"A man of such charm and grace has to think about these things," Solomon said mildly. "You should feel honoured I put this much thought into it."

Dexter shook his head. "Just so long as you bozos keep in mind that I'm a neutral party here."

"Definitely not dropping out," Melissa agreed. She pursed her lips, regarding Stephanie. "Homeschooling after this year, maybe, but you're finishing highschool. And you're grounded until you're eighteen. It's not quite three years, but it will do." Since she'd been lying to them for three years, it seemed like a nice round number. "A lot of young people nowadays go into apprenticeships and trades instead of university. There's nothing odd about that."

Just about the nature of this particular apprenticeship. Then again, it probably wasn't odd to these people.

"I'm thinking no more apprenticing of any kind until this semester is over," she said to Corrival. "So she can focus on wrapping up her studies. Her magical studies as well, to keep on top of that." If it was a self-defence issue, Melissa had no issue with her continuing those. "But under supervision. In our house. So we can see every single thing she's learning. Then a break over summer while we figure out how her schooling should continue. Everyone needs a holiday." She got the distinct impression Stephanie hadn't had a real vacation in ... years. The thought made her hug Stephanie a bit closer as she looked at Des. "What do you think, dear?"