Wednesday came in gray and heavy, like the sky had hit snooze too many times.
By the time Dayton got to her locker, the eighth grade hallway was already loud. Someone had a speaker going low in a backpack, just enough bass to rattle the metal doors. A custodian pushed a cart past with a squeaky wheel. The air smelled like whiteboard cleaner and whatever mystery thing had died in the vents near the science wing.
Nicole was leaning against Dayton’s locker, scroll typing on her phone with one hand and balancing a yogurt in the other.
“You are late,” she said. “For someone whose love language is checking off events in her day planner, this feels off brand.”
Dayton rolled her eyes as she spun the combination. “My mom was momming bright and early” she said. “Then some guy tried to drive his Tesla up a bike lane.”
“Classic,” Hayden said, sliding into place on Dayton’s other side, backpack slung over one shoulder. “I almost got murdered by a scooter on the way in.”
Hannah came up a second later, hugging her binder like a shield. “You guys are so dramatic,” she said. “My mom just drove me.”
“Not all of us have a personal chauffeur,” Nicole said. She tossed her empty yogurt cup into a trash can, missed, then went to pick it up because the lunch monitors were brutal this year.
Dayton’s locker door popped open. Inside, her books were stacked neatly, highlighters in a cup, Guardian certification card taped on the inner wall. SEA logo. Her photo.
It watched her while she swapped out her math textbook for her English binder.
“So,” Nicole said, eyes bright. “English today. What are we thinking. Repeat of Pop Quiz of Doom, or full poetry cult.”
“Can you call it something other than doom,” Hannah asked. “The quiz was not that bad.”
“Easy for you to say, Miss Annotated Margins,” Nicole said. “Some of us were too busy watching tiny Voldemort roast our friend to focus.”
Hayden snorted. “Tiny Voldemort is wild, but you are not wrong.”
Dayton shut her locker, a little harder than she meant to. “He is not tiny Voldemort,” she said. “He is just Rhys. Besides Voldemort is too nice to be Rhys.”
“Yeah, he is just Rhys, who turned your Guardian training into a whole metaphor,” Nicole said. “I am still mad about that leash comment. Remind me again why he was ever my favorite teacher?”
“He was using Whitman,” Hannah said. “He does that. He picks a student and builds a whole thing around them. Last year he made my perfectionism a symbol for capitalism for like a whole week.”
“That sounds fun,” Hayden said.
“It was not,” Hannah said.
Nicole glanced at Dayton. “So, what is the plan today, Guardian Harris. If he tries to pull more Guardian stand-up comedy, are you going to let it slide, or are we witnessing the day you verbally suplex him into next week.”
“I am not suplexing anyone,” Dayton said. She adjusted her backpack strap. “I am going to sit there and be a normal student.”
“Terrifying,” Hayden said. “Imagine.”
The second bell beeped, a flat little sound that somehow managed to cut through all the noise.
They joined the flow of bodies toward the language arts wing. Posters lined the walls: READ ACROSS AMERICA, SEA COMPLIANCE, COLLEGE STARTS NOW. Someone had doodled horns on the President in one of the SEA flyers. Someone else had half-erased them.
As they neared Room 305, the usual shift happened. Volume dropped a notch. People straightened up without really meaning to. Even the kids who hated reading seemed to know Rhys’s classroom had its own gravity.
He was already there when they walked in.
He stood on his platform of stacked anthologies, tablet on its tiny stand, mini whiteboard rolled into place in front of him like a podium. His tie today was deep green, perfectly knotted. He had one hand resting on his hip, the other holding a pen that looked like it belonged in a Barbie playset.
“Phones away,” he said into the mic as they found their seats. “If I see a screen, I reserve the right to dramatically recite Dickinson over whatever you are watching.”
Nicole dropped into the seat to Dayton’s right. Hayden took the window side. Hannah slid into the desk in front of them, pens already color-coded.
On the main board behind Rhys, someone had left yesterday’s math notes half erased. Slanted numbers, partial equations, a ghost of a parabola.
Rhys followed Dayton’s line of sight, then turned his head toward the mess.
He did not sigh. He did not need to. The slight tightening around his mouth said enough.
“Dayton,” he said.
Her whole body tensed. “Yes.”
He gestured to the board. “Would you be so kind as to erase yesterday’s numerical chaos and write our header for today.”
“What header,” she asked, even though part of her already guessed.
“Themes of Exile,” he said. “Nice and clear. Small enough that I am not living in its shadow all period.”
Nicole muttered, “Classroom optimization, day three,” under her breath.
Dayton stood up. The eraser felt heavy and dry in her hand. She wiped the board clean, white dust streaking across the surface, the faint squeak matching the feeling in her chest.
Then she picked up a piece of chalk and wrote.
THEMES OF EXILE.
Her letters were straight, blocky, the way she had been taught.
“Smaller,” he said. “I do not wish to feel like the word exile is about to fall on my head.”
A few kids laughed.
She compressed the letters, added smaller subtitles underneath: Physical, Emotional, Social.
Her brain liked things in columns.
He tilted his head, pretending to squint. “Better,” he said. “Although your r is still having an identity crisis. We will work on that.”
Laughter again, low and scattered.
She put the chalk down and returned to her desk. Her heart was beating faster than it should for something that basic.
Hannah passed her a fresh piece of paper without looking back. It was small and quiet, a little offering.
“Today,” Rhys said, “we are talking about what it means to be pushed out. Out of your home. Out of your body. Out of what you thought your life was going to be.”
Nicole leaned closer. “This should be fun,” she whispered.
Halfway through the period, the board behind him was full.
He had filled his mini whiteboard with quotes and page numbers. On the main board, below Dayton’s neat header, Dayton had written student ideas making sure to write smaller yet precise.
Exile as punishment.
Exile as survival.
Exile you choose.
Exile that happens to you.
They had talked about historical exile, literary exile, the feeling of being in a room and still on the outside. Rhys moved through it like he always did, weaving kids’ answers into something bigger.
Dayton hated that part of her still liked watching him teach.
“It is not always about countries,” he said now. “Sometimes exile is smaller. A family, a friend group, a classroom. A body.”
He tapped his marker against his board. “You can experience exile at the size of a city, or at the size of a living room. Or, theoretically, at the size of a dollhouse. Hypothetically.”
A little ripple of discomfort moved through the class.
He let it sit for a second, then turned toward the rows.
“Let us apply this,” he said. “Examples help. Who here has seen exile up close.”
No one moved.
He scanned the room. His gaze slid past Dayton, then stopped on Nicole.
“Miss Myers,” he said.
Nicole straightened like she had been poked with a taser. “What.”
“You are a Guardian now, correct,” he said. “Your sister underwent classification last year or the year prior i believe.”
The air around their table seemed to drop a degree. Hannah’s pen froze above her notebook. Hayden stopped tapping her foot.
Everyone knew about Kinsley. The friendly rivalry with Dayton, the sudden infection, the way Nicole had come back to school after with guardian certification and a Little for a sister.
They did not usually talk about it in class.
Nicole’s fingers twisted in the spiral of her notebook. “Yeah,” she said. “She is a Little now.”
“Excellent,” Rhys said. “Excellent for our purposes, to be clear. Not excellent for her body, I imagine.”
A couple of kids laughed, then shut up fast when they realized Nicole was not laughing.
He continued, light and almost conversational. “Would you say your sister has been exiled from her former life.”
Nicole swallowed. “No,” she said. “That feels dramatic.”
“Dramatic can be accurate,” he said. “Has her physical world changed.”
“Obviously,” Nicole said. “She is like, six inches tall.”
“Six point two, actually,” Hannah murmured without looking up.
Nicole shot her a quick look that said thanks and also not helping.
“Has her social world changed,” Rhys asked. “Friends, school, routines.”
“Yeah, but we did not like, ship her off,” Nicole said. Her voice sped up, defensive. “She still lives with us. She is still my sister. She has a bedroom. It is just smaller. She’s studying for the LSATs”
“And a collar,” he added. “Correct.”
Nicole’s jaw clenched. “Yeah. She has a collar.”
“Which you hold the license for,” he said. “You choose when she can leave the house. When she eats. Who touches her. Whether she is allowed near the family dog.”
“That is literally the point of being a Guardian,” Nicole said. “So, she does not die because someone drops her or kicks her or whatever. We are keeping her safe.”
He smiled, but there was very little warmth in it. “So, you are both protector and gatekeeper.”
“It is not like that,” Nicole said.
“What is it like then,” he asked. “Describe it to the class. You have firsthand experience of a person exiled from one scale of life to another.”
Nicole’s cheeks had gone pink, high up near her eyes. Her voice dropped. “She is not exiled. She is home. It is just, different.”
“You have school,” he said. “Sports. Friends. She has what.”
“Me,” Nicole snapped.
The room went still. Even the kids in the back who usually slept through everything were paying attention now.
Nicole’s hands were tight on the edge of her desk. “She has me,” she said. “She has my mom. She has her hammock bed she likes to lounge in and her stupid collection of tiny trophies and like, way too many socks. She is not exiled. She is just reduced.”
Rhys’s eyebrows lifted a fraction. “Reduced,” he repeated. “That is an interesting word choice.”
“It is the word the SEA uses,” Nicole said. “In all the paperwork. Reduced and reclassified. I did not make it up.”
“And how does she feel about it,” he asked. “Have you asked.”
Something in Nicole’s expression flickered. “She is fine,” she said. “She is way less stressed now. She does not have to keep up with regular school. She gets to chill.”
“So exile can be comfortable,” he said. “Soft. Padded. Full of socks.”
“Do not do that,” Nicole said.
“Do what.”
“Make it sound like we locked her in a cage,” she said. “We did what we were supposed to. I did everything right. I went to the trainings. I passed the test. I registered her. I did not dump her at some little care center and walk away.”
“That was not what I said,” he replied, that same smooth tone.
“You are making it sound like being a Guardian is being a jailer,” she said. “That is messed up.”
“Is it,” he asked. “Or is that tension built into the system itself.”
“Okay, that is enough,” Dayton said.
The words were out of her mouth before her brain had really signed off.
Half the class turned to look at her. Nicole jerked her head around too, eyes wide.
Rhys shifted his attention to Dayton slowly, like he was turning a camera.
“I did not call on you, Dayton,” he said.
“I do not care,” she said. Her heart was pounding so hard she could feel it in her fingers. “You are not doing that.”
“Doing what, exactly,” he asked. His voice stayed calm, but there was a new sharpness under it.
“Dragging her,” Dayton said. She did not stand up, but her spine was ramrod straight. “Nicole did everything right. She did what she was supposed to. You do not get to use her sister as some kind of example to prove your point.”
Nicole whispered, “Dayton, it is fine,” but it did not sound like she believed it.
Rhys watched Dayton, really watched her, in a way that made the hair on the back of her neck stand up.
“So we have a Guardian defending a fellow Guardian,” he said softly. “Interesting.”
“It is not about that,” Dayton said. “It is about you messing with my friend.”
“I am asking her questions,” he said. “She is a Guardian with lived experience. That is valuable to the discussion.”
“You are poking at it on purpose,” Dayton said. “You know how hard it was for her when Kinsley got reduced. You know what that did to her family. You are using that to get a reaction.”
He tilted his head. “And you feel the need to intervene.”
“Yes,” she said. “Because you are out of line.”
A collective inhale moved through the room.
It felt like the moment right before a glass falls and everyone knows it is going to shatter.
Rhys’s gaze sharpened. “Out of line,” he repeated.
She met his eyes. “You want to critique the system, fine. You have opinions, cool. I get that this sucks. But going after Nicole’s Guardian status like she is the villain here, that is not teaching. That is you taking your whole situation out on the wrong person.”
Silence.
Hannah turned around in her seat, eyes huge. Hayden’s hand was gripping the edge of her desk so tight her knuckles were white.
Rhys did not raise his voice. He did not have to. The mic carried every word.
“So your argument,” he said slowly, “is that I, a Little with firsthand experience of reduction, am not allowed to question a system that collared me.”
“That is not what I said,” Dayton replied.
“You are allowed to question whatever you want,” she added. “You are not allowed to act like Nicole did something wrong by following the law.”
He blinked once. “Law and morality are not the same thing.”
“No, but she is thirteen,” Dayton said. “She is not in Congress. She did not write the Smallara Act. She is doing the best she can with a messed up situation that none of you voted on. If you have a problem with that, go yell at the President, not at my best friend in the middle of English.”
A couple of kids murmured, “Whoa,” under their breath.
Rhys’s jaw tightened. It was small, almost invisible, but Dayton saw it.
“Guardian Harris has spoken,” he said. “We must all now bow to her superior moral authority.”
Sarcasm dripped from every syllable.
“Do not call me that like it is a joke,” Dayton shot back. “I earned that title. You know I did.”
“Oh, I am very aware,” he said. “You have mentioned it once or twice. Or twenty times.”
Someone giggled nervously, then stopped.
“You are proud of your certification,” he continued. “You should be. You worked hard. You learned the rules. You know exactly how many centimeters a collar should sit below a Little’s jaw to avoid airway obstruction.”
“That is basic safety,” Dayton said.
“You know the correct amp level for a classroom,” he went on. “You know how far a Little can safely fall off a surface before SEA reports it as an incident. You know which leash materials are approved and which are too abrasive.”
“That is my job,” she said. “To know those things so Littles do not get hurt.”
“Fascinating,” he said. “Tell me, in all your training, how many hours did you spend being told to ask Littles whether they wanted any of this.”
“That is not how it works,” Dayton said.
“Exactly,” he replied.
The words hit like a slap.
He stepped closer to the edge of his platform, tiny polished shoes near the taped lip.
“You are correct about one thing,” he said. “Nicole did not write the laws. You did not either. You are both children participating in a machine that was built long before you were born.”
He gestured toward the board with his marker. “Which happens to be what we are studying. Systems that exile people from their previous lives. Sometimes on purpose. Sometimes with very good intentions.”
“My intentions are not the problem,” Nicole said quietly. Her voice sounded small in a way Dayton hated. “I am just trying to do right by my sister.”
“I do not doubt that,” he said. For a second, his tone softened. “Truly.”
Then he looked back at Dayton. The softness vanished.
“But when your friend leaps to your defense and tells a Little when he is and is not allowed to question his own exile,” he said, “that is something we can and should examine.”
“I am not telling you you cannot question things,” Dayton said. “I am telling you to stop acting like we are the enemy here.”
“Enemy is your word, not mine,” he said.
“You keep talking like Guardians are jailers,” she said. “Like we like this. Like we get off on control. We do not. We are just trying to keep people alive.”
“At what cost,” he asked.
“At the cost of you not getting stepped on by some random kid in the hallway,” she snapped. “At the cost of you not ending up shoved in a locker as a joke. At the cost of you not falling off your stupid stack of books and breaking your neck.”
Someone near the back said, “Yo,” very softly.
Rhys’s expression shifted. Something flashed in his eyes that looked a lot like pain, then it smoothed out again.
“The language you are using is interesting,” he said. “My stupid stack of books. My stupid body. My stupid situation. Almost like you are angry that I exist in this form and not as a neat problem you can solve with paperwork.”
Dayton’s cheeks were burning. “That is not what I meant.”
“Is it not,” he asked. “Because from where I am standing, which is admittedly a much shorter distance from the floor than it used to be, it sounds like you are furious that I am not cooperating with the story you want to tell.”
“What story,” she asked, thrown.
“The one where you, Dayton Harris, get to swoop in,” he said. “File the right form. Clip on the right collar. Fix the dangerous situation. Feel righteous. Check the box.”
“That is not fair,” Hannah blurted.
Every head turned toward her.
Hannah swallowed but kept going. “She is not like that,” she said. “She is not doing this to feel righteous. She is doing it because no one else is. You keep acting like she has all the power when really it is the adults who messed this up, not her.”
Rhys looked at Hannah for a long moment. “Thank you, Miss Merriweather,” he said. “That perspective is noted.”
He closed his marker with a soft click.
“Unfortunately,” he added, “the universe does not grade on intention. Only impact.”
He turned back to the board.
“Homework,” he said, as if the last five minutes had not happened. “Finish the next chapter of Metamorphosis. Reflect in one paragraph on a time you felt pushed out of something that used to feel like home. It can be literal, metaphorical, or emotional.”
The bell rang on top of his words, screechy and too loud.
Chairs scraped back. No one moved as fast as usual.
“Class dismissed,” he said into the mic.
They spilled into the hallway like a shaken bottle that had not quite exploded.
“Dude,” Hayden whispered as soon as they were a few steps away from the door. “What was that.”
“I am going to vomit,” Hannah said, hugging her binder tighter. “My hands are still shaking.”
Nicole walked stiffly, jaw clenched, eyes fixed straight ahead. Dayton matched her pace.
“I am sorry,” Dayton said quietly. “I did not mean to speak for you.”
Nicole blinked, like snapping out of something. “Are you kidding,” she said. “I was about to start crying in front of everyone. You saved me.”
“I also kind of picked a fight with him,” Dayton said.
“Yeah,” Hayden said. “You went full boss battle.”
Hannah nodded. “He was being unfair,” she said. “You were right to say something.”
“He is going to hate me,” Dayton said.
“He already kind of does,” Nicole said. She bumped her shoulder against Dayton’s. “Welcome to the club.”
“Still,” Dayton said.
Nicole stopped walking. The crowd flowed around them, kids detouring without really paying attention.
“He went after Kinsley,” Nicole said. “In front of everybody. I get that he is mad. I get that his life sucks. But he does not get to talk about my sister like she is a case study.”
Dayton swallowed. “I know.”
“So thank you,” Nicole said. “For stepping in.”
Dayton looked back toward the classroom door. Through the little narrow window, she could see him on his platform, tiny and solitary, flipping through a stack of papers.
Her stomach twisted.
“He doubled back on you,” Hayden said. “Hard.”
“Yeah,” Dayton said. She exhaled. “He is not wrong about everything. That is what makes it so annoying.”
“What he is wrong about,” Hannah said gently, “is putting all of it on you like you personally built the system.”
“Facts,” Nicole said. “You did not write the slogan. You just live with it.”
Life begins at eighteen inches.
The words flashed in Dayton’s head like a campaign graphic.
“I am still filing,” she said. The statement surprised her with how solid it felt.
Nicole nodded once. “Good.”
“You sure,” Hayden asked.
“No,” Dayton said. “But I am doing it anyway.”
They headed down the hall together, four girls in matching uniforms, walking through a building full of rules that were older than any of them.
In Room 305 behind them, a four inch man stood on a stack of books, caught between two species, two systems, and one Guardian who had finally stopped pretending this was just English class.
DAAAAAAAAAMN !!!!
It got real today.
Nicole clearly hasn’t really asked her sister about this lol which is fine. i mean, I don’t even think Sara really asked jordan for a long (relative to how many chapters were released, not in story time) time.
Rhys might seem really harsh considering they’re 13 year old, but I think he’s doing the right thing. He’s making them question the situation and the system and is cutting through propaganda. He’s a problem alright, but for the SEA and the message that’s being presented to the public. Catching his students now vs when they’re older is good too. still harsh, but good. their opinions and view on the world is more open to change this way.
Probably not all of this but there is truth in the fact she did follow the law so one could argue there is not much to ask.
It’s not collaring is optional. It hasn’t
Been depicted yet how Kinsley actually lives. She could be happy or content. Granted rather not infected with smallara but it doesn’t mean she can’t be having a happy life.
Yeah I was just thinking about all that now but you posted before I could post a edit lol I guess im making an assumption based on what I perceived from Nicole’s reaction. Maybe she has asked and Kinsley gave her a fake answer, or maybe she asked in a way that wasn’t overly genuine or she immediately thought about a time where they talked about it and Nicole blew her off or Kinsley just didn’t give a honest answer. I think Rhys questioning it was a great thing, but I shouldnt have said it’s clear she didn’t ask, cause it really isn’t that clear
1) “Some of us were too busy watching tiny Voldemort roast our friend to focus.” Voldemort vs Satan is a fight I’d like to see.
2) “I am still mad about that leash comment.” girls often hate seeing their friends called out.
3) “I am going to sit there and be a normal student.” that’d be a first.
4) “Would you be so kind as to erase yesterday’s numerical chaos and write our header for today.” Whole class dude, I get making it clear that you’re in charge of Dayton, not the other way around, but there are limits.
5) “Smaller, I do not wish to feel like the word exile is about to fall on my head.” Well, some kind of Exile gonna fall upon you
6) “Smaller,” he said. “I do not wish to feel like the word exile is about to fall on my head.” There is no ‘r’ in anything she wrote
7) “we are talking about what it means to be pushed out. Out of your home. Out of your body. Out of what you thought your life was going to be.” He’s working through something
9) “Dayton hated that part of her still liked watching him teach.” sounds liek even she knows he’s good at his job.
10) “You are a Guardian now, correct? Your sister underwent classification last year, or the year prior, I believe.” Probably not something she wants brought up.
11) “Would you say your sister has been exiled from her former life.” Well, she was in your class, do you feel like she’s been exiled?
12) “And a collar, which you hold the license for,you choose when she can leave the house. When she eats. Who touches her. Whether she is allowed near the family dog.” C’mon dickhead, you’re playing with fire
13) “Describe it to the class. You have firsthand experience of a person exiled from one scale of life to another.” it’s a good example, to show what he’s talking about, gotta give him that.
14) “You have school, Sports. Friends. She has what.” – “Me,” Yeah, I think his points are actually being made a lot better than Nicole wants
15) “And how does she feel about it, Have you asked?” Slid question, one Nicole dodges answering
16) “You are making it sound like being a Guardian is being a jailer, that is messed up.” and yet so often the truth
17) “Is it, or is that tension built into the system itself?” is definitely similar to how the system works.
18) “Nicole did everything right. She did what she was supposed to. You do not get to use her sister as some kind of example to prove your point.” Definitely a cunty thing to do, even if he had valid points
19) “So we have a Guardian defending a fellow Guardian,” after a Little went after the circumstances of another Little.
20) “I am asking her questions; she is a Guardian with lived experience. That is valuable to the discussion.” Not like this, it isn’t
21) “Yes, because you are out of line.” Dayton does know a thing or two about being out of line
22) “You want to critique the system, fine. You have opinions, cool. I get that this sucks. But going after Nicole’s Guardian status like she is the villain here, that is not teaching. That is you taking your whole situation out on the wrong person.” You claim it sucks, but try to weaponise it against him. I get that he’s going too hard on Nicole, but she’s not some innocent victim; she, while fully guardian trained, sat back and watched you bully Jordan, even laughed along and participated with some of it. He’s finding not just flaws in the system, but in Nicole’s (or inaction’s) own actions
23) “So your argument, is that I, a Little with firsthand experience of reduction, am not allowed to question a system that collared me.” probably not the smartest idea to draw attention to those laws from his position.
24) “You are not allowed to act like Nicole did something wrong by following the law.” he’s definitely doing that.
25) “She is doing the best she can with a messed up situation that none of you voted on” no, but one that you support, you don’t like that it’s specifically Kinsley but you love the system that lets you buy people to live under your command.
24) “Guardian Harris has spoken. We must all now bow to her superior moral authority.” It is pretty funny herthinking she has any kind of moral highground
25) “I earned that title. You know I did.” – “Oh, I am very aware, you have mentioned it once or twice. Or twenty times.” Each as an attempt to assert dominance no doubt.
26) “Tell me, in all your training, how many hours did you spend being told to ask Littles whether they wanted any of this.” their not tight that silly, they’re taught that Littles are lesser beings, therefore what a Little wants is irrelevant.
27) “Nicole did not write the laws. You did not either. You are both children participating in a machine that was built long before you were born.” no, they’d have been like 10-11 when these laws were being written.
28) “I am telling you to stop acting like we are the enemy here.” you are 100% his enemy, you’re going behind his back to try and claim him like a trophy, and your friends are in on that.
29) “You keep talking like Guardians are jailers, Like we like this. Like we get off on control. We do not. We are just trying to keep people alive.” You love control Dayton
30) “At the cost of you not ending up shoved in a locker as a joke” you telling me she wouldn’t do tht to her Little? Wouldn’t laugh if Nicole did it to Kinsley? I doubt that.
31) “Almost like you are angry that I exist in this form and not as a neat problem you can solve with paperwork.” oh buddy, she is, but she’s absolutely trying to solve this with paperwork.
32) “Because from where I am standing, which is admittedly a much shorter distance from the floor than it used to be, it sounds like you are furious that I am not cooperating with the story you want to tell.” Oh he;s got her nailed.
33) “The one where you, Dayton Harris, get to swoop in, file the right form—clip on the right collar. Fix the dangerous situation. Feel righteous. Check the box.” That’s it, that’s her plan
34) “She is not doing this to feel righteous. She is doing it because no one else is.” doesn’t seem like many other people care.
35) “Finish the next chapter of Metamorphosis. Reflect in one paragraph on a time you felt pushed out of something that used to feel like home. It can be literal, metaphorical, or emotional.” actually fitting homework, lol
36) “He is going to hate me,” as opposed to the boundless love he already had for you?
37) “He went after Kinsley in front of everybody. I get that he is mad. I get that his life sucks. But he does not get to talk about my sister like she is a case study.” A Little questioning if another Little is safe makes sense. Nicole has flaws in how she treats Littles. I kind of wish we’d seen how she treats Kinsly so we’d know how accurate or far off Ezra was.
38) ““is putting all of it on you like you personally built the system.” – “You did not write the slogan. You just live with it.” She also embraces it, loves the power it gives her.
39) “I am still filing,” Proving him right, proving she wants to usurp him and treat him exactly the way he described.
40) This may have been the most intense Chapter yet, Dayton and Ezra dropping pretences and arguing directly was so good to read, he had her nailed on somethings, kinda missed with Nicole, though.
It’s be interesting to see how Nicole interacts with Kinsly after this, would she ask the questions Mr brought up? Would she take her frustrations out on her? Would she avoid her? Would she act like nothing changed?
I can admit that Rhys is being pretty tough with 13 year olds, but at the same time, this is like the most important part of all the smallara stories to date, in my opinion. Rhys is basically speaking for all littles that were once not littles, and dayton is speaking for guardians. and Rhys is making way better points (albeit to 13 year olds and not full adults lol) right now. Plus, he’s still teaching them. I only had maybe 5 teachers from 5th grade to 12th grade in public school that made me critically think about stuff the way that Rhys is doing for his students, and it’s a really good thing and a lost art in the United States Public Education system imo.
I went to public school, I remember when teachers woukd derail conversations to rant about their political views.
Dayton tries to call him out for ranting at 13yos instead of the adults who maje tge laws, but like who tf else would listen?
I doubt Cassie would even humour him.
idk about political views, but i had a handful of teachers that would openly discuss views on life and stuff with us. One of my english teachers was notorious for it, kind of similar to Rhys, but with older teens vs someone like Dayton who is basically new to being a teen. I also had a college professor that would have people say what their POV was on a certain point, then make them argue the opposite point. He basically said if you can’t see both sides then you’re just confirming your bias. that stuck with me a lot lol
If you ever watched a show called boy meets world. The way he does lessons i stole from Mr. Feeny
true I agree with you. although its not like the 13 year olds really want to listen to him rant either. They just cant leave so are being held hostage.
Just like the rants I was subjected to at their age, lol.
I feel lie Satan would win as voldemort at the end of the day is still a man where Satan is basically a god or fallen angel depending on beliefs.
Atleast her friends are loyal though. It would be kinda mean if they werent upset with her being called out.
Wow, you are going to really do her like that. Thats cruel.
He only has eyes for Dayton. I do wonder what his other non-dayton classes are like.
I see what you did there. Touche.
That was my fault. I’m pretty sure i edited out and/ro rewrote things a few times here but i’m down for blaming Mr. Rhys. Damn him.
Each lesson is like how can I twist the knife stabbed into Dayton a little more each day. its like it gives him oxygen.
Well, she recognizes his talent even if they don’t like each other. She can separate the two. Nicole even liked Rhys as a teacher at one point as well too.
most definately not.
He woudlnt really know though as he only saw her for one class period a day. Nicole doesnt bring Kinsley to school and Kinsley doesnt want to go anyway. She studies for her lsats basically home schooling. still having to learn things but its more independent study.
Kinsley would tag along only once in a great while if there was something she was actually interested in.
Plus most of his comments here are not whole truths.. I mean its not like Nicole can fully choose when she leaves and comes her parents have that say.
While Nicole can say who can touch her he doesnt actually know what there home life is like or what the dynamic is. He is kind of projecting
It is but only if Nicole consents which it seems like she doesnt here. As he is using her personal life as a lesson plan.
Kinsley does still have friends. Just because she doesnt go to school doesnt mean her friends dont still go to her house to see her. It doesnt mean she still doesnt do activities. He is projecting the narrative he wants to be true here a bit imho.
Well in defense of nicole its not really his business nor is it there classes business what her and kinsley worked out, shared or feel. If she wants to share it thats on her but he has no right accuse her of anything or put her on the spot or his own gain.
Only if its true. he is painting some pretty wide strokes. While some are to say or implay all guardians is a reach.
He’s not wrong to an extent.
agreed
yes, without really even knowing much about that little as he only ever has spoken to pre-smallara kinsley.
He is going all in thats for sure. hopefully it works out for me. Its effective as a teacher i will admit but I kind of think what he is doing here is wrong regardless of how effective it is or isnt.
If anyone knows she does. Some could even say a Master
I would say she is innocent as its a bit much to take one moment out of her life and use that permemantly as a point against her. If you audited my life, and your life, and each person’s here lives there woudl be equal moments of failure.
Just because she was wrong in that one moment doesnt excuse or make this one right. If someone kills murders a loved one it doesnt make it legal for you to murder one of theirs. Thats not how life works. Nicole did notify Sara Jordan was okay. Nicole maybe wanted a moment of not being responsible in a time when she had to grow up to early.
But one one bad moment doesnt justify the next. Just because one person is being bullied. Bullying the back isnt the answer and wont solve anything. It just contiues the cycle.
He’s allowed to question it but he’s also not probably doing in the best place possible. Schools are very touchy about subjects brought up. Like you need to be careful you arent influencing kids to one religon or one political belief or another.
This is one point I do agree with dayton on. She has made mistakes but I do think its wrong to say nicole somehow failed kinsley but following the law.
The only way you can change the system is to work change from within. If you just immediately attack it and don’t follow the rules. All that does is end up coming back to bite you.
Daytons official canonical stance is she is siding with the law because its whats is legal. She doesnt have to agree with it but its the law so it doesnt matter what she thinks as its been decided. Its not up for debate. She cares about what is legal. What the society, the government and the system at large are setting forth as what is right and wrong. Just like murder is wrong becuase its illegal, becuase society dictates it to be so.
Well she is legally right. Nicole did what was required. The law is the law. If this were D&D she would be lawful.
Each time you could also say was an attempt to cut down her acomplishment and undermine it. it does go both ways. While Dayton has been in the wrong so has Mr. Rhys. Its not really fair to not equally assert Mr. Rhys’s faults.
You have the correct answer. As its a program that while run by generitech still has to uphold american values. Within systems the littles want when it comes to assignment is not meaningless but its minor.
He is more speaking of system as a whole. The systemic system that lead the government to create the system we see. Its not like the government was this morally pure system until smallara came and it just corrupted them morally to the core. Its a system that has been in place for a long team.
People are conditioned and controlled and fed the information which is why so many people side with the government when it comes to titles as its systemic. its not some unique left field view. Its a soceity that has built and guided to think, accept and believe morally and culturally that this would be right.
That doesnt occur over 10 years. Thats a generational and systemic methodolgy that was built over a long course of history.
shes really not going behind his back fully. She is using the system as its setup. Shes not hiding it but she doesnt have to disclose anything to him. As he is the one committing the crime in her view. Its like if you wer embezzling money. The person who is going to blow the whistle on you isnt going to say hey im going to the cops to tell them your embezzling this money.
Dayton likes control but its not unique to littles.
I actually dont think the current dayton would shove her little into a locker as a joke. She definitely wouldn’t laugh at Kinsley being shoved into a locker.
Pre-guardian dayton would behave a bit differently but she still wouldnt like kinsley being shoved into a locker as joke. Now would pre-guardian dayton laugh at Mr. Rhys being shoved into a locker 100%
Dead to fucking rights here. I love this part.
Yup dead to fucking rights. Dayton feels she is morally just, legally in the right and it bothers to her no end that she feels he is running a illegal little operation and is getting away with it.
While maybe not her only plan its certainly her ideal plan.
In the class very few guardians exist and while others do have issues with it this story is hyper focused on Dayton. So you’re really only seeing things from Dayton’s view. I havent jumped to anyone else on purpose. As the story follows Daytons journey, expierences, thoughts and opinions.
Well its a real lesson plan i designed or that was the intent atleast.
lol fair point. My thought was to show the mind of a woman who one moment is thinking one thing and the next another.
I dont know if it can be said nicole has a flaw in how she treats littles. As it hasnt really been depicted how she treats littles and the readers have very limited knowledge of nicole.
Well her mother embraces it. Dayton is only just starting to enter the age where she si fully developing her own thoughts and feeligns shes only 13.
It could also be argued he is creating his own reality by forcing her into a box by his own actions to get the very thing he is wanting avoid.
I think Dayton had a few good points on him though it just depends on which side you are on I think as to which will resonate with you more.
Nicole isn’t mad at Kinsley. She’s mad at Mr. Rhys so I’m unsure why she would take out her frustrations out on Kinsley.
1) Probably.
2) Maybe, loyalty is good, but accountability is better.
3) Thanks
4) I assume he’s better.
6) Did he even read it?
7) I meant therapeutically, but that too
11) Would have been a baller move if Kinsley came along to see the fight for herself, lol
12) I’m guessing he’s heard horror stories and is filing in blanks as he goes.
13) Consent would be better
14) Then Nicole’s answer should have been that, not claiming that she’s all Kinsley has.
16) Not all guardians, but a lot of guardians.
20) Wrong, but legal, just like Dayton’s plan.
22) Yes, but bear in mind, that’s pretty much the only Nicole moment we have, certainly the biggest, I have little to no reason to assume she’s normally better or worse than she was in that moment. If I knew all her actions from birth to now, I’d be able to make a different judgement, but I don’t.
I do agree that it doesn’t justify bullying only criticism.
23) Damn, noy my school, teacher would often rant about their political view, it was wildly unprofessional.
24) Only Kinsly can say if Nicole failed her (but I’ll certainly give my opinion when the opportunity arises)
25) Right, but I somehow believe Dayton wouldn’t have that stance if the laws changed, such as giving Littles more rights and autonomy, making it so Ezra is just a Little teacher, not THE Little teacher
24) Even in D&D lawful and Moral are deliberately separated.
25) But Mr Rhys wouldn’t have to keep reminding Dayton of her place if she wasn’t trying to assert dominance over him, she’s trying to weaponise her guardian license against him, I don’t think it’s fault when he stops her doing that. Her actions are having consequences. And those consequences may end up with consequences of their own.
26) Exactly why he doesn’t trust the system
27) Well by that logic, no one alive created it.
28) That is basically the definition behind peoples back, just because it’s legal doesn’t make it not behind their backs
30) I’m not convinced enough of this change you say she’s gone through.
33) It’s a simplified version
37) That’s why I wanted to see it, but at least things she’s said (and not said) aren’t ppainting a perfect picture.
38) So currently embracing it.
39) And Dayton’s creating her own reality, by trying to usurp him he’s having to put her in her place repeatedly.
40) True enough
Because shit rolls downhill.
16) Ask Cindy Wessen if Madison is a jailor.
24) He is trying to get these kids to question whether a law is just or not. Look at how many laws are ignored in America because some group or individual deems the law unjust.
26) Even lesser beings are allowed some feedback. If your dog doesn’t like something (depending on what it is) you are not likely going to force it to comply.
37) From Rhys POV, any loss of autonomy imposed by a Guardian is mistreatment.
TeamDayton
Little shit wants to act like everyone’s out to jail him…. open the front door and let him go.
Also…
“Themes of Exile
Physical, Emotional, Social”
…. has zero ‘r’s. Great teacher, dude….
That was actually becaue of my editing of the story. I removed the R. I appreciate everyone blaming Mr. Rhys. It was clearly his fault and not mine.
Honestly, I think he’s got anti-human bigotry. Which is the first case for this universe, though unsurprising since bigotry is ALWAYS two way.
fully agree as long as there have been humans, there has been bigotry and it comes in all races, creeds, societies.
I get the impression that Rhys knows his days of “freedom” are numbered and he is working hard to get these kids (especially Dayton) to question the system and hopefully see it from his POV before he loses what little (excuse the pun) autonomy he has.
It’s almost as if he expects Dayton to file for him and he is doing as much as he can to make his future more acceptable.
Dayton keeps falling back on the literal law, but it seems she has started to question if the law needs adjustment.
I like that idea. And I do think Dayton is capable of change and everything. wouldn’t be a character worth caring about if she wasn’t lol I will say that her not being purposely difficult or disruptive in class is giving her a chance to actually listen and i think she is more so than she realizes, and it’s having some kind of effect.
He would at the very least suspect or should. I would generalyl expect the worst but hope for the best in this world.
Although i dont think as far as guardians go dayton would be worst option. Not the best either but shes not horrible.
This is my favorite Episode yet. I am a huge nerd for philosiphy and moral observation. The use of the Socratic method here was PEAK. You’re writing has definitely improved so much since day one and this is a testament to that. When I was in University I had to take an ethics class and our first question was if we would take an automatic A even if someone else in the class my insta fail. The discussion was just like this and nuances which are ignores are brought to light. I am just smiling so hard at how solid this interaction is. The Socratic method is one of the best argument forms and this is it done right. Don’t tell them their wrong let them find out. God I can’t express my love for this!
im glad you are liking it and appreciate the compliments. These chapters take more work as i have to basically develop a mini lesson plan for him that incorporates what i want to cover.
Damn, Kinsely is catching strays.
poor kinsley not even in the class anymore and still being brought in.
I find it interesting how so many of the kids can’t distinguish between the lesson and the personal examples. I think Dayton kind of gets it, but so many of the others don’t. Kind of surprising that Dayton doesn’t have smarter friends.
I dont get it it’s dayton supposed to own him now as a pet