2. Jess
Being called into the principal’s office had Jess heading toward the school with a pit in her stomach, feeling like a little kid that was about to get in trouble.
At least the secretary had assured her that Glory wasn’t hurt. But Jess’s relief was short-lived when she realized that meant she was being called in on a behavior issue.
While Glory was plenty rebellious with her mother at home, and lashing out more often than usual since Silas left, she had always been an angel at school. Glory was part of the most popular crowd, she was in the running for head cheerleader next year, and she always managed to get on the honor roll, too.
While Jess’s oldest, Liberty, had been a bit shy, and her middle daughter, Anthem, was too obsessed with music to be overly social, Glory lived for her friends and her accomplishments at school.
Jess couldn’t imagine what had happened, but the idea of it made her feel like her gut was filled with wet sand. She tried to gather herself as she turned down yet another elegant tree-lined street with big stone houses set back far from the sidewalk. She had driven to the academy so many times over the years as a volunteer or to see her girls perform or accept a coveted award or diploma, that she knew she was almost there by instinct at this point.
As she pulled in under the arch with the school’s name, she thought about how fancy the place was for about the thousandth time. When she and Silas came here for a tour before enrolling Liberty, Jess had been blown away by the campus, which looked like something out of a book or movie to her, and certainly not like any school she’d ever attended.
She missed Silas more than ever right now. Though Jess had always handled all the school things for the girls, she hated confrontations and unpleasant interactions. Today felt like it might be one or the other, or both.
Why did you leave us?
She parked in the visitors’ lot and headed for the main office. The rain had all but stopped. The chill of the morning was gone, and the humid air hung heavy all around her. It was heating up all over Pennsylvania, with summer break only a few weeks away, and by the time she crossed the parking lot, Jess was wiping a sheen of perspiration from her brow and wondering why Glory had to get herself in trouble now of all times, with the end of the school year so close.
While the school was always impressive, it certainly didn’t seem very welcoming today. It looked like an antebellum manor house, with the offices in what would have been the center hall and dining room, if it had been a regular home. And Jess couldn’t help but think that if it were, it would be one of those homes where children weren’t allowed to touch anything, which maybe wasn’t the best impression for a school to give.
“Hey, Jess,” another of the regular volunteer moms called to her as they passed each other outside the main doors. “How are you holding up, sweetie?”
Jess managed not to wince at the barely concealed dig.
“Fine, Eleanor,” she said. “How about you? Travis okay?”
Travis was Eleanor’s son. He was nice enough, even if he wasn’t as bright or popular as Glory. Though she guessed that Eleanor wasn’t here about his behavior, so Jess knew she shouldn’t be too quick with her superior thoughts.
“He’s great,” Eleanor replied. “He made the golf team.”
“Good for him,” Jess said, meaning it. A kid like Travis needed all the breaks he could get.
She kept moving past Eleanor, and jogged up the steps and through the main doors, where a blast of over-conditioned air greeted her.
The janitor, Mr. Johnson, waved as she stepped inside. She waved back, feeling a little better at seeing an actually friendly face. Two years ago, she had proposed a motion at the Home School Association meeting to petition the school to give Mr. Johnson paid snow days and a holiday bonus, like all the teachers got. She never would have taken any credit for it, but she was pretty sure someone had tipped him off that she had headed up the charge. He was always ready with an extra-friendly wave and a smile for her after that. And it never failed to bring a smile to her own face in return.
“Don’t let them get her down,” he said quietly to Jess as she passed. “She’s a good kid.”
Jess turned back in surprise, but Mr. Johnson was already shuffling down the hall with his mop bucket, clearly not wanting to broadcast his loyalties.
Taking a deep breath, she headed into the office.
“Hello, Jess,” the secretary said, with a sympathetic smile. “They’re waiting for you.”
Jess had no idea how they could describe the situation as waiting when she had come immediately, telling her friends that they could let themselves out after breakfast and not even taking a moment to smooth on a little lipstick. It was only a five-minute drive, for heaven’s sake.
“Thanks, Kath,” she said instead of rolling her eyes. “I’ll just head in.”
“Mrs. Steele,” the principal said from behind his massive desk.
Jess had never thought of his carefully modulated voice as snobby before. But the way he was somehow looking down his nose at her, even though she was standing and he was sitting, made her instantly understand what the other parents had been complaining about over the years.
“Hello, Principal VanWyck,” she said calmly before she let her eyes go to her daughter.
Ed Vintner, one of the guidance counselors, was in the chair closest to the door.
Glory sat in the chair beside Ed. She wore a pretty blouse and pencil skirt, which had made Jess think she looked like she was auditioning to be a 1950s starlet when she left for school this morning. Glory’s legs were crossed at the knee, and she would have looked incredibly put-together if she hadn’t been tapping one foot frantically and clenching the arms of the chair with her head down, her long blonde hair covering her face.
Jess moved to the seat on Glory’s other side. When she sat, she could see that Glory’s cheeks were tearstained and her expression was furious.
Though Anthem had always been closest with Silas, Glory was the most like him. They both expected a lot of themselves, didn’t like anyone telling them what to do, and were capable of wild temper tantrums. Jess remembered the pre-school teacher telling her that Glory would rip up her drawings and run up the stairs and out the door to the parking lot when she wasn’t satisfied with them, sending the teachers sprinting after her.
She was obviously hurting now, and angry too. Jess couldn’t repress the instinct to place her hand over Glory’s. When the teen hesitated a moment before pulling her hand back, Jess knew things were serious.
“What’s going on?” Jess asked the principal.
“Your daughter threatened three of our students,” he replied, somehow making it sound even more ominous than it was.
He also looked just a little bit pleased.
“Why?” Jess asked.
“That’s not really relevant, is it, Mrs. Steele?” he asked, leaning forward with the corners of his mouth turned up slightly, as if he was actually looking forward to what he was about to say. “Threats and unkind words go against the mission of this school. Here at the Wintergarden Academy, we believe in treating all students with kindness and respect.”
“I understand—” Jess began.
“—The dignity of each of our students is of the utmost importance to our school community,” he continued, cutting her off. “And an offense against one student damages every student.”
She waited to be sure he was finished this time.
“Can you—” she began again.
“This is a proud tradition,” he said, cutting her off a second time, “going back to the founding of our institution. And it’s important for me to note that although Glory’s remarks are dangerous and inappropriate on their own, they are also concerning because they do not reflect the school’s values. To put it plainly, Mrs. Steele, this kind of behavior is not permitted inside these halls.”
Glory let out a bitter laugh, and everyone turned to her.
“That’s just—” she managed.
“You see,” Principal VanWyck interrupted triumphantly. “This is exactly the kind of disrespectful behavior?—”
“No,” Jess said, cutting him off immediately. “It sounds like Glory has something to add here, and I’d like to hear it. What were you saying, Glory?”
A little thrill went through her as she sat back. She had never stood up to authority at the school before. She had never had a reason to. But Silas wasn’t here to lose his temper and threaten to pull his annual gifts, so she was going to have to fend for her daughter herself.
She couldn’t help noticing Ed Vintner trying to hide a smile. At least it seemed like someone here might be on their side.
“What’s the point?” Glory asked, sighing. “No one cares about the so-called kind behavior of any of these students when it happens outside these halls.”
“Glory, please tell me what happened,” Jess pleaded quietly.
But Glory had clammed up again, and Jess could see right away that asking her questions wouldn’t help.
“Normally, this would mean a suspension,” Principal VanWyck said with a smug smile. “But Glory’s threats were serious enough that we’re considering an expulsion.”
Jess swallowed, wondering what Glory could possibly have said to warrant an expulsion.
“And given your current… situation,” VanWyck went on, smiling smugly again. “Well, who knows if you’ll be able to swing tuition next year anyway?”
Jess blinked at him, mortified.
What he had just said wasn’t only inappropriate, it also meant that he was part of the circle of vicious gossip in Aynwick. He had no legitimate way of knowing about Jess’s prenup.
So much for using kind words in these halls.
“I’ll tell you what,” Jess heard herself say in a crisp, confident voice. “Why don’t I make it easy for you? You don’t have to suspend or expel Glory. I’ll take her out for the last ten days of school, and we’ll be in touch with you if she’s considering coming back in the fall.”
“Given that her grades have been slipping, I’m sure Glory’s teachers will understand that she needs time to heal,” Ed said quickly, before the principal had a chance reply. “She’s always been an excellent student, and we’ll all be rooting for her. I’ll coordinate with her teachers this afternoon to get her work sent home for rest of the year. Personally, I know a girl as bright as Glory has a lot of options, so I certainly hope we’ll see her again in the fall.”
“Thank you,” Jess replied. “But this is the first I’m hearing about her grades slipping.”
“We emailed you twice,” Ed said softly.
“They must have gone into my junk mail,” Jess replied without making eye contact. “You all might want to consider picking up the phone to help students, not just when it’s time to ask them to leave.”
Inwardly, she was flaming with rage. Emails from the school always went straight to her inbox. The only explanation was that Glory had gotten into her email and deleted those messages. But saying so in front of the principal and counselor wouldn’t help her case, so Jess decided to let it go. For now.
“In light of Glory being on the honor roll for much of her time as part of the Wintergarden family, and the generous donations your husband made over the years, I think we can let this infraction slide if you take her out of school for the rest of the year, as you described,” VanWyck said. “And we’ll consider her re-enrollment as we would with any new student, if you have your ducks in a row when the time comes, that is.”
Jess buttoned her lips before she said any of the things she was thinking, and headed for the door, expecting Glory to follow.
“Mrs. Steele,” Ed said when her hand was on the door. “There’s just one more bit of info that I want to make you aware of. Glory mentioned to a friend that she’s been thinking of running away from home. And it’s my duty to let you know things of that nature.”
Not trusting herself to speak, Jess grabbed Glory by the hand and marched out of the principal’s office, through the main office, and out onto the front lawn.
Glory pulled away, but kept on marching toward the car, so Jess didn’t say a word. They both got in and Jess pulled out, her hands still trembling with rage. Glory only stared out the window in sullen silence, looking like she might never speak or move again.
As she drove, Jess tried to pull her thoughts together. There were so many things she wanted to say to her daughter, starting with reading her the riot act for deleting those emails, all the way through letting her grades slip, and spouting off a lot of nonsense at school when their family was known to be going through something.
Jess’s phone buzzed in her jacket pocket, and she ignored it, but the buzzing only added to her anger.
At last, she pulled up the long drive that wound slightly before ending at the house. Instead of flinging herself out of the car as usual, Glory stayed put, so Jess waited for her.
“Thanks, Mom,” she said softly after a moment. “You really stuck up for me.”
All the scolding words Jess had been formulating died in her throat.
Glory already knew every single thing she’d done wrong. And she was a teenager, still figuring things out. As far as Jess was concerned, she was doing great compared to someone like her school principal.
“That’s my job,” Jess said firmly. “Now those men in that room might not know what you were talking about when you said things were happening outside of school, but I certainly do. When we get inside, you’re going to gather up all your electronics and bring them to me. You’re taking a break from social media.”
Fresh fury lit up Glory’s eyes and Jess said a silent prayer of thanksgiving that her daughter’s fiery spirit wasn’t completely broken.
“How am I supposed to do my schoolwork online if you take my electronics?” Glory demanded.
“You can use my laptop,” Jess said politely. “I’m pretty sure you already know the password.”
Glory’s eyebrows flew up and she almost looked impressed for a moment before she flung herself out of the car and flounced off toward the house.