Laura was back the next day. She came to class and a moment later Juanma was called to Mercedes.
He looked a little surprised at Gloria, but followed her immediately.
Mercedes sat at her desk, Ramiro stood behind her. Juanma looked at Ramiro questioningly and Ramiro glanced briefly at Mercedes and then raised his shoulder almost apologetically. He didn't seem to know what was going on.
"I called you here" she looked around at Ramiro and said "can you please sit there, you make me nervous when you stand behind me." Ramiro pulled out a chair and sat down.
"Well, I had you called because I was just talking to Laura. She says ..." again she looked at Ramiro, "... that at the beginning of her time you held her here against her will in the Go."
Juanma looked at Mercedes, then looked at Ramiro. Ramiro looked at least as surprised as Juanma. "You are not serious now," said Ramiro then.
"That's what she told me." Mercedes defended herself.
Juanma looked at Mercedes. He took a deep breath and then said "At the very beginning she was in Go when Mia and I were rehearsing. When Mia came in she called out that I should let go of her. But it was she who held me. Mia will be able to confirm that . "
"I should have guessed that," said Mercedes, rolling her eyes.
"Yes, I think so too. Imputing something like that to Juanma ..."
"I don't mean that," said Mercedes. "It was clear that Mia of all people can confirm that."
"What do you mean by that?" Asked Ramiro. He picked up the phone and told Gloria to bring Laura to the office.
Then he said to Mercedes "Do you want to imply that my daughter is lying. Or that Juanma is lying. You forgot about the bracelet."
There was a knock and Laura came in. She looked at Juanma and stopped at the door.
Mercedes smiled at her. "Would you like to repeat what you told me earlier?"
Laura looked from one to the other. Mercedes raised her eyebrows invitingly. Laura looked at Juanma. Juanma held her gaze.
"I ... I ... think I confused something. I ... don't know why I thought ... I'm sorry," she said.
Ramiro looked first at Mercedes, then at Laura. "I'll go now then," said Laura.
In an unusually hard voice, Ramiro said "You stay"
He looked at Juanma and smiled "But I think you can go"
Juanma looked at Mercedes. He got up and left the room without another word.
"Sit down," Ramiro said to Laura.
Laura sat down and looked alternately at Mercedes and Ramiro.
"I showed some patience and tried to understand your situation and take it into account. I asked my colleagues to be a little more lenient with you. But Laura, you make it difficult for me to even want you to be integrate in the school. "
"Ramiro" drove Mercedes in between.
Undeterred, Ramiro continued, "We have so far managed to integrate everyone here. I will now give you the last chance. False accusations against your schoolmates will not be tolerated. I will suspend you from school for this week so that you can think yourself about your behavior and you can clear your head. "
"Ramiro" said Mercedes again and looked at him.
"Laura go to Gloria for a moment, please." said Ramiro.
When Laura closed the door from the outside, he said, "Mercedes, I understand that you want to do your friend a favor in the difficult time. But is it worth it to leave your other friend's son in a bad light. You know that Juanma would never do something like that. What would Florencia say if she knew that. "
"Florencia and Isabel ..."
"Ah, there we have it again. You let yourself be guided by your personal feelings again. But you can't and don't run a school like that."
He looked at Mercedes. "We have already noticed that Laura does not often stick to the truth."
"But I had to investigate."
"That's right, but you should have spoken to me first. Then we would have approached the matter differently. Now Juanma is understandably angry with Laura and there will be new problems."
He rubbed his eyes briefly. "I'll talk to Juanma. And you send Laura home for this week. I expect you to tell Ilaria the truth about her behavior and the reason for the suspension."
He left Mercedes' office and sent Laura back in. Ramiro waited for the break and intercepted Juanma in front of the classroom. "Do you have a moment?" he asked. Juanma nodded.
"Then let's go a bit."
After a moment he said, "First of all, I would like to apologize for Mercedes' behavior. Of course, she has to investigate such an accusation, especially when you all live so close together. But she could have solved it differently."
Juanma nodded and before he could say anything, Ramiro said, "I'm happy and proud of how you've changed. And that's why I want to tell you something that has to stay between us. Laura's father is very sick. He has lost the company , because due to various treatments he had to temporarily hand over responsibility to someone who was not honest with him. He is better now. I don't know how much Laura knows and how much Mercedes really knows. I have the impression that this family consists of secrets and Lying. "
Juanma said "No wonder Laura adapts to this"
"And that's why I'm telling you this. I know she's difficult and I know she behaves completely wrong. But I ask you not to judge her. If she asks you for help and you can't or don't want to help, then please let me know. I will understand, if you are so delused from her, that you don't want to speak with her. But please tell me then."
Juanma nodded. "Of course Ramiro. How do you know all this now?"
Ramiro smiled. "On the one hand I made a few inquiries, on the other hand I talked to Marcel myself. Mercedes doesn't know that and Ilaria probably doesn't either. Sometimes men talk more than women."
Juanma had to laugh. Ramiro put his hand on his shoulder and said "I can only thank you. For your understanding and for your great friendship with Alvaro and Mia. I know you went through a lot too. And if you ever need something ......"
"Thank you Ramiro" said Juanma and squeezed Ramiro's hand.
