Many children bring happiness, a shameless start

"Lip, I want to sleep at your house tonight!"

As soon as Jessica got in the car, she grabbed Lip's hand and acted coquettishly.

"We want to stay too!" Karen and Mandy shouted from the back seat.

"You don't even know how small my room is or how tiny my bed is. How could all of you possibly sleep there?" Lip shook his head and added, "You three only know how to create trouble for me! Can't you give me a break for at least one day?"

"But we'll figure something out!" Jessica pouted.

"All right, we'll talk about it when I can afford a bigger bed," Lip said with a sigh.

The three girls looked disappointed.

Before Lip could say anything to comfort them, his phone rang.

"Hello, Fiona."

"Lip, if you're not busy, go to Carl's school now!" Fiona said, her tone urgent.

"What happened?"

"Carl's teacher just called and pointed out all kinds of issues with him. They even said he might be expelled!"

"What did Carl do? Why would they expel him?"

"I just got the call. I'm heading to the school now!"

"Okay, don't worry, I'm on my way!"

Lip hung up and turned to the three girls. "Carl's in trouble. They're threatening to expel him, so I need to go to his school."

"We'll come with you!"

"All right!"

Lip made a sharp U-turn at the intersection and sped toward Carl's school, taking a detour from his original plan of dropping Jessica off.

Soon, Lip arrived at the school. After parking, he rushed inside, followed closely by the girls.

In the building's lobby, Lip saw Fiona pacing anxiously. She looked like she was barely holding herself together.

"Fiona."

"Lip!" Fiona threw herself into his arms. "If Carl gets expelled, it'll be all my fault! I'm such a failure!"

"Don't worry, I'm here," Lip said, patting her back gently. "Now tell me what's going on."

"Okay."

Fiona began explaining, "Today was Carl's parent-teacher meeting, and since I'm listed as his primary contact, the school called me."

"But the meeting required a legal guardian, which made things complicated. I didn't want them to know about Kevin—"

"Because he's an addict?" Lip interjected.

"Yes! If they find out, they'll use it as an excuse to put Carl in foster care!" Fiona said. "But just as I was figuring out how to handle it, the teacher called again to say they're planning to expel him. That's when I panicked."

"Don't worry. We'll handle this."

"You're right," Fiona nodded. "Let's talk to the teacher and find out what happened."

Lip turned to Karen and whispered, "Take out your phone and start recording before we even step into the office. Make sure to get clear footage of the teacher and Fiona."

"Got it," Karen replied, taking out her phone.

In the teacher's office, Fiona greeted a blonde woman in her thirties.

"Hi, I'm Fiona, Carl's sister," she said politely.

"Are you his legal guardian?" the teacher asked, raising an eyebrow.

"No, but—"

"Then you don't qualify to speak for him," the teacher interrupted.

"Mr. Monroe," the teacher said, addressing a stern-looking man nearby.

Lip glanced at Monroe and immediately got a bad feeling.

"Where's the paper model?" Monroe asked.

The teacher handed Fiona a piece of cardboard. "The students were asked to create paper models of their favorite things. This is what Carl made."

Fiona looked at the black object glued to the cardboard, confused.

"What… is this?" she asked hesitantly.

"It's a piece of poop," Monroe sneered.

Lip stifled a chuckle. Classic Carl, he thought.

"He just has a unique sense of humor!" Fiona said, forcing a smile.

"It's not funny at all," the teacher snapped. "Through Carl's artwork, we see a grim future for him—a path leading to delinquency!"

"You're being dramatic," Fiona said, trying to stay composed.

"We need to talk to Carl's parents," Monroe interjected coldly.

Lip's expression darkened. "And what exactly will you tell them? That you're punishing an eight-year-old for a joke? That instead of supporting your students, you tear them down over harmless fun?"

Monroe's lip curled into a sneer. "You Gallaghers… always trouble. I've dealt with so many of you, and I've never met your parents once. Who even raised you?"

Lip's jaw clenched. "Where's Carl right now?"

"He's in the reflection room," the teacher said nervously.

Lip stormed over to the small room and found the door locked. Without hesitation, he forced it open.

Inside, Carl immediately jumped into his arms. "They locked me in here for two hours just because I accidentally saw them doing something weird in the office!"

Lip's expression turned icy. "Don't worry, Carl. I'm here now. Let's deal with these clowns."

He carried Carl back into the office and fixed his piercing glare on Monroe and the teacher. The air grew tense as Lip's cold smile made the two adults visibly uneasy.

"Now," Lip said, his tone sharp, "let's talk."