The headmaster smiled softly at Terry, waiting to hear an explanation from him, but words wouldn't come. His mouth opened and closed a few times before he shrugged and stared at his feet. The headmaster made a small noise, something that sounded like understanding. Terry sighed and closed his eyes, wishing he hadn't been found by Reid. He would have collected himself eventually and gone to use the showers, continuing on like nothing happened.

The headmaster continued to smile as he looked over to Reid. "It's OK, Terry," he said briefly. "Reid, you must know the boy is suffering from selected mute-ism... Yes, I do remember him when he first started here... Barely said a word all year, didn't you Terry?" Terry shrugged again in reply, still staring down at his feet.

"He also has autism, but because of his apparent independence, we saw it fit to not assign a teacher's aide to him." The headmaster stopped there, leaning back on his chair, but still looking at Reid. "Do you know who did it? You know my stance on bullying in this school. I won't tolerate it."