Chapter 37 #2
“He is, but you can wait. Get settled in first. I’ll hold him off,” she tries to reassure me.
I want to rip the Band-Aid off and talk to him. I need to know whether or not I still have a job after this—I’m not ready to leave this place or these kids.
“No, that’s okay. I’d rather get it over with,” I say, giving her one last hug and then heading to the front of the building, the hallway leading to the receptionists in front of the principal and each year’s vice principal.
I knock on the door and hear a gruff come in. When I turn the handle and push the heavy brown door open, Principal Danner is sitting behind his desk, glasses on the bridge of his nose and a mountain of paperwork in front of him.
He’s in his late forties, the gray peppering his temples and mixing in with his light brown hair. He has youthful skin and an athletic build, and he also helps coach the boys’ football team here.
“Kane! Good to see you. Come in and have a seat.” His overly loud voice fills the room. I enter and close the door behind me, then make my way to one of the brown leather chairs in front of his desk and sit.
“It’s good to see you, Principal Danner,” I say, nodding my head at him.
“No need for all that. Call me Eric. How are you doing? How is that girlfriend of yours healing?” he asks, sitting back and crossing his arms over his chest.
“Good. We’re good. Her doctor gave her the all-clear to resume light activities, so she went back to work already. We are both just trying to get back to normal,” I reply, my hands fiddling in my lap, the anxiety threatening to creep up on me again.
“Good, good. I’m glad to hear it. I brought you in after going over your statement with the cops.
They informed me about your previous encounter with Mr. Wilde and the events that may have led him to come here as he did,” he starts, my head hanging in shame at the way my wrong actions somehow brought this down on the school.
“I’m so sorry, Eric. I really am. I don’t know what I was thinking except I put everyone here in danger,” I acknowledge, shame coating my every word.
“Yes, well, I don’t blame you.” My head snaps up to look at him, shock coursing through me.
“Wh-what?” I stutter out.
“I said I don’t blame you. We all missed it, and we all failed the kid except for you.
As teachers, it is our duty to notice these things, and no other teacher has done what you did to keep that kid safe.
This is my fault as a principal, and I have failed the people trusted in my care.
Going forward, all doors will be locked as soon as school starts.
Access will only be granted through the front office, and an officer will now be posted there during school hours and for the hours after to protect my staff.
You will be on probation for your actions, but as long as there are no more fistfights, you will continue to work here and advocate for these kids,” he says with a no-nonsense tone, his eyebrow raising.
“Yes, sir,” I agree.
“I would like weekly reports after meeting with these kids. Any single kid showing the slightest signs of abuse will come to me immediately, and I will make sure it goes through the proper channels. But other than that, the work you’ve done is invaluable.
I have had students drop by my office all week to talk about you and the way you’ve helped them.
None of them wanted to see you leave. And I know how to appreciate when I have someone valuable on my staff, but I also need someone here who is not a loose cannon. ”
“I agree, sir. I do. And I really hope that going forward, you can see something like this will not happen again,” I say, nodding my head at him.
He reaches across the desk and shakes my hand, his grip firm but not bruising.
“Get back to work, and you come to me the second you need something. I mean it. My door is open, always.”
I stand up and thank him, turning and heading toward the door.
“Wait, Kane. Trevor’s grandmother dropped off this for you.
It’s a letter,” he says, reaching into a drawer and pulling out a white envelope with a scrawled Mr. D on top of it.
“Spitfire of a woman, that one. Wouldn’t take no for an answer until I promised to hand-deliver this to you, with a promise that if I fire you, she’ll make sure I lose my job right after.
” He chuckles, a smile on his face as if remembering the moment.
“Thank you,” I falter as I reach over and grab the letter, my hands shaking slightly.
I take the letter and make my way out of his office in a daze. I head to my office in the back, hoping to avoid everyone. As much as I appreciate the well wishes, I already feel exhausted from repeating the same things. I just want everything to go back to normal.
When I get to my desk, I throw my backpack on top and drop into my chair, my hands raking through my hair. I glance at the letter. There’s nothing significant about the envelope it’s encased in, but with the way I’m scared to touch it, you would think it was infected by some sort of virus.
Finally, after what feels like hours of staring at it, I reach over and open the top, careful as if I could somehow disturb the contents inside.
Inside is a sheet of lined paper, some words visible through the back.
I pull it out carefully and open it, my eyes immediately filling with tears at the contents.
Mr. D,
I stopped by to see you today, a couple days after the incident, and they said you would be off for a while.
My grandmother (can you believe I actually have one?) told me that your girlfriend was hurt by my dad when you were just trying to protect me.
I can’t believe you would do something like that.
I’ve never had someone who was on my side before.
I learned how to tell lies before I knew how to spell my first name, and I’m sorry I never gave you the truth. You deserved that much after everything you did for me.
I was ready to call it quits before you called me into your office and refused to give up on me.
It was all too much. The beatings, the arguments, waking up every single day knowing two little girls counted on me to keep them fed and safe.
That became my only purpose. School, friends and sports no longer had any meaning, because I was so close to death, I didn’t want all those things to miss when I couldn’t hack it anymore.
But you showed up again and again, even when I was a fucking prick (sorry, language, I know), and you kept showing me you cared. You got me help with school. You gave me Katie, someone who made it easier to just breathe and get through the days.
I wanted to thank you for all you did. I want to thank you for sticking up for me when no one cared enough to see me slipping through the cracks. If you ever need an oil change or any work on your car, you know where to find me, and I’d really like to thank you in person someday.
My sisters and I are safe. We’re happy. I’ve never seen two little girls get so spoiled. And I owe every day of this to you, Mr. D. Good look watching out. I’ll see you soon.
- Trevor Wilde
I put the note down after my third reread, the tears fill my eyes and threatening to spill over.
The day hits me like a ton of bricks, and the exhaustion settles all the way down to my bones.
Knowing he is safe and his sisters are cared for fills me up in a way I’ve never experienced before.
I regret my actions and what the dominoes of that event caused, but I could never regret the end result: Trevor getting out of that situation and going somewhere better.
I pull a tack from my board and stick the note front and center, around all the pictures and other notes I’ve gotten in my career. When I look up at the board, I know this is what I’m meant to do with my life.