The form looked ordinary.
One page.
A school logo at the top.
Several paragraphs of small print.
And one empty signature line waiting at the bottom.
But Ethan refused to sign it.
He was twelve years old, sitting at the dining room table while his stepfather, Mark, stood across from him holding a black pen.
“Sign it.”
Ethan stared at the page.
“I don’t want to.”
Mark pushed the pen closer.
“This isn’t optional.”
Ethan looked toward his grandmother, Helen, who was sitting at the far end of the table.
She had been invited for dinner that eveni
