My daughter was "going to school" every morning... then her teacher called me to tell me that she had skipped classes for a whole week, so I followed her the next morning.

"I picked up the phone so many times. But she begged me not to."

I believed him. He looked like a man who had seen his daughter drown and had grabbed the first rope he could find, even if that rope was frayed and rotten.

I turned to Emily. "Skipping school doesn't stop them, honey. It just empowers them."

His shoulders slumped.

Mark looked at me, then at Emily. "Let's settle this together. All three of us. Right now."

I looked at him, surprised. Usually, he was the one who wanted to "sleep on it" or "wait for the right vibe."

"Skipping school doesn't make them stop, darling."

Emily blinked. "Now? In the middle of the second hour of class?"

"Yes," I said. "Before you have time to change your mind, we'll go into that office and give them that notepad."

Entering the school was different if we were both there.

We asked for the advisor.

We all sat down in the cramped office, and Emily told the counselor everything. The counselor, a woman with kind eyes and a serious expression, listened to us without interrupting. When Emily finished, the room fell silent.