Her eyes focus on me, and I can see the hate in them. But when she speaks, it’s with that same bored tone. “We’re going to be late for class.”
I take hold of her arm to pull her into the classroom. At her seat, I release her and continue to my own.
She had to know we’d punish her this morning. She ignored every text on Sunday. There are consequences to her actions. She knows that.
The class flies by as I consider what to do next. I could let her continue this game of hers or I could escalate to get a reaction. But if I do that, things will be more tense with the others if it fails.
When class ends, Harper heads out without me. Without even a glance in my direction. I wanted to keep our punishment private, but if she keeps this up, maybe it’s time to actually do what we threaten.
I text the guys.
Me:
Situation not resolving. Thoughts?
Eli:
Let her have her wallow. She’ll come back around
Jack:
This fucking sucks
Caden:
Apply pressure. She’s mad under all that
Of course she is. But she can be mad. This act is frustrating as hell. The problem is we don’t know how long she can keep this up.
Me:
I’ve thought of two things. Escalate punishment or escalate interaction
Jack:
You want to break her permanently?
I’m not down with that
Eli:
Jack, you want to cave to her little tantrum?
Me:
We have to decide
Caden:
Let her be today. We’ll talk tonight after practice. My house
Easy for him to say. He made her respond to his kiss. The rest of the day passes and instead of worrying about Harper, I focus on my classes.
Jack took her home after school and got no interaction.
After practice, we head to Caden’s basement.
“Text her to put her camera on at nine tonight.” I gesture toward Eli. He sends the message to the group chat with a note to respond.
