After Key left, Matsias went to the cafeteria, only to find that the other girls were also elsewhere. He tried to remember if he had forgotten about plans they had, but finally determined they were probably holed up studying for finals, and ate dinner with Charlie, Wince, and Chloe.
Several rounds of Feast later, he had forgotten entirely about the girls until he ran into Jo on the way back to Victoria House. "Mrs. Putyam called you into her office too?" She asked. Mat had no idea what she was talking about until they walked into building and Valerie confirmed that Mrs. Putyam was, in fact, looking for both of them.
They walked into a cramped room. All four girls were in there, along with Antony. Mat wasn't even sure there was room for the two of them, but they squeezed in.
Mrs. Putyam rubbed her temples. "Perhaps you two can shed some light on this situation." She brandished a piece of paper. "Jo, did you write this letter?"
Jo took the letter and read it, her face taking on an increasingly horrified expression. She looked at Antony. "Why would I ask you to mindwalk? And on the roof?"
"We'd need a place no one would see us," Antony told her. He went quiet again at a glare from Mrs. Putyam.
"Mat," Mrs. Putyam continued, "Do you know anything about this letter?" Jo tried to hand him the letter, but he found he couldn't speak. He shook his head, and pushed her hand away.
"What's going on?" Jo gave it Mrs. Putyam instead.
"It seems Antony received this letter under his door this afternoon, indicating you should meet him on the roof near the weather classrooms in order to complete a very advanced work of magic. Tilitsitane and Miriam notified me about this misadventure, but failed to mention they had written the letter themselves..." Miriam's head fell in confirmation. "...which Key and Ayan notified me of."
Matsias found his voice. "What does this have to do with me?"
Tilli, who had been glaring at Antony the entire time, answered that question for him. "He got you to make the dream net!"
Mrs. Putyam's gaze bored a hole into him, and Matsias realized he was the only one who could get them all out of this office. "Antony did suggest I create a dream net." He tried to speak clearly, but his voice didn't want to work, and it came out soft and squeaky.
Apparently it was enough for Mrs. Putyam, who, to Mat's great relief turned to Antony, who rolled his eyes. "I wasn't actually suggesting that. It said it was too dangerous."
"But Mat did speak to you about having bad dreams?"
At first, Mat hoped Antony wouldn't say anything. But if Antony didn't speak, Tilli might, and that would be worse. "Yes," Mat said, "I told him."
"And what did you suggest?" Mrs. Putyam asked Antony. When he didn't answer, she turned to Ayan. "Would you ask Valerie to come here for a moment?"
Mat felt a pang of envy as Ayan scrambled from the room. A moment later, she returned with Valerie, who looked as surprised as Mat had been at just how many people Mrs. Putyam had managed to cram into her office. It was the first time he had seen her look anything but bored, and if he hadn't been so nervous, he might have laughed.
"Valerie," Mrs. Putyam asked, "if a student told you he had difficulty sleeping, what would you recommend?"
"I would tell them to talk to Ms. Collins. That's her specialty." Mat wondered how much effort she was putting in to maintain her bored tone of voice, despite the look on her face.
"Thank you." Mrs. Putyam didn't have to say anything else to dismiss Valerie, who let go of the door to return to the front desk.
When it clicked shut, she turned a silent gaze on Antony, who exploded. "He's Pelan!" He pointed an accusing finger at Matsias. "He's been lying to us all this time! He shouldn't be here." The room fell silent. Jo stared at Antony, but Miriam, Ayan, and Tilli all had their eyes on Mat.
Mrs. Putyam's glare focused on Antony. "I don't know where you heard this rumor, but even if is was true, your actions would be unacceptable." She glanced at Mat and her eyes softened slightly, the way they had when he had failed the physics test. She turned her attention back to Antony. "Rest assured, we will be discussing this with Ms. Wayteel tomorrow. You will remain in Victoria House until then."
"On the weekend?"
"On the weekend." She dismissed him and Mat shuffled out of the way as he left the office, trying to create as much space as possible between himself and the other boy. To Tilli and Miriam, Mrs. Putyam said, "We will also discuss your actions this weekend. And you will avoid spreading rumors to your classmates about this meeting." She turned to look at Jo as she said it, but Matsias had a feeling she was talking to everybody. "I would like to speak to Mat alone," Mrs. Putyam finished. "The rest of you are dismissed."
Jo left the room first. When the girls stood, he shook his head at Key, trying to force himself to speak. Ayan walked out. Then Miriam. Then Tilli. Finally, Key turned to Mrs. Putyam. "I'd like to stay with my brother."
The teacher looked at her, and then at him. "Very well." Key closed the door before tugging Mat's sleeve and easing him into a chair.
Mrs. Putyam closed her eyes, clearly composing herself before looking at him. When she did, all the harshness had left her gaze. "Mat, I am so very sorry. For what Antony has done to you and for my failure to notice or to stop it." His breath caught in his throat. He'd never heard a teacher apologize before. "There is no excuse for this behavior, regardless of what Antony thought. Of course, I will also investigate how this rumor got started...."
Mat cleared his throat. "Actually, I may know something about that." He glanced at Key, and then continued. "Charlie Newman told me that he and a boy from Providence House broke into Mrs. Theelnin's filing cabinet last year and read our applications. If Antony was the other boy, that would explain why he knows I'm Pelan."
Mrs. Putyam nodded along. "That would explain why he... knows? you're Pelan." She stumbled over the last words.
"You mean you didn't?" Key asked, "I thought all the teachers knew. It was in his application."
Mrs. Putyam actually smiled. "Unless the admissions committee deems it necessary, they typically don't share the information in student applications." She paused, possibly taking in the new information as much as Matsias and Key were. "Mat," she continued at last, "It was very brave of you to tell me about Charlie and Antony. Is there anyone else who has been mistreating you?" Mat shook his head. "Please, if this happens again, tell me. It's my job to ensure our students are safe."
"Yes ma'am." Then Mat had a thought. "Mrs. Putyam, is Antony going to be expelled?"
"He may have an expulsion hearing, yes."
"Please don't expel him." Mat tried to look at her as he said it, but couldn't bring himself to. He wasn't sure if this was because he was still frightened of her or that part of him didn't agree with what he had just said.
"Antony's actions may have caused your own expulsion, but you don't think he deserves the same punishment?"
He struggled to find the words. "Um... forgiveness is an important part of my culture." It wasn't actually forgiveness. Mat wasn't sure he could ever forgive Antony. But he also didn't think he could explain to Mrs. Putyam the concept of hospitality towards one's enemies. "He only has one semester left. I think he should graduate."
Mrs. Putyam shook her head. "You and your roommate," she muttered.
"What does Reed have to do with his?"
Based on Mrs. Putyam's expression, Mat was pretty sure she hadn't meant to say the words out loud. He was prepared to drop the matter, but Key had already put the pieces together. "Reed's the one who asked you not to expel Mat after the fire, isn't he?"
Mrs. Putyam hesitated, and then sighed. "Rather adamantly." The harshness was returning to her expression, and Mat was getting nervous again. "Mat, I will express your opinion to Mrs. Wayteel, but I cannot promise she will heed it. She has little tolerance for bigotry."
"That's good enough. Thank you." Matsias scrambled out of his chair before he met her bad side. He didn't realize how exhausted he was until he was on the other side of the office door. Not ready to face Reed with his new knowledge, he followed Key to her room. But when she unlocked the door, they found not only Tilli, but Ayan and Miriam also inside, all three waiting expectantly for an explanation.
