"Allan, you're being melodramatic…"

"You remember another kid who wasn't so lucky?"

"Allan," Archie looked up at Allan with pleading eyes, "Don't. Don't even… "

"We failed them. We failed him. He killed himself because someone thought it was better to put him with kids his own age and pretend he wasn't writing symphonies. Are we going to do that with Blaise, Mary and Jacqueline? We know what Blaise is capable of. And his sister, what about her? She's writing books and she's eight."

"Allan…"

"We don't need school board meetings and committees. We don't need to convince a mother that her boy is just like everyone else. We don't need to lie to anyone. The Ring of Fire gave us a brand new start."

"We didn't lie, Allan. It was decided that… it would have been better for him… Allan… David Weller was different. He. .. he… "

"Maybe we could have lied about David Weller and pretended it was a fluke and now that he's dead who's to say what he was or wasn't? He didn't get his name in an encyclopedia. He didn't have a chance. We didn't give him a chance. Owen didn't think the boy was gifted, then blamed his 'gift' for the suicide."

"Enough!"

The death of David Weller was a sore issue with Archie. Allan knew that. David Weller's grave came through the Ring of Fire. His parents and family didn't.

"When will we admit to knowing we were wrong?"

"Allan," Archie sighed, "you are not being fair."

"Fair?" Allan whispered back like a judgment of guilt.

No one likes to find a child dead. Finding a child dead by his own hand was far worse.

"We were trying to make the best out of…" Archie closed his eyes again. "We did our best, Allan."

"I don't blame you. They dumped him in your lap because the school board was too afraid to deal with it themselves. They asked me to put together a few math sheets for him. Keep him busy, I was told. Keep him busy and quiet."