.”
    â€œSo then what happened?”
    â€œThey took him to the courthouse and I met them there. It’s right in town, you can’t miss it.”
    Bennie had a terrible sense of direction, especially where there was no graffiti to guide her. “What time did you get called?”
    â€œAbout 3:15.”
    â€œSo he was arrested around 12:15 and you don’t get called until three hours later?”
    â€œYes, when I got there, they had him handcuffed!” Matthew’s eyes widened in disbelief. “He was tryin’ not to cry, and the cop said we hadda see the judge right then, so we did.”
    â€œWas he alone or with Richie?”
    â€œAlone. I took him aside so we could talk. He felt bad I had