"Mr. Morton, Peter would never hurt anyone, I can assure you."

Uncle Ben took off his hat and spoke to Vice Principal Morton with a serious expression.

"We'll figure it out, don't worry, Mr. Parker."

Morton smiled at Uncle Ben, "I remember Peter now. He's Richard's son, isn't he?"

He hadn't known Peter before, but now he recognized him after seeing Uncle Ben.

Smiling apologetically, Vice Principal Morton said, "There are so many students over the years, and after four or five years, they all seem different. You might call a boy by his brother's name without realizing it. It happens."

Then he glanced at Peter again and said with nostalgia, "You see a kid who looks familiar, and then you remember his father was one of your students. It's a strange feeling. Richard was one of my students; I remember him building a rocket chair in class to send his classmates to the moon."

"Ahem, sorry, I got a bit carried away. Back to the matter at hand. The police have arrived and want Peter to come in for questioning. I think a boy like him should have his family with him."

Morton explained to Uncle Ben why they had been called to the school.

"Thank you, Mr. Morton."

Uncle Ben tightly shook Vice Principal Morton's hand in gratitude.

Aunt May, who had initially thought Morton would be difficult to deal with, also stepped forward to thank him.

"Peter, what happened?"

After speaking with the vice principal, Aunt May anxiously turned to Peter.

"Josh Rob was found dead in the storage room. I had some conflicts with him before."

Peter briefly explained the situation to her.

"Oh my God, what a tragedy!"

Aunt May said, deeply saddened, "None of us wanted something like this to happen."

Just then, there was a knock on the door.

Vice Principal Morton opened it, revealing a policeman standing outside.

Gwen stood nearby, peering anxiously into the room.

The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

"Vice Principal Morton, I'm George Stacy, Commissioner of the New York Police Department."

George introduced himself.

Seeing Peter, Gwen quickly moved past her father and rushed toward him.

"Peter, are you okay?"

"I'm fine."

"I called my father to come. Everything's going to be alright."

Gwen seemed even more anxious than Peter, her voice breathy.

Peter glanced at the beads of sweat on the tip of Gwen's nose, and his calm expression wavered slightly.

"Don't worry, Gwen, this has nothing to do with me. The police will ask a few questions, and it'll be fine."

He spoke reassuringly.

"I trust you."

Gwen said firmly.

Meanwhile, Vice Principal Morton spoke to George.

He explained the conflict that had happened between Peter and Josh just before Josh's disappearance.

"It wasn't a conflict!"

Gwen, unable to contain herself any longer, stepped forward angrily.

"They were bullying Peter."

She continued, "They hid Peter's coat, put a snake in his shoe, shoved him into the water. That wasn't just a conflict!"

"Peter fell asleep in class, and Billy spread peanut butter on his head; they tripped him in the hallway, knocked books off his desk, and stuffed pornographic postcards in his bag. King Kong even carved the word 'nerd' into his desk."

"It was all bullying and teasing. They were maliciously targeting Peter just because he was socially awkward and kind, and just because Peter didn't fight back."

Gwen's long-simmering anger finally reached its boiling point.

"And you teachers—you either pretend not to see, or like Miss Del, you think all students are good kids."

Her voice grew louder with emotion. "Now, because Josh is dead, you're accusing Peter, the person who was bullied countless times by him, simply because he defended himself once? This is completely unfair!"

Everyone in the room was taken aback by Gwen's outburst.

George Stacy looked at his daughter in shock, then turned toward Peter, starting to understand.

Uncle Ben and Aunt May stared at Vice Principal Morton, stunned by the revelation that Peter had been bullied like this at school.

Peter, momentarily startled, felt an unusual warmth in his heart.

Even though these experiences belonged to the original Peter, Gwen's support made him feel something stir inside.

After hearing Gwen's words, Vice Principal Morton's confident demeanor faltered. His face reddened with embarrassment, and he stood there speechless.

The room fell silent.

"Mr. Parker, Mrs. Parker, you can take Peter home."

Finally, George Stacy's voice broke the tension.

"The officers have already spoken to Peter, and that should be sufficient."

He had stepped in to help his daughter.

Technically, Peter should've been taken to the station for further questioning, but George used his authority to bypass that step.

"Is that alright, Mr. Morton?"

"Yes, no problem."

Vice Principal Morton quickly nodded.

On the way home, George glanced at Gwen in the passenger seat.

Gwen rested her chin on one hand, staring at the scenery speeding by outside.

"You shouldn't have spoken like that today, Gwen."

George finally said. "You're not usually so impulsive."

"I know."

Gwen's voice was quiet, "I just couldn't help it this time."

She turned to her father.

"Dad, why did you become a police officer?"

"I..."

"Because you wanted to help people, to keep every community in this city safe and stable, to protect them from harm. That's what you always tell me."

She turned back to the window.

"Dad, you fight for justice to make sure everyone is treated equally. But where's the justice in my school?"

"Gwen, we can't change everything..."

"No, it's because your justice doesn't reach those who need it."

Gwen's voice carried a determined edge. "Even if I can't do much, I refuse to stay silent. I won't pretend I don't see what's wrong."