Don't raise your voice. Improve your argument.

"Charlotte Specter."

After a moment, Charlie glanced around the room while purposefully avoiding the high school secretary's gaze. The young woman's tone exposed the frustration that she was trying her best to mask. Ms. Haynes was barely older than most of the students she had to corral into her boss's office. And she was still considered new, only having started at the beginning of the school year. Charlie wouldn't have tried this with Ms. P, the lady that had been a receptionist there longer than she had been alive.

Charlie was focused on the music pumping through the small buds shoved into her ears. Headphones weren't necessarily allowed during school hours, but her long hair and the scarf wrapped around her neck hid them well enough. And at this point Charlie knew she was already in trouble. She let the music drown out everything, allowing herself to feel the sounds as she closed her eyes and folded her arms across her chest.

The exchange between Dr. James' secretary and Charlie was almost like a game at this point. Charlie pretended not to hear her name being called and the secretary allowed it without much complaint until Dr. James finally made his way out to fetch the girl himself. And today, Charlie had no desire to get in to meet with Dr. James any quicker than necessary so she was happy to let him continue working on whatever it was that was keeping him on the other side of his office door.

Dr. James liked to send Charlie home from school early on days like these. He would call Donna to let her know what was going on. Ray would pick her up and drop her at the office downtown where, depending on her mood, Donna would either let Charlie hide out in the file room or carve out a few minutes in Harvey's afternoon schedule for a lecture.

Dr. James tapped Charlie on the shoulder. She looked up to him, flashing him the briefest of smiles as she pulled the earbuds from her ears. "Hey, Ollie."

Oliver James shook his head, covering his mouth to stifle the beginnings of a smile before answering her. "Get in there, Charlie," he answered, thumbing towards his office. Oliver looked briefly at his secretary before following after the girl. He felt the need to apologize on Charlie's behalf but refrained, offering Ms. Haynes a silent, yet apologetic smile instead.

Charlotte was actually one of Oliver's favorite students despite the frequency with which she found herself sent off to his office. He found her to be witty and charming and intelligent. She was a good kid, something which couldn't be said for all of the students he worked with. And despite making a consistent effort at not showing favoritism, sometimes he couldn't help it. Oliver had known Charlie since she was just a little girl visiting her brother in the city. He and Harvey had been roommates from the summer of Harvey's clerkship until the time he started at Pearson-Hardman. He couldn't help but have a soft spot for the first girl to ever ask for his hand in marriage, even if she had only been five at the time.

Oliver kept an exercise ball in his office and he wasn't surprised to see that Charlie had pulled it out of the corner. Bouncing contentedly on the ball as she studied Oliver's facial expression, Charlie noticed that he was no longer smiling. It was clear that their connected pasts would not be to her benefit this time. Charlie rolled the ball back to its corner and took a seat in one of the two leather chairs placed in front of his desk, despite still having every intention of talking her way out of whatever Oliver was thinking. Charlie was confident that he would easily understand her side once she had explained.

"You know, Charlie, I don't think that I have ever, in all my years of teaching, had a bigger pain in the ass student than you."

Charlie let out a small chuckle at his candor, stopping herself quickly when she realized that he hadn't been joking. Oliver settled his arms across his chest, leaning back slightly in his chair as he waited for Charlie to gather herself.

She quickly turned her laugh into an attempt at clearing her throat. "I'm one of your best students, Ollie."

Oliver's left eyebrow edged up slightly. "Charlotte," he warned her.

"Right, of course. I'm one of your best students, Dr. James."

He exhaled forcefully. "Charlotte."

"What?" she snapped. Charlie was a little too comfortable with Oliver, and with most adults in any position resembling one of authority, for that matter.

"You've gotten yourself into plenty of trouble already. You may want to adjust your attitude accordingly."

At his words, Charlie slumped back in her chair, sulking. "I didn't do anything wrong, not really."

"You can't argue with your teachers like that."

"I wasn't arguing with her. I was explaining why she was wrong. It was a class discussion."

"You were being disrespectful. I've got the write up here in front of me." Oliver motioned towards the long-winded note that had accompanied Charlie on her trip to the office. Charlie couldn't read it upside down, but she could see that the write up covered two pages, which meant he had a lot more information than she would have liked.

"Well, if I'm being entirely honest, I don't think her opinion deserved my respect. She was being an ignorant, incompetent assho—"

Oliver cut her off before she had the chance to finish. "Charlotte, don't you dare finish that sentence."

Oliver watched her for any sign of acceptance and continued only once she had settled down. "Can we have this conversation like responsible adults or should I call Donna and have her clear Harvey's schedule so the three of us can discuss it together?" he asked.

Charlie shook her head furiously before folding her hands in her lap and staring at them intently. Things were always that much worse when Harvey had to unexpectedly leave work because of her. Plus, she could already hear the opening lines of Harvey's anticipated lecture…

'What have I always told you, Charlotte? Don't raise your voice. Improve your argument.'

Oliver watched as she processed things. Her face was scrunched up in thought, painted with heavy concern as she played it through in her mind.

"Listen, Charlie, I know that you have a lot of opinions and you're inquisitive. And those are great qualities, especially for someone your age. I truly believe that. You're a smart kid but you don't know everything, despite your conviction. That's why you are here in this school. To learn. You're allowed your own opinion. You're allowed to express it, but you have to learn to relay it respectfully. Is that understood?"

Charlie still looked like she wasn't paying him much attention, but she nodded at her cue so Oliver was satisfied that she had at least heard him even if the words had yet to sink in.

"I'm sending you home for the day. Take some time to think this through and write down 2,000 words worth of the best reflection you can come up with. I want it on my desk before first period tomorrow."

Charlie nodded vaguely. Oliver busied himself briefly with his computer, clicking through the few emails that had arrived in his inbox during his meeting with Charlie. He watched her out of the corner of his eye. She was clearly frustrated, but he now watched as she worked through what to say next.

Charlie let out a huff, looking up at him as he stayed focused on the screen. "Ollie?"

He looked away from the screen and gave Charlie his full attention.

"I'm sorry. Really, I am. I heard what you said and I'll try to be better. Please don't send me home early. Just let me stay until the end of the day. Please?"

"I'm sorry, sweetheart," he answered, "I appreciate the apology, but it's non-negotiable."

Despite Oliver's extensive education and years of experience in dealing with teenagers, he knew that Harvey was better equipped to deal with Charlie. Harvey understood Charlie because the two were so alike in many ways. Oliver had years of experience supporting the fact that Specters were famously known for being major pains in the ass.

Charlie looked defeated. Her hands jumped to her stomach as it released a long growl, her cheeks flashing pink in embarrassment.

"Did you miss lunch because of this mess?"

Charlie nodded and Oliver reached into his desk, pulling out a lunch box. He took out half of a sandwich before passing it across the table to her. "You're lucky I like you, kid."

Charlotte did not feel lucky though she wasn't sure if other principals would put up with her as patiently as Ollie did. He dialed the number for Harvey's office as Charlie took a bite of his peanut butter and jelly sandwich.

"Harvey Specter's office."

"Hello, Donna."

"What did she do now?"