Lib Novel Page 44
Cora opened her mouth to say she would turn him down, and then closed it again.
“I think that when he does, you should say yes,” Mrs. Brandt said suddenly.
Cora spun to look at the older teacher, amazed.
“He’s good for you,” Mrs. Brandt said. “Those two aren’t the only ones who saw you in town over the weekend looking like you were having the time of your life.”
Before Cora could answer, the intercom buzzed.
“Mrs. Davies, you have a call on line one,” the secretary’s voice warbled.
“Oh, goodness,” Cora murmured, dashing over to the phone on the wall and picking it up.
“Hello,” she said.
“Hi, Mrs. Davies,” a woman’s voice said kindly. “This is Trinity Falls Elementary School.”
Cora’s heart dropped to her stomach and the woman’s kind words introducing herself and saying Sylvester’s name faded as fear set in. Her vision tunneled so that there was nothing in the room but her pounding heart and the telephone.
“Is it his asthma?” Cora heard herself asking in a panicky voice. “He has an inhaler in his bag and the nurse has a back-up?—”
“No, no,” the lady assured her. “He’s just fine. Principal Tucker would like to see you about a behavioral matter.”
“Behavioral?” Cora echoed, dumbfounded as her heartbeat slowed its gallop and the room around her began to come back into focus.
“Yes, ma’am,” the lady continued. “Can you come by after your school day finishes up today? Sylvester can wait for you in the library.”
“Of course,” Cora murmured. “I’ll be there. My next class is my last one of the day.”
Two hours later, Cora stepped into Principal Tucker’s office, so nervous that she was afraid she would begin shaking.
Don’t be silly, she told herself. You’ve called plenty of discipline meetings for your own students over the years. This isn’t good, but it’s not the end of the world.
“Mrs. Davies,” the principal said, standing. “Thank you so much for coming in right away. Please have a seat. How was your day?”
Cora blinked at the beautifully dressed lady in front of her, struggling to think of anything to say. Her day had been completely derailed by thoughts of this meeting. At least they had already met in a friendly way when she was enrolling Sylvester.
“Fine, thank you,” she managed. “How was yours?”
“The life of an elementary school principal is never boring,” Principal Tucker chuckled. “But it was a good day. I’m sure you’re wondering why I called you in.”
“Yes,” Cora said, feeling both relieved to get to the heart of the matter, and afraid of what was coming next.
“Let me first start by asking, does Sylvester seem to like school?” the principal asked. “What does he talk about when he comes home?”
“He loves school,” Cora told her honestly. “He talks about Miss Sullivan, and he tells me all about the other students, and the classwork they’re doing.”
“I’m glad to hear that,” Principal Tucker said. “I want to make sure you know that Sylvester is a good boy. He’s making friends, he’s a wonderful reader, and Miss Sullivan likes him very much. She had a doctor’s appointment after school today or she would be here to tell you herself.”
Cora nodded, too nervous about what could possibly follow to risk opening her mouth.
“She wanted me to talk with you today about a behavior pattern she’s seen emerging,” the principal went on, as is if it were completely normal for Cora to be nodding at her wide-eyed instead of saying thank you. “The first few weeks of school, Sylvester’s behavior was exemplary. But earlier this week, he jumped up on his desk and called out in class.”
“Oh,” Cora said, having a hard time even picturing that.
“I think Miss Sullivan was as surprised as you are,” Principal Tucker chuckled. “She asked him to sit down, and he did, right away. But of course, standing on desks isn’t safe and it was a disruption.”
“You’re absolutely right,” Cora said, nodding. “I’ll talk to him about it.”