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Zoe's lips tighten slightly as she looks as you then, and after a moment she takes in a short breath.

"I'm not sure exactly what you're expecting me to say, but—I don't want to start any kind of argument. I'm not intersted in getting anybody into trouble, either. But after what Mitch told me, there was something I wanted to say. I hope you can understand that."

She swallows, and goes on:

"I know that—after what happened the other week at the craft store, I was…Maxie and I were quite upset, and certainly disappointed when Mitch told us what happened. I'm not one to condone stealing except in dire circumstances, and though Maxie is a little more lenient about where to draw the line, they agreed it was a bad choice on Tobias's part. But—after the night when Tobias ran off into the park, both of us had a very long talk with Tobias, and he us a lot of things that he hadn't felt able to tell us before. I think Maxie and I both realized that we had been putting a lot of pressure on him to act a certain way, and that he was struggling in ways we just couldn't see. We recognized then that for him, what happened was about a lot more than just wanting to steal something."

She hesitates—and then she goes on:

"The thing is, Huknock—Mitch said Tobias didn't actually tell him this himself, but—at least from what he figured out about what happened, he seemed to think that stealing from the store was your idea. And although Tobias didn't say anything about this to us either, I know that he went to Mitch himself to apologize; and from what Mitch said, it seemed as if you might have had the chance to go apologize as well, but you chose not to. And I have to say that…I was very disappointed to hear you made that choice. I know I'm not your guardian, Huknock, and it's not my place to act as if I am; but speaking as Tobias's mom, I can only say that I hope you know what it means to have your friends' trust, and then misuse that trust by influencing them in some way they're not happy with. Tobias makes his own choices as well, of course; but when someone you think of as a friend asks you to do something, it can be difficult to say no. I'm not trying to put any guilt on you, Huknock; I don't think that helps anybody. I just hope, going forward, you think a little about what it means to be a friend. Because in any kind of relationship, it isn't only your feelings that matter."

Her look is still very firm as she finishes, and there's no hint of a smile on her face now. It's clear that she must have been thinking a lot about exactly what to say to you, and in the end, you know she must really mean what she said; every part of it.