“Then you have written this report as though you were present for his training.”

Clara shook her head.

“Ben told me about it.”

“Ben?”

“My father.”

Ms.

Harrow’s reading glasses rested low on her nose as she studied the paragraph.

Clara had written every word twice before copying it into the folder.

She had even asked Ben whether “passive alert” needed a hyphen.

“What does it mean that Scout outranks your father?” Ms.

Harrow asked.

Clara looked at the sentence.

“It was a joke.”

“A joke?”