Thursday morning, Mrs. Kallberg called Lotty and Grant to her desk.

“Is there a problem?” she asked.

“No problem here,” Grant said, smiling.

Lotty was afraid to say anything, with Grant standing right there.

The teacher waited, and finally said, “Everyone at our school is supposed to feel safe. If you don’t feel safe, you need to tell an adult. That’s not tattling. If you’re making other people feel unsafe, then you are breaking a school rule. Understand?”

She looked at Grant and Lotty.

“I got it,” Grant said, and headed back to his desk.

Lotty nodded silently. Mrs. Kallberg leaned forward. “I’ll keep an eye out,” she said. “So will the other adults.”

Lotty nodded again, but she wasn’t sure it was going to help.