Shawn rubbed his temples, stood up, and walked outside to take the call.


    Seeing this, Zach exhaled a bit, feeling a tad more rxed. He then turned his attention back to his meal, pulled a chair closer, and absentmindedly took a bite of a bun.


    Mirabe leaned on the table, shooting a thoughtful nce at Zach. Neither of them said a word; they just quietly continued eating until Shawn returned, a slight change in his expression.


    He ced his phone on the table, making Zach lift his head and ask, "...Is he stilling?"


    "No," Shawn replied curtly.


    Zach didn''t press further and went back to his food. But the call seemed to have weighed on Shawn, who barely touched his meal after a few bites.


    He nced at his daughter, sighing inwardly. Some things, even if left unsaid, couldn''t be ignored.


    After a moment, Shawn spoke up, "Hey Mira, since it''s summer break and your final exam scores are out, why don''t you visit your cousin Nick in Riverdale? Get a feel for the ce."


    Despite the difficulty of letting her go, he felt uneasy about her staying home. Sending her away seemed safer.


    Mirabe looked up, puzzled by the sudden suggestion but guessing it had something to do with the call from ''Grady''. After a pause, she said, "I''m working on getting my driver''s license."


    "Oh..." Shawn paused, having forgotten, then quickly added, "No big deal, we can cancel it here and you can sign up again in Riverdale."


    Mirabe straightened up, serious, "Even though we''re not short on money, that feels wasteful."


    Shawn was left speechless.


    So, not wanting to push his daughter away prematurely, he dropped the subject. The next day was the release of the final exam scores, set for 6 PM. The Davis family was no exception, anxiously waiting in front of theirputer.


    Delh clutched herptop, feeling her anxiety rise as the clock ticked closer to 6 PM. She vented to her husband, "Funny, I''ve never been this nervous about the boys'' scores."


    Shawn clenched his hand, coughing, "I''m not that nervous. Our daughter''s pretty capable."


    As the clock struck six, he urged, "Check the scores now."


    Delh nodded, entered their daughter''s exam number, and hit the search button. But with everyone checking at the same time, the system was overloaded, and the page wouldn''t refresh.


    After several failed attempts, Shawn decided to try calling, an older but sometimes more reliable method. Yet the phone lines were just as busy, and after several minutes of waiting, Shawn hung up, disappointed.


    While the parents were busy, Mirabe had just finished her afternoon driving test. She was thest appointment, so her test ended right at 6 PM.


    After the test, she nned to catch a ride with her instructor but he was busy checking his own child''s final exam scores and asked her to wait a bit.


    "Guess everyone will have to wait until tomorrow to hear about it," she thought, feeling a bit frustrated about getting homete.