"Mr. Morton, Peter is absolutely not the kind of boy who would hurt anyone—I can promise you that."
Uncle Ben removed his hat, his face solemn as he spoke to Vice Principal Morton.
"We'll get to the bottom of this, don't worry, Mr. Parker."
Morton smiled faintly. "I remember now who Peter is—Richard's son. Yes, that's right."
Before this, he hadn't recognized Peter. Only when he saw Uncle Ben did the connection click.
With an apologetic smile, Morton explained, "There are so many students in this school. After four or five years, they grow up, change, and sometimes you call a boy by his older brother's name. It happens. There's no avoiding it."
Then he glanced at Peter again, his voice tinged with nostalgia. "It's a strange feeling, you know? You see a child who seems familiar, then realize his father was once your own student. Richard was one of my first students—I still remember him vividly. Once, he built a rocket chair in class, swearing he'd send his classmates to the moon."
Morton chuckled awkwardly, then cleared his throat. "But I digress. Back to the matter at hand: the police have already been here. They need Peter to come down for questioning. And honestly, I think a boy like him shouldn't go to the precinct alone. He'll need family by his side."
That was the reason he had called them both to the school.
"Thank you, Mr. Morton."
Uncle Ben clasped his hand firmly in gratitude.
Aunt May, who had expected the vice principal to be difficult, felt relief at his words and stepped forward to thank him as well.
"Peter… what exactly happened?" she asked anxiously after speaking with Morton.
"Josh Robert was found dead in the storage room. I'd had a conflict with him before."
Peter explained briefly.
"Oh dear, what a tragedy," Aunt May murmured, visibly shaken. "None of us would ever wish for something like this to happen."
Knock, knock, knock!
Before she could say more, the sound of rapping came from the door.
Morton opened it. A uniformed police officer stood outside—next to him was Gwen, her anxious eyes darting inside the room.
"Vice Principal Morton, I'm George Stacy, Captain of the NYPD."
George introduced himself with formality.
The moment Gwen spotted Peter, she forgot about her father entirely and rushed toward him.
"Peter, are you okay?"
"I'm fine."
"I called my dad to come. Don't worry—you'll be all right."
Gwen's voice trembled, laced with urgency, as if she were more distressed than Peter himself.
Peter's calm façade wavered for just a moment as he noticed the beads of sweat glistening on the tip of her nose.
"Don't worry, Gwen. This doesn't really have anything to do with me. Once the police ask their questions, it'll be fine."
He added a few more words to reassure her.
"I believe you," Gwen said firmly.
Meanwhile, Morton was briefing Captain Stacy about the previous day's conflict between Peter and Josh.
"It wasn't a conflict!"
Gwen suddenly couldn't hold back any longer. She stormed forward, standing between Peter and the adults.
"They bullied him—again and again!"
Her voice rose, sharp with fury. "That time, Peter fell asleep in class, and Billy smeared peanut butter on his hair. In the hallway, they stuck out their legs to trip him. They knocked his books off his desk, stuffed obscene postcards in his backpack. Once, Kong even carved the word nerd onto his desk."
"All of it—every bit of it—was humiliation, cruelty, and spite. Simply because Peter is a good person who doesn't fight back, because he isn't good at socializing!"
The anger Gwen had bottled up for so long finally erupted.
"And you teachers—you all turned a blind eye! Or worse, you acted like Miss Dale, who insists that every student is a 'good kid'!"
Her voice shook, her face flushed with rage. "Now Josh is dead, and instead of looking at the truth, you suspect the one person he tormented countless times? Just because Peter finally stood up for himself once? That's not reasonable! And it's not fair!"
Her sudden outburst stunned everyone in the room.
George Stacy stared at his daughter in astonishment, then turned a thoughtful glance toward Peter, as if beginning to understand.
Uncle Ben and Aunt May looked at Vice Principal Morton in disbelief, struggling to accept that their nephew had endured such torment at school.
Peter froze at first, then felt a quiet warmth stir inside him. These were hardships the original Peter had suffered, yet hearing Gwen stand up for him so fiercely touched something deep within.
For a fleeting moment, the girl's passion altered something in his heart.
Morton, however, stood red-faced and speechless, his earlier composed expression utterly gone.
The silence in the room was deafening.
Finally, Captain Stacy broke it. "Mr. and Mrs. Parker, you can take Peter home."
He gave his daughter cover with a firm voice. "My officers have already questioned him briefly. I believe that's sufficient."
By rights, Peter should have been taken to the station, but as captain, George had the authority to override procedure.
"No objections, Mr. Morton?"
"N-no, none at all."
Morton nodded reflexively.
On the way home, George drove in silence for a while before glancing at Gwen in the passenger seat.
She rested her cheek on her hand, staring out the window at the blur of city lights.
"You shouldn't have spoken out like that, Gwen. That wasn't like you—you're not usually so reckless."
"I know."
Her voice was low, tinged with sadness. "I just… I just couldn't believe something like this could happen."
Turning her head, she looked at her father.
"Dad, why did you become a police officer?"
"I—"
"Because you wanted to help people. You wanted every neighborhood in this city to be safe, to be stable, to be free from crime. That's what you always tell me."
She shifted her gaze forward, watching the sky through the windshield.
"You fight for justice. You uphold it so everyone can be treated fairly. But why, Dad—why don't I see justice at school?"
"Gwen, we can't change everything—"
"No. It's because your justice can't always reach the ones who need it most."
Her words carried a steel edge, so resolute George could feel it. "Even if I can't do anything, even if I'm powerless, I'll still be angry. I won't pretend I didn't see it!"