14. Halle
CHAPTER 14
HALLE
“ W hat do you mean?” There’s no way I heard the school secretary correctly. “Please tell me you’re joking.”
She’s not joking. No school secretary would waste their time making a call like this for no reason.
“They’ll be here in the office when you arrive. They’re suspended for three days.”
My heart sinks. “I’ll be there in about ten minutes.”
When I end the call, I’m not at all surprised to find Caleb watching me, brow arched, from the chair in the corner where he’s reading… is that Percy Jackson ? I swear he had a law text open on his lap earlier.
“What was that about?” he asks when all I do is blink back at him.
It takes several seconds to process the call and find the words to answer. “I have to get my brothers.” I push back from the desk. “I’ll be back soon. Shouldn’t take more than thirty minutes. I hope.”
Ten minutes there. Ten minutes back. That leaves ten minutes to get the rundown from the principal and potentially lay into the boys for their idiocy.
“I gathered that much. What happened, though?” He slides a bookmark between pages and shuts the book.
I take a deep breath, willing my nerves to remain settled, and blow it out. “They caught a snake and let it loose in the school.”
Caleb stares at me for a long moment, then bursts into laughter, startling the shit out of me. “I’m so glad I have a daughter. Boys are something else.”
“You’re a boy,” I argue.
“Yeah, and teen boys do dumb shit.” He sets his book aside and gets up. “I’ll drive.”
I stomp my way into the school. Alone. By some miracle, I convinced Caleb to stay in the car. He was dead set on joining me, but I reminded him that I’m their guardian. I need to handle these kinds of things on my own if the boys are ever going to respect me.
I’m buzzed inside and head straight to the office, where I show my ID to the secretary .
“Halle—”
I snap my finger in my brothers’ direction. “I don’t want to hear anything from either of you right now.”
Eyes wide, they look from me to each other, no doubt using that twin telepathy.
The woman behind the counter stands and smooths the front of her shirt. “The principal would like to talk to you.”
“Lovely.” The word is more sarcastic than I mean for it to be, but there’s no taking it back now.
She leads me over to a closed door and knocks. When a gruff voice replies with a “come in,” she gives me an encouraging smile. It only makes me more nervous.
Inside the office, I come face to face with a large man with a receding hairline and ruddy cheeks. His eyes seem kind, though, so that gives me hope.
“Hi, Principal Lewis.” I hold out a hand. “It’s nice to meet you, though I wish it was under different circumstances.”
His grip is solid but not bruising. “I wish the same, Miss…?”
“Emerson,” I reply. I have our mom’s maiden name while the boys have their dad’s. My dad didn’t stick around long enough to even give me his name. Figures.
“Miss Emerson.” He nods once. “I understand that moving and starting school in a new place can be a challenge. Your brothers may still be adjusting, and that isn’t out of the ordinary, but catching and releasing a snake inside the school is inexcusable behavior.”
A weight settles on my chest, making breathing painful. “Believe me, I know. I promise I’ll deal with them. ”
“As I’m sure Mrs. Clemons informed you, they’ve received a three-day suspension. Being that it’s Friday, it will begin on Monday. I don’t often mete out this type of consequence, but in this case, it’s necessary. There have been some… other incidents. Given the period of adjustment I believe students need, I chose to overlook them, but I’m afraid I can’t keep turning a blind eye.”
My stomach sinks. “What other incidents?” And why wasn’t I notified?
He winces. Maybe realizing that this information shouldn’t have been kept from me. “One of them took the plaque off my door.”
What?
“They also stole paints from the art department. They’ve yet to turn up. So you’ll see why I couldn’t let the snake incident go without a fitting consequence.”
With every transgression he ticks off, my blood heats further. I’m going to kill them.
How do parents do this shit? Where does the patience come from?
“Thank you for letting me know,” I say, somehow keeping my tone even. “Is there anything else you need from me?”
“No, not today.” He rests both palms on the desk. “But this behavior can’t continue, Miss Emerson. I like to think of myself as a patient and understanding man. Hence the reason I haven’t spoken to you about their behavior until now. My hope was that I could deter them by speaking with them myself. Clearly, I was wrong.”
Standing, I blow out a breath and force a smile. “I’ll talk to them.” I shake hands with him again, then let myself out. In the main area of the office, I level my waiting brothers with a glare. “Let’s go.”
Without a word, they follow, feet dragging and expressions stoic.
Outside, when they catch sight of Caleb’s idling SUV, Quinn physically deflates. “You brought Caleb?”
“He insisted on coming. And you’re in no position to complain about anything right now.”
I wait until we’re in the car and off school property before I turn around in my seat, ready to breathe fire.
“I’m so angry at you two.” Rage makes my hands shake. “This shit is not okay. Stealing and letting wild animals go in the school? Seriously? Mom might have let this crap slide, but I won’t. You’re almost fifteen, for God’s sake. Act like it.”
“It was just a prank,” Casen whispers, lowering his gaze. “It was supposed to be funny.”
“Funny, huh? Did anyone laugh?” I bite out through gritted teeth. “Because I’m not laughing. Your principal certainly wasn’t laughing. And when I walked in, neither of you were either.”
“It’s boring here,” Quinn complains, flopped back against the seat. “Can you blame us for trying to liven things up?”
“Yes!” I practically shriek. “Yes, I can blame you. That behavior is unacceptable, and it reflects poorly on me. By tomorrow, everyone in this town will know what you did.”
Caleb winces, glancing at the boys in the rearview mirror. “More like tonight. If they haven’t already heard.”
“Great,” I snap. “We moved here for a second chance. Clean slate. A do-over. And you’re already pulling the same crap. You’re so, so smart, both of you, so maybe try using your brains for good instead of evil, okay?”
They exchange a look and give muttered agreements.
With a sharp inhale, I make a decision, and before I can second-guess myself, I force the words out. “You’re grounded for a month. No video games and no television in your room.”
“What?” Casen darts forward in his seat with so much force, the seat belt catches him. “You can’t do that!”
“That’s not fair,” Quinn fires alongside him.
“Want to make it two months?” I threaten, my voice pure steel.
That gets them to shut up.
Once they’ve both slumped back again, I face forward, blinking back the tears I refuse to let fall. Anxiety claws its way up my throat and shrouds me in doubt. Maybe I’m not cut out for this.
Without a word, Caleb rests his hand on my knee and rubs soothing circles with his thumb. The light touch is surprisingly effective, quickly grounding me and making it easier to breathe.
Whether or not I’m cut out for this, I’m responsible for them, so I have to figure it out.
Caleb parks in the driveway, but none of us moves.
“Caleb?” I finally say, the quiet words piercing the silence. “Have any chores the boys could take care of for you? They’ll have a whole lot of free time for the next month. ”
Caleb glances at them in the rearview mirror, and I swear he’s managed to join in on their twin telepathy.
What the hell? I glare at him, but before I snap, he clears his throat.
“The deck needs to be power washed. I’ll pull the power washer out.”