I dive behind the couch right as a spray of Nerf darts smacks into the wall where I was just standing.

Ellen lets out a high-pitched shout of laughter. I look up just in time to see her scramble out from behind her couch-cushion barricade to recover some of her spent ammunition.

She flattens herself to the floor as I take a shot around the couch.

“Ellen!” I yell. “Answer the question!”

“I forgot it!” she yells back, army-crawling her way back towards her barricade.

“Did Charles Darwin come up with the theory of evolution?”

I send a dart at her ankles, and she giggles, picking up speed. “No, he didn’t! It was already being debated by scientists!”

I feel around under the couch, hoping for a stray dart. “What made Darwin important, then?”

“He proposed the, um - the mechanism for evolution-”

“Which is?”

“Natural selection!” Ellen makes it back behind her barricade. I hear the snap snap snap of her reloading. “And he had collected evidence to support his theory for over thirty years! From all over the world!”

“Why else was he important in popularizing evolution as a valid scientific theory?”

“His timing was good!” Ellen leans out and lets loose another hail of Nerf darts. I was trying to cross to where I’d been before, but I throw myself down behind the armchair and start snatching up all the ones that missed me. “He published his book at the right time!”

“How so?” I ask, rapidly reloading as I speak.

“Because right around the same time, people were starting to discover and dig up weird, fossilized bones - ones that didn’t look completely human or ape, more like something in between!”

I lift my head to smile at Ellen, proud of her - then drop behind the armchair again when she unleashes a new round of Nerf darts at my face.

“Where’d they start digging those up?” I call out, crawling around the side of the armchair, trying to get into a better position.

“The Neander Valley, in Germany!”

“So they called these creatures whose bones they were finding-”

“Neanderthals!”

“What was unique about the bo-?”

“Human-looking, but flatter tops of the skulls! Thicker and heavier bone structure!” Ellen springs up and races around her barricade, dives under the coffee table. “A ridge of bone across the eyebrows! A snout like on a monkey, even though they walked on two feet!”

I leap up behind the armchair and unload my entire Nerf gun at Ellen, who bursts into giggles, scurrying out from under the coffee table.

“What were Neanderthals, El?”

She bounds across the couch, dodging and weaving. “An ancient form of humanity! One kind, anyways!”

“Did they only find ancient forms of humanity in Germany, or-?”

“No, all over! Belgium, Spain, Indonesia-” She leaps over the side of the couch and disappears behind it, her soft black cloud of hair bouncing as she goes. “China, Africa!”

I sneak out from behind the armchair and start gathering up the darts I just expended. “And something that can walk upright on two feet is-?”

Ellen leans around the side of the couch and fires, narrowly missing my ear. “Bipedal!”

I retreat behind the armchair, reload again, then fire wildly as Ellen pokes her head out from behind the couch. She falls back, lets out a shriek of laughter.

“How do we know they were bipedal, El?”

“From looking at the bones! And they found Hominin footprints left in volcanic ash in Africa - two sets of prints, walking side by side! In ash that hardened over three and a half million years ago!”

I stop behind the armchair, then get onto my knees and look over it.

“Wow, El,” I say, impressed. “That was like, way more detail than I actually expected you to remem-”

“Say goodbye,” she interrupts, and springs to her feet, aiming a fully-loaded Nerf gun at me.

I look down at my own, woefully empty Nerf gun, then leap to my feet and take off running. Ellen bursts into laughter, joining me on a frantic dash around Kent's living room that ends with me backed into a corner.

“Shit,” I groan, backing up against the wall. “I’m actually gonna need my inhaler, if we keep this up.”

“Jamie!” Ellen giggles, her eyes widening. “You said a bad word!”

“Oh, my god." I press my hands over my mouth, mortified. "Don’t you repeat it, El! Your dad is gonna kill me - you didn’t learn that in my class, you hear me?”

“You’re in all kinds of trouble,” she laughs, cocking her Nerf gun.

“Oh, come on, kid,” I groan, as Ellen advances, grinning from ear to ear. “Have mercy!”

“You should’ve evolved better, I guess,” she says, all innocent. “Faster. Smarter.”

“Wow!” I give her a dirty look that makes her burst into giggles again. “Okay, next question. Does evolution happen that fast? Like, over one generation?”

“No,” she begins, and I use her distraction to dive forward, tackling her onto the fallen couch cushion barricade.

Ellen dissolves into laughter, scrambling to get away. I straighten up and tear the Nerf gun out of her hand with a sigh of relief.

“Wait a minute.” Ellen sits up, panting. “Isn’t bipedal what Aiden is?”

“N- well, yeah, he is bipedal, but the word you’re thinking of is bisexual. He’s both.”

“What?” Ellen gives me a deep frown. “He gets to be both? That’s not fair! How come not everyone gets to be both?”

“Okay.” I sit back on my ankles, run a hand through my messed-up hair. “This class is officially off the rails.”

“Now?” comes a laughing voice from behind me. “Now this class is officially off the rails?”

I startle a little, then twist around to find - oh, no.

“Gabby!” I get unsteadily to my feet, still trying to get my breath back. “Hey, um - how long have you been standing th-?”

I break off, realizing that Gabby isn't alone. She's got someone with her. A woman in high heels and a deep blue, professional-looking dress.

The stranger has a very serious, unamused expression on her face. Her eyes roam over the living room, which looks like a tornado just tore through it. Then they drop to Ellen, who is busy trying to pull her Nerf gun out of my hand.

“Jamie,” Gabby says, “You remember I told you I had a friend who wanted to meet Ellen?”

Oh, my god. I feel my eyes widen in distress.

Didn’t Gabby say that she had a friend, an expert in child development and education - someone who could talk to Ellen, help us figure out why she’s struggling so badly in school?

That must be who this is.

I had no idea that my class was being observed, and I definitely didn’t know that the person watching me chase Ellen around with a Nerf gun was a highly-respected education expert.

I see with considerable horror that she has a notebook out, and that she’s already written quite a few things down. She and Gabby must have been standing there for a while.

“Right,” I begin, trying not to sound too alarmed. “Yeah, I - I remember. So nice to meet you, um-?”

She accepts the handshake I’m offering, but doesn’t smile at me. “Naomi.”

“I’m Jamie.”

“Yes, I know,” she says flatly.

“Oh.” I steal an anxious glance at Gabby, then set aside the Nerf gun. “Well - Ellen, you want to introduce yourself to-?”

I stop, having looked down to find that Ellen wandered off while we were talking. She’s at the far end of the living room, collecting her darts.

“That’s alright,” Naomi tells me. “I’d like to speak with you, Jamie.”

I shrug my shoulders, then nervously stuff my hands in the pockets of my jeans. “Sure, of course.”

“You’re Ellen’s science teacher, correct?”

“Yep.”

“And this-” Naomi gestures around at the destroyed living room. “This is science class?”

“Ah… yeah, it is.” I shift slightly, trying to block off the barricades from Naomi’s line of sight. “We’re just starting evolution, so. Today we were kinda going over the history of it, learning a few key terms. My plan was to get deeper into how it actually works next time.”

“What you’re discussing with her is more advanced than what’s usually taught to children her age,” Naomi informs me.

“Yeah, I’m letting her set the pace, and - this is where we ended up.”

Naomi absorbs that, then writes something down on her notepad. “Was this a test, what you were doing when we got here?”

“It’s - the closest thing we do to a test,” I explain. “But I don’t score or grade her. We just keep going until I’m sure that Ellen understands everything. We call it, um. Nerd Darts.”

Naomi looks up at me, narrowing her eyes, then glances over my shoulder. “I didn’t hear Ellen get a single answer wrong, during that. Despite all the distractions.”

I hesitate over my phrasing for a moment. “Distractions… work differently for Ellen. They’re actually not a bad thing, for her.”

Naomi writes this down, then clicks her pen off.

“Understood. I’d like to speak with her, now. But we should have a longer discussion later, Jamie.”

“Okay, yeah. Sounds good." I move out of the way. "Just be careful crossing the floor. Take it from me, one slip on a Nerf dart can take you all the way out.”

Naomi lets out a quick, sharp laugh. I blink at her, caught by surprise. Her expression still hasn't really changed at all. Just the fastest little smile when she laughed.

She sets down her purse and notepad, then starts carefully picking her way across the room towards Ellen. I turn back to Gabby, arching a questioning eyebrow.

She beckons for me to follow her, then leads me into the kitchen.

“Gabby,” I groan, the minute we get there. “You couldn’t have given me a heads up? This is not what I wanted Naomi to think my class is like!”

“That’s exactly why I didn’t give you a heads-up, Jamie.” Gabby catches my gesturing hands, gently pushes them down. “I didn’t want you to change anything."

"Why-?"

"Because Naomi knows that you’re the teacher of the only class Ellen is doing well in. She wanted to see what you were doing differently.”

“Well, she’s definitely seen it now,” I grumble, pressing my palms over my eyes. “Oh, god. She really didn’t look impressed. She must think I'm just - a terrible teacher-"

Gabby takes my wrists and tugs my hands away from my face.

“Naomi is naturally very - inexpressive,” she says quietly. “She had a very hard time in school, herself, because of it. That's why she went into this line of work. She’s very passionate about it, and very understanding. She’s a very warm, friendly person, too. It's just hard to tell. But I've known her for ages, and trust me, that conversation wasn’t going nearly as bad as you think.”

“Oh.” I let out a long breath of relief. “Okay, that’s good to know.”

“Do you mind staying here, talking to Naomi when she’s done with Ellen?” Gabby asks, adjusting her bangles. “I’m sorry, I know it’s short notice, but she’s only in town for one night. She’s on her way to a conference, and she made a stop in Ketterbridge as a personal favor to me-”

“Oh, Gabby, it’s totally fine! I'm happy to do it.”

Gabby smiles again, then turns around as Kent steps inside from the backyard.

“I think it’s really sweet that you used up a personal favor for Kent,” I add quietly, as he crosses the room towards us.

Gabby’s smile grows warmer and wider, loving eyes fixed on Kent. “If it makes him happy, it’s a favor for me, too.”

Kent reaches us and folds his arms around Gabby. She slides hers around his waist and rolls up onto her toes to give him a kiss.

“Hey, you,” she says brightly, falling back onto her feet. “Ellen did fabulous in her science class tonight.”

Kent smiles down at Gabby, then looks up at me. “Did she, Jamie?”

“Yeah, she did great! She impressed Naomi, I think.”

Kent lets out a breath, releases Gabby.

“Good, okay. Good.” He takes off his glasses, starts aggressively polishing them on his shirt. "Good."

Gabby gently takes his bearded face in her hands. “Why are you so nervous about this, tesoro?”

“I’m not,” Kent insists, a little too quickly.

Gabby narrows her eyes at him. “No?”

“Well, I mean. I’m a little worried to hear what she says…” Kent fades off. His anxiety is suddenly obvious, showing all over his face. “What if Ellen is struggling because I’ve been doing something wrong?”

Gabby plucks Kent’s glasses out of his hands, puts them back on his face, and gazes up into his eyes.

“You are a very loving dad," she murmurs, "Doing his very best. That's what Naomi will see, when she meets you.”

“That’s really true, boss,” I jump in, as Kent presses his forehead against Gabby’s. “And Ellen is a great kid. Pretty sure Naomi’s gonna see that right away, too.”

Kent opens his mouth to answer, then pauses when Ellen pushes open the door and steps into the kitchen. Naomi follows her in, stops right behind her.

“Hey, dad!” Ellen says, speaking very fast. “Ms. Naomi said she wants to talk to me, so - I don’t have time to do my math homework tonight. Sorry! You can just let my teacher know, okay?”

She spins around in the doorway, about to dash for the living room.

“Hold it,” Kent says firmly, and Ellen stops where she is. “I’m sorry, baby, but that’s not how it is. You’re not excused from your homework.”

“Shit,” Ellen groans, and everyone in the room freezes, staring at her.

“Excuse me?” Kent sputters, his eyebrows shooting up. “Wh-? Ellen! Where did that come fr-?”

He glances at me, realizes that I'm trying to catch Ellen’s eye, urgently shaking my head at her. I stop immediately, but it’s too late.

“Oh, no,” I say beneath my breath, wincing.

“Jamie,” Kent begins heatedly, then breaks off as Ellen suddenly races across the kitchen.

She crashes into my legs and locks her arms around them, nearly knocking me over.

"I'm sorry, dad!" She looks up at Kent with wide, upset eyes. “It’s not Jamie's fault! You’re not gonna cancel our classes, are you?”

Kent’s outraged expression melts away as he looks down at her troubled little face. He lets out a quiet, helpless laugh, then bends down and kisses Ellen’s forehead.

“No, baby. It’s okay, don’t worry. But don’t say it again, alright? Never again.”

Ellen pouts up at him. “But dad - I did so good in my class tonight! Jamie said! Don't I get to, um - complain how I wanna? As a - reward?”

Kent thinks it over, tapping a fingertip on the counter. “Fine. You can say it one more time, but that’s it. And only because you did great today.”

Ellen breaks into a huge, excited grin. “Oh, yes! I’m gonna use up my one time right now! I’m - I’m gonna write it on my math homework!”

She goes speeding for the door, giggling happily.

“What - Ellen, no, that’s not what I meant!” Kent goes racing after her, then stops, flustered, having nearly rushed directly into Naomi. “Oh my god, I’m so sorry - it’s very nice to meet you, I’m Kent - I'll be right back - El! Hold up!”

He disappears into the living room, sprinting after Ellen. Naomi watches him go, then turns back to us.

“Aw,” she says to Gabby, reaching out to squeeze her wrist. “He’s sweet, Gabs. Cute, too. And he must be a gem, if he raised that little one. I’m so happy for you.”

“Didn’t I tell you?” Gabby answers, grinning widely, and Naomi lets out another swift, short laugh.

Her expression is still flat, her tone unchanged. But now that I know Naomi expresses herself differently, I can see the person that Gabby knows. I can see that her laughter is genuine.

For some reason, this gives me hope that Naomi can figure out what’s going on here. She seems like a warm, brilliant person, who just needs a little extra understanding.

Just like Ellen.