Ezra cleaned himself in the warm water. The berry soap actually smelled good, which was annoying. It wasn’t strong or sharp like adult soaps. It was gentle on purpose. Made for him. Made for this. It seeped into his skin. He could feel the berry scent emanating from him.
Dayton leaned on the counter, arms crossed, watching the water more than she watched him.
“It’s not revenge,” she said, like she was correcting a rumor. “Like… today wasn’t me doing some payback fantasy.”
She let out a breath through her nose. “Payback was the filing. That’s it.”
Dayton’s eyes flicked to the door, like she could still hear the echo of boots in the hallway. “People always say getting payback doesn’t fix anything. You’ve said that. I know.”
She looked back at the sink. “I didn’t know they were gonna come into the school like that. The guns, the officers. That was… insane.” Her mouth tightened. “I prepared just in case, because I’m not stupid. But I didn’t think it would actually happen.”
She tapped her fingers against the counter, restless. “And getting you wasn’t even the goal, okay? Filing was enough. It felt… good. Like even me, thirteen year old me, could follow the laws, do everything right, fill out the forms, and you couldn’t just… brush it off.”
Her voice sharpened for a second. “My ‘revenge’ was showing you I could. Proving I’m not some dumb kid you can push around and bully. That you had to acknowledge me.”
A few seconds passed in silence feeling like a minute.
“I filed because I wanted to win,” Dayton admitted, quieter, like it irritated her to say it out loud. “And winning was the SEA saying you were wrong.”
She lifted her chin. “And they did. That’s what I needed.”
Then her tone shifted, a little cooler, a little more trained. “Everything else? Your baggage, your anger, your whole ‘I hate you’ thing…” She shrugged. “That’s you.”
Dayton’s eyes stayed on the water. “I’m not even angry anymore. I’m just… moving forward.”
She said it like a fact. Like a rule.
“And now you’re my little,” Dayton finished. “And the past is the past.”
“And you ruined my life for that?” Ezra said, voice tight. “For a win?”
He gave a short, bitter laugh. “You’re thirteen. You can’t even hear yourself.”
His eyes narrowed at the sink water like it had answers. “You took everything from me because I hurt your feelings?”
Dayton’s face didn’t soften. If anything, it went calmer.
“No,” she said. “You took everything from you.”
She exhaled slowly, the kind of breath she used when she was trying not to explode. “You chose to be mean. You chose to be cruel. And when you do that, you don’t get to act surprised when there are consequences.”
Ezra’s mouth opened, but Dayton kept going, words coming fast now.
“And yeah,” she said, almost shrugging. “I’m a kid. I know that. I don’t pretend I’m some perfect person.”
She looked down at him, eyes sharp. “I try to be a good friend. I try to protect people I care about. And I mess up. A lot. Then I try to do better the next day. I’m not a saint. I’m just not you.”
Her voice dropped, more honest than she probably wanted it to be. “And I know someday I’m gonna get my karma. Like… I’m not stupid. I know that day will come.”
She swallowed, then pushed through it anyway. “When it does, it’s gonna suck. And I’ll deserve it. The difference is… I can live with that.”
Dayton ticked it off with her fingers like she was counting receipts.
“I hurt Jordy,” she said. “I have to live with that. Kinsley became a little. I have to live with that. My parents split. I have to live with that.” Her jaw tightened. “And yeah, reporting my literature teacher who hated me? I can live with that too.”
She leaned a little closer, voice quieter but sharper.
“But you?” Dayton said. “You bullied a thirteen year old. You wrote lesson plans we both know weren’t okay. You chose the district because you didn’t want to ask anyone for real help, and then you acted shocked when they didn’t care about you.”
Her eyes didn’t leave his. “And I didn’t make you teach without a collar. I didn’t make you go anti-government in front of minors. I didn’t make you try to pretend the rules don’t apply to you. I didn’t make you single out a student for sport.”
She nodded toward him, like sealing it.
“That’s all you, Ezra. And you have to live with that.”
Ezra sat in the warm water, shoulders tight, one hand hooked on the porcelain edge like it was the only solid thing left. The berry soap smelled almost cheerful, and he hated that most of all.
He looked up at Dayton. At her height. Her calm. The way she could stand there and make this feel procedural.
For a moment he didn’t speak. His throat worked like he was swallowing something sharp.
“You’re right,” he said finally, voice low. “I chose the district because I didn’t want to deal with being a little.”
Dayton didn’t move.
“I didn’t want to ask anyone. I didn’t want to owe anyone. I didn’t want… the humiliation of needing help from a person who could look at me and make it real.” His jaw tightened. “So I picked an institution. Paperwork. A system. Because a system doesn’t feel like a relationship.”
He let out a small, bitter breath. “I told myself it was neutral. It wasn’t. It was avoidance.”
The bathroom went quiet except for the faint shift of water against porcelain.
“And,” Ezra added, quieter, “I did bully you.”
Dayton’s eyes flicked, just once.
“I called it standards. Discipline. ‘Challenging you,’” he said, the words sounding like something he’d graded a thousand times. “That’s what people say when they don’t want to admit they’re being petty. I made sure it was within the rules on purpose. So no one coudl say anything.”
He looked away, then forced himself to look back up. “I didn’t like how easy it was for you. I didn’t like how you kept showing up confident. I didn’t like that it made other students feel smaller, and I took that frustration out on you because it was… convenient.”
His mouth twisted. “I made you the example because it let me feel in control.”
A pause. The tiny collar tag ticked as he swallowed.
“But you,” Ezra said, voice tightening again, “you talk about consequences like it’s clean. Like it’s just math. You filled out paperwork and let the machine do the violence for you, and now you get to stand there and call it care.”
He held her gaze, steadying himself with sheer stubbornness. “Maybe you’re not angry anymore. Maybe you even think you’re being fair.”
He shifted slightly, water lapping at his ribs. “But don’t pretend you don’t feel it. The power. The relief of being the one who can say, ‘This is how it is,’ and have the world agree.”
His eyes narrowed, not pleading, not performing. Just honest.
“So yes,” Ezra said. “I made choices. I hurt you. I avoided reality, and it caught me.”
A few seconds of silence pass.
“And you can call what you’re doing guardianship if you want.” His voice dropped. “Just don’t confuse your comfort with my cage for moral clarity.”
Dayton nodded once, filed it away. “You weren’t teaching. You were punishing.”
She held his gaze. “And you knew the difference the whole time.”
Man, this just keeps getting better and better. I still side with Dayton, though, just because Ezra is an asshole.
But… Dayton’s also an asshole.
Well damn ! Another heavy ass chapter and Ezra acknowledging his choices soooo close to saying sorry but still probably going to happen soon ish im sensing
BUT YES TALKING THINGS OUT !!!
I appreciate Ezra at least admitting to it and taking some ownership. not in a “it excuses the behavior” type of way, but because between him Cindy and Charity, Ezra’s the only one that doesn’t seem to be trying to use this for something.
like Cindy has only been saying things and apologizing because she doesn’t want to be treated the way she taught her her daughters to treat littles, not because she truly means it, or at least she doesn’t seem to mean it as much as she plays it up as.
Charity didn’t really (to me at least) even openly admit to what she was doing to Sarah, she just internalized it and it took Sarah forgiving her to really move on.
Ezra is just flat out admitting to everything, and i don’t think he has anything to gain really by doing so. Dayton was\has been treating him in a decently-to-pretty well range already, so admitting all of this isn’t going to give him bonus points. idk, i just like that its out in the open in a way that the other two hadn’t done.
For Dayton, I think the SEA’s demonstration rattled her so much that it’s probably why she’s been being nicer to Ezra. that and the fact that she seemingly wants to take care of a little in a way that is different than her initial intent (going back to chps. 13-17) since talking it over with Nicole Kinsley Sydney and Syndey’s little.
Also: My ‘revenge’ was showing you I could. Proving I’m not some dumb kid you can push around and bully. That you had to acknowledge me
glad she admitted it out loud. I didn’t think she’d attribute this to why she filed, but i have a feeling she’ll eventually realize she’s still trying to prove to ezra that she’s not a kid and is trying to get acknowledgement of some kind.
it’ll be interesting to see how things keep progressing.
Funny thing is Dayton can’t use the little flick on him cause it’ll prove his point, also I believe the two of them are in the wrong here! Yes Ezra was a bully but Dayton did also file out of revenge so let’s just start new
Dayon will use it; she’ll make excuses for herself when she does.
1) “It’s not revenge, Like… today wasn’t me doing some payback fantasy.” Yes, it was, You reported him for revenge; the fact that it didn’t happen immediately doesn’t mean it’s not revenge anymore.
2) “I didn’t know they were gonna come into the school like that. The guns, the officers. That was… insane.” Yet they did, and they gave you exactly what you asked for.
3) “And getting you wasn’t even the goal, okay?” Why the fuck would that be ok? He was dragged from the niche he carved for himself and has now been left in the second last place he wants to be, and now he’s finding out that’s just a fun bonus for her?
4) “I filed because I wanted to win,” – “And winning was the SEA saying you were wrong.” She sounds ike she’d have called ICE on Alejandra (maybe even Ava) if they pissed her off.
5) “Everything else? Your baggage, your anger, your whole ‘I hate you’ thing… That’s you.” Of fuck off you brat, that’s not just on him, that’s a consequence for your actions, and frankly, it’s less than you deserve. You don’t get to shit in his bed and then tell him to lie in it.
6) “I’m not even angry anymore. I’m just… moving forward. And now you’re my little, and the past is the past.” It’s not over just because you say it is, just because you’ve received enough closure for yourself; you don’t get to shrug and move on, expecting him to follow suit. I’m notsurprised she’s this dismissive of his emotions, but still, damn
7) “And you ruined my life for that? For a win? You’re thirteen. You can’t even hear yourself.” Dayton’s evil, this is just who she is and what she does. She got what she wanted; your suffering isn’t her concern beyond that, no matter how much she claims to care.
8) You took everything from me because I hurt your feelings?” – “No, you took everything from you.” Gaslighting Littles, the first trich they teach you in guardian training.
9) “You chose to be mean. You chose to be cruel. And when you do that, you don’t get to act surprised when there are consequences.” You damn hypocrite.
10) “ I’m a kid. I know that. I don’t pretend I’m some perfect person.” No, she just refuses to acknowledge her flaws in any meaningful way.
11) “I’m not a saint. I’m just not you:” That’s true enough, Ezra would never stoop to making false accusations as she did.
12) “And I know someday I’m gonna get my karma. Like… I’m not stupid. I know that day will come.” WHEN??
13) ““When it does, it’s gonna suck. And I’ll deserve it. The difference is… I can live with that.” sounds like someone doesn’t know how much Karma is coming for her.
14.1) “I hurt Jordy, I have to live with that” It has very Little negative effect on her life, from what it sounds like. Whenever Sara has to pick between them,
SatanDayton wins every time14.2) “Kinsley became a little. I have to live with that” Trying to make Kinsley’s suffering about her is very Dayton behaviour
14.3) “My parents split. I have to live with that.” She seems entirely unaffected by that.
14.4) “And yeah, reporting my literature teacher who hated me? I can live with that too.” But you’ve written that off as his karma
15) “But you? You bullied a thirteen-year-old.” Yes, he did, and that could have been her Karma, but she just had to win.
16) “And I didn’t make you teach without a collar. I didn’t make you go anti-government in front of minors. I didn’t make you try to pretend the rules don’t apply to you. I didn’t make you single out a student for sport. That’s all you, Ezra. And you have to live with that.” Hate to admit it, but she is right about that.
17) “You’re right, I chose the district because I didn’t want to deal with being a little.” Admitting that’s a surprising twist,
18) “Because a system doesn’t feel like a relationship.” well look how well that non-relationship went for you.
17) “I did bully you.” Dude, she knows that.
18) “I called it standards. Discipline. ‘Challenging you, that’s what people say when they don’t want to admit they’re being petty. I made sure it was within the rules on purpose. So no one could say anything.” Just like Dayton’s done to him.
19) “I didn’t like how easy it was for you. I didn’t like how you kept showing up confident. I didn’t like that it made other students feel smaller, and I took that frustration out on you because it was… convenient.” Don’t try to imply you were doing this for other students’ benefits, you Little turd.
20) “I made you the example because it let me feel in control.” another thing they have in common
21) “you talk about consequences like it’s clean. Like it’s just math. You filled out paperwork and let the machine do the violence for you, and now you get to stand there and call it care.” She acts as if she’d just frug it off when it eventually comes for her. She sees his consequences as something he’ll endure for the rest of his life and assumes her’s will just be something she gets through.
22) “Maybe you’re not angry anymore. Maybe you even think you’re being fair.” Girls and women always think they’re being fair, no matter how cruel they act,
23) “But don’t pretend you don’t feel it. The power. The relief of being the one who can say, ‘This is how it is,’ and have the world agree.” Calling her out will always be good.
24) ““And you can call what you’re doing guardianship if you want. Just don’t confuse your comfort with my cage for moral clarity.” Thats’ a bad ass line.
25) “You weren’t teaching. You were punishing. And you knew the difference the whole time.” He had his excuses. No different than Dayton.
15) imagine if Ezra said something like “well that was your karma” haha
15) lol, buy for it to have been her karma, Dayton couldn’t win.
I don’t think that’s true because she was still bullied from 6th grade to 8th grade. It’s not like karma only works if you are miserable forever and never deal with it.