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I wrote down his name. “Do you know if he’s from the area?”
She shook her head and made a face. “I think so, but I’m not sure. I know a lot of people make a big deal about whether they were born and bred here, but the principal, Mrs. Deaver, she won’t allow any of that. She’s only been at the school for a few years, but she made it so I can be a room mother. I couldn’t before.”
“They had rules about that?” I asked in surprise.
“Not actual rules,” Millie said. “But definitely unwritten ones. The legacies controlled everything. I was always rebuffed when I signed up to be a room mother or volunteered for the PTA. Kids were treated that way too. Even if they were born here and their parents weren’t.”
I frowned as I made more notes. “What do you mean?”
Millie reached up and rubbed a strand of her hair between her thumb and forefinger. “Well, when Ava and Casey were in second grade, they had a school play and they both wanted the lead role.” She made a face. “It was just a stupid kids’ program. You know, one of those all-class musical presentations, but this one had a speaking part throughout. Kind of like a narrator. Ava and Casey were the only ones to try out and Ava got the part. I didn’t think much of it until the music teacher told me months later over margaritas that she wanted to give it to Casey, but TJ threw his weight around and insisted she give it to Ava since it was owed to her.” A quiet fury washed over her face. “Can you believe that? Owed to her.”
“Because he was born here?” I asked. “He isn’t from Jackson Creek either. He’s from Wolford.”
She shrugged. “But it beats Jackson, Mississippi. I was furious, of course, but Austin—that’s my husband—said to let it go. We’ll probably be here for a while with his job at the plant, and he didn’t want me making waves we couldn’t ride out in the long run.”
“That had to make things uncomfortable,” I sympathized. It also gave Millie a reason to resent Ava, even subconsciously. “Have there been other instances of that kind of favoritism?”
“Not since Mrs. Deaver started at the school.”
“So no more preference given to native-born children and families?”
“There’s still a little, but she squashes it pretty hard when she hears about it.”
“But TJ,” I said, letting his name linger for a second before I continued, “he’s a force to be reckoned with, I’m sure.”
She made a face.
“A guy like him,” I continued. “I bet he’s not happy with the new way of things. He thinks he and his kid are entitled to the perks of being legacies.”
She nodded.
“Is Ava well-liked by her classmates?”
“She is, but I think some of them see the favoritism and hold it against her.”
“Is she bullied?”
“Oh, no,” she said, waving her hand in dismissal. “Nothing like that. More like when Ava is picked for something, the other students aren’t surprised and are a bit resentful.”
“I’m sure some of what she’s achieving is merit based,” I said. “It sounds like she’s an excellent student.”
“And an excellent singer and dancer,” Millie said with a sigh. “Yeah. Sometimes the girls especially resent her a little. But no one hates her. She’s definitely not bullied.” She snorted. “TJ would never allow it.”
Of course he wouldn’t.
“Is there anyone in particular who sees Ava as a threat? Either another child or maybe a parent?”
Her eyes flew wide again. “You mean someone who would kidnap Ava because of their kid?”
“Not necessarily,” I said. “I’m still just asking questions.”
She looked horrified as she considered it. “No,” she finally said. “I don’t think so.”
“How do the other parents and teachers see TJ’s relationship with his daughter?”
She squinted in confusion. “What do you mean?”
I hesitated, trying to figure out how to word it without leading her. “Obviously, TJ intervenes when he thinks his daughter is being treated unfairly. So they must think she’s special to him.”
