Chapter 2 #2
But before she could open her mouth, the door opened and a young woman with long blonde hair slipped in. She wore a soft gray sweater over a long plaid-print skirt, and her bright blue eyes were serious.
The moment she stepped in, the air in the room suddenly felt electrified, though he wasn’t sure why.
“Sorry, I’m late,” the young woman said softly, taking a seat.
“This is Miss Lawrence,” Principal Chittenden said. “You’re right on time, dear. We know you had to release your afternoon kindergarteners.”
This is Maya’s kindergarten teacher? Ash thought to himself. She barely looked old enough to be out of college.
“Thank you,” Miss Lawrence said, looking around at the gathered group.
When her eyes landed on Ash’s, she gave him a warm, encouraging smile, as if to make sure he knew that she wasn’t angry.
A wave of gratitude washed over him, and for the first time he let himself hope that maybe Maya’s whole elementary school experience wouldn’t have to be lived under the shadow of whatever happened yesterday.
“Miss Erin,” the principal said. “Why don’t we begin by having you describe for us what happened yesterday.”
The teacher’s aide looked like a deer in the headlights, but she cleared her throat and nodded.
“I wish I had seen the whole thing,” she began regretfully. “But there are so many students…”
“We understand,” the principal said encouragingly.
Ash couldn’t help noticing Mrs. Lewis rolling her eyes.
“But there was a lot of ruckus, and when I walked over, Eloise was getting up,” she went on. “Victoria Spencer said that Maya had pushed Eloise, and when I asked Maya what happened, she didn’t deny it.”
Principal Chittenden nodded.
“Why weren’t we called in then?” Mr. Lewis demanded.
“By the time I turned around, Eloise had already gotten onto the bus,” Miss Erin said. “The driver said she was okay, and I didn’t want to delay her since I don’t know your after-school plans.”
“Just right,” the principal said, nodding. “And you reported the incident so that we could arrange our meeting today.”
Miss Erin nodded, looking relieved.
“So we know that Maya pushed Eloise,” the principal said, as if that settled things.
“Did Maya say why she pushed Eloise?” Miss Lawrence asked, leaning forward suddenly.
Her bright voice was friendly, but Ash could sense that the answer was important to her.
“No,” Miss Erin said. “Her bus was about to leave too.”
“Okay,” Miss Lawrence said. “I think we’d better bring her in and find out what was happening yesterday.”
“Does it matter?” Mrs. Lewis asked, arching a brow. “Nothing would justify what she did.”
“Talking about it could help her know what to do next time,” the principal said gently. “Should we bring both girls in?”
“Yes, please,” said Miss Lawrence.
“I’ll get them,” Miss Erin said, heading for the door.
“Thank you,” the principal told her. “And I know you’ve got bus duty, so it’s fine for you to go now.”
Miss Erin slunk out the door, looking even more relieved.
A moment later, Eloise came in and stood beside her mother. Maya followed, her eyes still cast down, and came to Ash.
“Thank you for coming in, girls,” Miss Lawrence said in her bell-clear voice. “Can you tell me what happened yesterday, Eloise?”
“She pushed me,” Eloise said eagerly, pointing to Maya.
“I’m sorry to hear that,” Miss Lawrence said. “How did that make you feel?”
“I don’t know,” Eloise said, looking surprised. “Mad?”
“I see,” Miss Lawrence said, turning her attention to Maya. “Maya, did you push Eloise?”
Maya nodded without even looking up.
“Why did you push her?” Miss Lawrence asked.
Maya glanced up in surprise, and Ash’s heart squeezed at the idea that she hadn’t expected that anyone would want to hear her side of the story.
“She budged,” Maya said softly.
“Do you mean she cut in front, in the bus line?” Miss Lawrence asked.
Maya nodded.
“We’re new here,” Mrs. Lewis said. “Eloise may not know where she’s supposed to go.”
Ash was pretty sure their daughter knew how a line worked from the flash of shame on the little girl’s face. But that was still no excuse.
He turned back to his own daughter.
“Maya, just because someone gets in front of you in line doesn’t mean you can push them—” he began.
“She didn’t get in front of me,” Maya said right away. “She budged in front of Timmy Lanford, and she wouldn’t go back.”
Maya’s eyes were flashing and she stood with confidence.
“I see,” Principal Chittenden said, nodding. “Timmy Lanford is one of our students with a disability.”
The whole incident rearranged itself in Ash’s mind. And while he still wasn’t happy that his daughter had pushed someone, the reason she had taken action suddenly made a whole lot more sense to him.
Maya had a fierce sense of right and wrong, and the injustice of that situation would have been just the kind of situation where she might act first and deal with the consequences later.
Miss Lawrence and the principal continued their conversation with the girls, encouraging Maya to think about the other options she had besides shoving to help Eloise be a better school citizen.
Ash listened, feeling awed that the young woman in the long skirt had been able to get to the bottom of the situation so quickly.
She’s Maya’s teacher, he thought to himself. She knows her well enough to know she wouldn’t do something like that for no reason.
And if that was true, then maybe Maya had made a good first impression after all.
He wished that he had some way to thank the kind teacher. Maybe he could pick up a small gift to show his appreciation. But for some reason, instead of the usual teacher gifts like coffee mugs and tote bags, when he looked at Miss Lawrence, Ash’s mind went right to flowers and chocolates.