[h3]6:00 pm, Callahan household[/h3]

Sophia stood in the center of her living room, three sets of eyes gazing at her. Since getting home almost half an hour ago, she had spent the better part of that time being chastised by her aunt, while her mother and uncle simply sat by with very serious expressions. And boy did it suck, especially since she kept her pinned with her “I’m very disappointed with you” look. Tic-tac’s evil eye had been pretty impressive, but nobody could make you feel like you just got caught kicking a puppy like her Aunt Kailey. Honestly, facing a courtroom judge couldn’t have been any worse. 

It didn’t help that Kailey was an actual lawyer, so she actually could become a judge if she wanted. 

So there she stood, head down, with Kailey standing in front of her with her arms folded. “I mean, do you even know the kind of damage that you could have done to that boy? You struck him in the throat, and then put your knee into his head! What if you had given him a concussion? What if he had stopped breathing?” 

Sophia remained unresponsive. She’d already had her chance to argue her case, now this was just facing the music. Kailey looked like she was ready to go on for another half-hour, when Joseph leaned forward from his seat on the sofa. “Kay, I think she gets the point.” He smiled as his wife gave him a look, miffed at having been cut off mid-rant, then turned back to his niece. “Look, Lady, we’re not mad that you fought back. Ricky’s a good kid, and it’s good to stick up for your friends. It’s why I gave you my old punching bag to practice on, you’re always going to be the first and last one to rely on when things get ugly. And I’m definitely going to be having a little chat with my old buddy about this Largent boy. If just getting bumped into gets him this riled up, then there’s something wrong there.”

Madeline glanced at him. “To be fair, he did get a plate full of spaghetti on him. I mean, when Jessica Andrews dumped her slurpee over my head in high school, I slapped her so hard you could still see the handprint the next day.”

The corner of Joseph’s mouth quirked, but otherwise his stoic expression didn’t break. “The difference is what Ricky did was an accident. Jessica Andrews dumped her slurpee on you because you stole her underwear and taped it to the ceiling of the boys locker-room during gym class. With a sign saying ‘Please get in me.’” Ignoring his sister’s ‘good point’ look, he continued on. “What we’re upset with, Lady, is that you went too far with it. I’m all for protecting yourself, but you don’t want to do worse than what he was already doing. And unfortunately, we live in a world where sometimes the good guys get punished for being good. It sucks, but that’s the way of the world. So!”

He stood up, looking down at Sophia with an imperious expression. “To make sure you’ve learned your lesson, you will wear pants for the rest of the week. INCLUDING the weekend.”

Sophia’s jaw dropped, and her face paled. [color=silver][i]The rest of the week! But… but…[/i][/color] She looked to her mother and aunt, but the former was pointedly looking away, while the latter simply glared at her, daring her to protest. After a moment, she hung her head again. [color=silver][b]Yes Uncle.[/b][/color]

Joseph gave a single nod, and pointed towards the stairs. “Good. Now march, Lady.” He waited until the tiny girl disappeared down the stairs before sitting down, whereupon both he and his sister burst out in a fit of chuckles and giggles. 

Holding her stomach, Madeline looked at him. “Pants for the rest of the week? Really?”

Grinning, Joseph leaned back in the sofa. “Hey, I’m not going to punish the girl for doing the right thing. Somebody hits you or your friends, you go on the defense. Besides, you know how much she hates wearing them.” His grin faded for a moment. “I am going to have to talk to Charlie about this though. This kid can’t just go around hitting people for every little thing.” 

A steady thumping sound announced Sophia’s return, and she bounded into the living room, wearing black sweatpants, black backpack and a black hoodie. Giving a twirl, she smiled brightly. [color=silver][b]So, how do I look? Am I a proper delinquent?[/b][/color] She pulled her hood up, tucking her hair into her collar, and gave a very unconvincing glower. 

Her mother and uncle both broke out in chuckles again, and Madeline gave her a thumbs up. Even Kailey broke a grin at her niece’s antics. “Very dark and roguish. You’ll be falling in with the wrong crowd in no time.” 

Sophia immediately beamed, and tackled her aunt with a hug before dancing towards the front door. [color=silver][b]Thanks Aunty. See ya later![/b][/color] She immediately came up short as Kailey grabbed the handle of her backpack. “Wait, wait wait. Where are you off to?” 

[color=silver][b]Sea Side Park for my detention.[/b][/color]

Madeline glanced at the clock, frowning. “Already? It’s only six o’clock, I thought you didn’t need to be there until eight.”

Rocking on her feet, Sophia tilted her head and shrugged. [color=silver][b]That’s right.[/b][/color]

“Okay, so. It’s forty-five minutes to walk there. Probably less for you. What exactly are you going to do until then?”

Digging her toes into the carpet and looking up at the ceiling with her hands clasped behind her back, Sophia was the picture of perfect innocence. [color=silver][b]You know. Stuff.[/b][/color] She gave an impish grin, then spun around and dashed for the door, leaving the three adults staring in her wake.

After a moment, Joseph shook his head and chuckled, looking at his sister. “You know she gets this from you, right?”

Madeline glared at him and smacked his arm. “Uh, excuse me? Whose idea was it to stash Jessica’s underwear in the boys locker-room? Because it wasn’t mine.”

Joseph frowned. “What? Yeah it was, that has ‘Madeline Callahan’ written all over it.”

“Nooo, YOU came up with that idea. I wanted to string them up on the flag pole.” 

Rolling her eyes as the siblings began arguing back and forth, Kailey made her way into her bedroom and grabbed a book from her bookshelf. “30 years old and they’re still children.” Taking out her bookmark, she settled down on her bed, then made a small smile. “Shouldn’t have stolen my boyfriend, Jess.”

[hr]

[h3]8:00 pm, Sea Side Park[/h3]

A single figure perched on a shadowed branch, distance rendering them invisible to the other kids. One of the taller trees in the park, it offered a perfect vantage point from which to observe nearly everything. 

Lowering her binoculars, Sophia grinned, then grimaced and tugged at her pants. She’d been wandering around the park for nearly an hour and a half, learning the lay of the land, and she could feel her thighs crying out for fresh air. If it didn’t drive her insane by the end of the week, it would be a miracle. 

She turned her attention back to the little gathering at the entrance of the park, her grin slowly coming back as she peered through her binoculars. It wasn’t ideal, a lot of open space, but she was nothing if not resourceful. Not her night of glory by a long shot, but a good exercise of her talents. A backpack full of goodies and unsuspecting victims, the perfect combination. Their division would be their weakness, their uncertainty her boon. They would know fear. Tonight, The Spectre would make her triumphant return. Let the games begin.

Stuffing her binoculars into her backpack, she dropped to the ground and darted deeper into the park, grumbling to herself as she tugged again at her pants. [i][color=silver]Stupid… fabric… leg tubes…[/color][/i]