Rumours

Austyn turned to Kira. ‘What happened?’ Kira looked away and said nothing. She hadn’t forgotten they were in the middle of a fight. Austyn stayed out all night and didn’t bother telling her he would be coming to the school. Austyn sighed slightly and bent down. ‘Joshua, tell Daddy what happened.’ The gaggle of women gasped collectively. Joshua recounted the event in his usual concise manner. Austyn rubbed his head. ‘Good job standing up for your mother.’ He straightened up and turned towards the women who bad-mouthed Kira. ‘You have two options.’ The women shrank back under his withering gaze. ‘One, apologise to my wife and children. And take your kids out of this school. You are no longer welcome here.’ The women exchanged terrified glances. ‘But we…we didn’t do anything! We were just talking!’ ‘Two,’ Austyn held up a finger, ‘I file charges for slander. You fabricated false statements about my wife and insulted my kids. I can and will initiate legal proceedings against all of you.’ T