20. Family Is Everything
Twenty
Family Is Everything
Amelia
“All right, Joseph, your mother is coming to pick you up,” I coo to the five-year-old, stroking his hair with my fingers.
Miss Forester, his teacher, brought him to me after lunch, explaining that he hadn’t eaten his lunch and looked pale.
Not only that, but when the school nurse took his temperature, he had a slight fever.
I had Kate call his mother to let her know he needed to be picked up.
However, his mother works more than half an hour away, and his father is out of town on business.
I had Joseph lie down on the sofa in my office, which is there for just such occasions.
I grab a blanket from the cupboard and get him comfortable, making sure that he drinks water and a few sips of his juice box to keep him hydrated.
This isn’t the first child who has needed to come in and wait for his parents to come for him, but Joseph is such a sweet little boy; it tugs at my heartstrings to see him so sad.
When Joseph drifts off, I walk back to sit behind my desk and get some work done while I wait for Elaine, his mother, to arrive.
I love my job, but sometimes I miss the classroom.
There’s something about watching the change in the kids that come through the class and that special gleam in their eyes when they know they’ve accomplished something.
I’ve always known my strengths were organization and finance, so when I decided to pursue the vice principal role and move on to a principal role, I was thrilled to take on the tasks at hand.
In a way, I have the best of both worlds; I get to substitute teach when one of my staff is sick, and I get to make positive change when I go to the board and petition for what the school needs.
The day has been quiet, apart from Joseph.
After he’s picked up, I concentrate on the staff meeting, which is right after school today.
I’ve asked all the staff to come up with a wish list for their classes and for the school.
I’ve done the same, but I want to make sure their voices are heard and that we’re all working together as a team to improve education for students.
The afternoon flies by, and it isn’t until Kate knocks on my door that I realize I’ve only got ten minutes to get to the staff meeting. With my file in hand, I make my way down the hall.
As at all our meetings, I asked Kate to go to Hanna’s to buy treats and coffee. I refuse to pay for this out of our budget because we’re so tight on money and pay for it myself. This time, Kate comes back with all the goodies and hands back the money I gave her.
“What’s this?” I ask.
“Hanna said that this is the least she can do for the school in our community. She says that she’ll supply the donuts, pastries, or whatever and coffee for all the staff meetings in the future,” Kate answers.
“Kate, there’s over a hundred dollars worth of food and drink. She can’t do that.” The spread is way more than I’ve done in the past, including a fruit tray, brownies, squares, and cookies. On another table sit coffee, tea, and sodas.
“Apparently, she can, and she did.” Kate giggles.
“I’ll drop by and thank her on my way home, but this is too much to expect.”
At the door, Izzy laughs. She must have overheard me. “Don’t bother arguing with Hanna. She’s soft and sweet, but when she makes up her mind, there’s no changing it.”
“Well, I’m going to go over and see her anyway.” I’m sure Izzy knows Hanna really well, but I still feel I should go over personally and thank her and let her know that if she changes her mind, I’ll completely understand.
“I’ll come with you. Quinn, Charlotte, and Abby are meeting up for coffee. They’ll love it if we join them,” Izzy says.
“I think Bullet has plans, but I’ll check with him,” I reply. I send him a quick text, and he responds right away. I’ll meet you at Hanna’s when I’m done. Have fun. The girls really like you and want to spend time with you.
I smile when I see it. First because he doesn’t hesitate to answer my text, and second, because I seem to fit in with his friends and their wives and girlfriends.
I’ve never been one to have lots of girlfriends.
That’s my own fault. I’ve been too busy building a career, but it feels good to be around women who are strong, smart, charming, and loyal to one another. There’s no jealousy or envy.
I’m not sure why my mind goes to Violet, but it does.
I believe that Violet’s never had this kind of girl power in her life either.
I hope she’s doing okay. No one knows where she and Crush are holed up, except for Guard and a man called Hawk.
I understand it’s for their own protection, but the entire situation makes me uneasy.
As the rest of the staff pile into the room, I shake the thought from my mind and concentrate on the task at hand with a smile on my face.
What an amazing meeting! I am overjoyed with all the new ideas and suggestions that came from our time together.
It feels good to know that my thoughts are in sync with the staff and what they’d like to see moving forward.
I informed them of the meeting with the board at the end of the month and how I would like to approach them for more money.
The reality is that there’s no way we would be able to get the sum required to upgrade our school without matching the funds they would give.
This led to a variety of fundraising ideas.
From bake sales to carnival days, and so many more thoughts, we threw them all out and made a list. Teams of two and three came together for the ideas they were most passionate about, and once they’ve pinned down the details, we’ll meet again.
I love the idea of having one event a month.
However, the tricky part will be finding enough volunteers to help out.
The majority of the parents with kids at the school actively participate, but how much more can we ask of them?
This is my worry. Yet, if we don’t try, we won’t know, so we’re going to move forward and see how we do.
“Ready to head over to Hanna’s?” Izzy asks as she puts the leftover sweets in the fridge.
“Yes. I have to drop by the office to pick up my bag on the way.”
“Great. Let’s go.” We walk down the hall to my office, and Izzy grins. “This was a really good meeting. I’ve never seen everyone so excited. You did that, you know.”
I stop and turn to her. “I didn’t do anything.”
Izzy’s mouth gapes open, and she looks at me like I have two heads.
“Amelia, you asked! Mr. Dobson was a very nice man, but he was getting on in years and lost his passion for change. He never wanted to rock the boat with the board. He would ask, they would say there was no more money to give, and he would cave. I haven’t been here as long as some of the other teachers, but they lost faith that any change would ever happen.
Even though Mr. Dobson is a nice man, none of us were really surprised when he retired, and we all hoped that someone like you would take his place.
You’re making us believe again. You did that, Amelia. ”
Mr. Dobson was the principal I replaced, and he is a sweet older man. When I first met with him, he warned me about constantly fighting the board for money and never getting anything more than what was in the budget.
I knew I was coming into a situation where I would have to prove that the expenditures at the school were necessary.
Still, Izzy’s words make me very happy. So happy, I want to cry, and that just wouldn’t be professional.
I choke back tears and nod, not trusting myself to speak.
I’m now more determined than ever to make the board understand the importance to the children and families of our community and what more the school can provide for them.
Izzy and I chat as we head to Hanna’s Bakery. As soon as we go through the door, the girls from the Lady Pride wave us over. Quinn, Charlotte, and Abby are there, but so are Willow, Francesca, and Rose. Of course, Hanna is bustling around the shop, and Romeo is being her little helper.
When Romeo sees me, he rushes over to me right away. “Miss Amelia,” he calls to me. I drop down to meet him at eye level.
“Hi. Romeo. Did you have a good day today?”
“Not all the time,” he mutters. “But Dad gave me a cookie and told me to ignore Sam.”
Sam is another boy in his class. He’s a good kid, and I’ve never heard of him getting in trouble before. “Did he do something to you?”
“No, but he was teasing Nalia and made her cry. I told him to stop, and he got mad at me,” he explains.
“Hmm, do you know why he was teasing Nalia?” I already know the answer, but I’m wondering what Romeo thinks.
He just shrugs and looks at me, confused.
“Well, I’m going to tell you a secret.” He perks up and smiles, leaning in for my hushed words.
“I think he wants to get her attention because he likes her. Sometimes, people do silly things to get someone to notice them. I’ll bet that Sam really likes Nalia, but she isn’t paying attention to him, and that’s why he did what he did. ”
“Why doesn’t he ask to come over and play instead?
” Romeo suggests. This boy is much too serious for such a little man.
From the moment I saw him, I knew that he was unique.
He’s a watcher. What I mean by that is that Romeo doesn’t jump on board with whatever the other kids are doing.
He analyzes everything going on and makes his own decision as to whether it’s something he wants to be part of.
I’ve also noticed that Romeo seems to keep a close eye on Ryder, Ava’s younger son, when he’s in the schoolyard playing, because he is one ambitious, fearless little guy.