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The school rose into view over the crest of a hill. All red brick and battlements, with an impressively large lawn at the front. I had heard that the building had originally been the home of a billionaire who wanted a castle — under the impression that it was the sort of thing that all truly rich people were supposed to have. He was something of a traditionalist.
Pulling up to the security gate, I rolled down my window and waited for the voice to come on the intercom.
“Name?” the com crackled.
“Ann Howell,” I said, doing my best to speak clearly.
There was a pause followed by a loud buzzing, and the gates began to slowly part, opening inwards toward the building, revealing the visitor parking lot. The neo-gothic theme continued in the school’s echoing corridors, the old-world mystery and charm practically oozing out of every brick.
Miss Gloria was waiting for me when I got to the preschool classroom, dutifully doing paperwork at her desk. Not wanting to interrupt, I went in quietly and sat down in the chair across from her desk.
Drew was there too, sitting quietly in a much smaller chair beside mine. He held out his hand, and I took it. The rest of the class was apparently at recess at the time.
“Oh, hello, I didn’t see you there,” Miss Gloria said, looking up from her papers and adjusting her thick glasses. With curly brown hair and a round face, she was everything one would expect of a preschool teacher.
“It’s okay,” I said quietly.
The teacher straightened her papers and set them to the side before giving me a big smile. “Let me say first that Drew is absolutely excelling, particularly in reading. He is near the top of the class,” Miss Gloria explained.
“That’s amazing,” I said, meaning it and squeezing my son’s hand lightly.
I had known Drew was clever, but I hadn’t expected him to be near the top of the class, particularly at a private school like that.
“The problem is,” Miss Gloria continued with a glance at Drew, “he seems to be a bit shy.”
My heart sunk down to my knees. I had always been shy as a child and really wasn’t a social butterfly as an adult, though I really hoped that the same wouldn’t happen with Drew.
“Oh, I —”
“He does seem to be improving,” Miss Gloria added quickly, no doubt noticing my distress.
“Oh, good,” I said, looking over at him, his nose in a book as usual.
After a second, the teacher continued. “He had befriended the new girl, Carly. She is very social, and hopefully, this will help Drew get over his shyness. Other than that, he’s doing great.”
“That’s great to hear,” I said, ruffling Drew’s hair as he continued to read.
I looked up at Miss Gloria to see if there was anything else. “That’s it,” she said with a smile. “Sorry to bring you down here, but the school insists on the formality.”
“Of course.” I stood and shook her hand.
I started to get ready to go, and Drew sprang to life, dropping the book and wrapping himself around my leg.
“Bye, sweetie,” I said, kissing him on the forehead.
“Mommy! No!” he screamed.
I managed to get him off my leg and started to leave again, Drew taking off after me again, crying his eyes out, grabbing my hand as I got out the main doors. He started wailing, making quite a scene.
I glanced around looking to check and see if anyone else had noticed my screaming son. Oddly, I pretty sure I saw Russ standing outside the school’s fence. I was surprised, to say the least. Was he there to see me? How would he know where to find me so early in the morning? I wasn’t sure how to feel about that.
I waved to him from the door, trying to get his attention. He seemed to notice and reluctantly waved back.
“I’m so sorry,” Miss Gloria said, coming up behind us.
“It’s fine,” I said.
With some coaxing from Miss Gloria, Drew went back inside the school. With a breath of courage, I went over to the fence.
“Hey,” I said, trying to keep my tone emotionless.
“Hey,” Russ said, looking at the ground, “I wanted to find you so I could apologize. I know it wasn’t exactly the best time to leave last night,” he said.
I could hardly contain my excitement. I didn’t want to let on, but honestly, I was thrilled. Russ seemed so thoughtful and regretful. I still hurt about what happened, but at least he was willing to admit he was wrong and apologize.
“No, it wasn’t but if there was an emergency, there was an emergency. They tend to come out of nowhere, hence the root word ‘emerge,” I said, sounding like the total nerd I really was at heart.
“Exactly,” Russ said, with a charming, nervous laugh that made me shiver.
