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“I’m not calling about tennis, George,” Hastings says. “We have a situation.”

“You know how I feel about that word,” George says cheerfully.

Actually, Hastings doesn’t know. Is George happy for the potential business or concerned about his alma mater? He doesn’t ask. And George quickly sounds less cheerful as the headmaster fills him in on Emma Blake’s threats and the conversation with Byron Blake.

Thankfully George is better at situations than he is at returning a flat serve. Calmly he lays out the plan for Emma Blake’s immediate future at Ridgemont.

“Emma Blake should probably be admitted to a psychiatric hospital,” George says.

“But she doesn’t want to go, and her father doesn’t want her to go, and I doubt you could have her committed.

You could take her to the ER and file an Involuntary Emergency Admission petition, but it sounds like she’d present to any attending doc as fully in her right mind. ”

“Yes,” Hastings says grimly. “She’s very well spoken and reasonable, unfortunately. That’s about the long and short of it. So what do you recommend?”

“We have to ensure Emma’s safety above all else,” George goes on. “She needs careful supervision. Is there somewhere she can stay that’s not her dorm? A place that can be monitored more closely?”

Hastings thinks for a moment. “There’s a room we sometimes use for visiting lecturers. It’s right near the counselor’s office, and we could have someone outside all night if we needed to.”

“You need to,” George says decisively. “Make sure she’s comfortable and looked after. And document everything, Perry. Every precaution you take. Every call you make. You need to do everything you can to ensure Emma’s safety—but you have to ensure your own too.”