Daphne is there in the lobby too, goofing off like a cat on the staircase. It is not until she gets up that Amias notices her.
"You can't treat her like that," she says, offended on Lira's behalf as if she's the one who's personally been denied a treehouse.
Amias knows that Daphne and justice don't relate. She also doesn't believe in sentiments, at least not in the serious real-life way. Her defending Lira right now must mean there's something in it for her.
Amias doesn't bother dignifying the complaint. "Go home," he says. "You're gossiping in the school. It's unbecoming. You should go home and do whatever you want, not stain the Bellamy name in public."
"Unbecoming?" Daphne flares. "Says the Bellamy who has no ounce of regard for his girlfriend's feelings." Her mouth snaps shut with a comedic flourish, and still, it's all performance.
I will not stand here and exchange words with an eighteen-year-old, Amias internally affirms.
