Always, Darling

Chapter 24

~ Ｔ Ｈ Ｅ Ｏ Ｄ Ｏ Ｒ Ｅ ~

I was beyond angry as I drove to school to meet the school's principal. It had only been a week since school had resumed, and now I was being called to pick up my son because of a fight he got into. Absolutely ridiculous.

I pulled up to the parking lot just as Ava and Arya did. Stepping out of my car, I saw they looked just as angry as I did if not more. Harsh frowns tugged on both their lips as they met me on the asphalt of the parking lot, the three of us walking towards the front office.

"I can't believe them," Arya said. "What the fuck were they thinking?"

"They weren't," Ava said. "But remember. Don't jump to any conclusions before we hear their side."

I nodded in agreement as we entered the building where the receptionist directed us to the principal's office. The Principal, Dr. Keating, was sitting behind his desk with a stressed yet understanding look on his face. Across from him were my two children and my niece and nephew, the three offenders looking incredibly guilty. Their knuckles were cut badly, especially Parth's, but there were no other injuries on them, showing me that the other boy couldn't even get a punch in. And then there was Nadia, doing her best to keep herself together but struggling to keep the tears at bay.

But missing from the room was the boy who had been on the receiving end of their punches.

"Dr. Russo, Mrs. Russo, and Mrs. Reddy. Please come in," Dr. Keating said.

Nadia's eyes moved up from her lap towards me, relief washing over her. Simon, Parth, and Imani stood up from their seats, allowing us three adults to sit down. Taking the chair closest to Nadia, I reached for her hand and gave a reassuring squeeze.

Dr. Keating leaned forward in his chair as he looked towards us, his eyes briefly flashing towards the three kids who were standing behind us. "As you know, this school has a Zero Tolerance Policy against violence of any kind. I'm afraid I'll have to suspend Parth, Simon, and Imani for a week."

"I understand. They should have known better than to resort to fighting," I said, glancing up at the kids with disapproval. "I can assure you it won't happen again."

"No, it won't," Ava said. "We'll make sure of it."

Arya sat up in her chair as she said, "Where's the boy that was in the fight? Is he okay?"

Dr. Keating sighed. "We sent him to the hospital because of his injuries. I expect you'll receive a bill for his medical treatments as well as a call from the family's lawyer. They are not at all pleased with what happened."

"But he—"

Parth didn't finish his thought as Arya glared at him, daring him to continue. When he lowered his head in defeat, Arya turned back to the principal and said, "We'll ensure that the kids apologize to him in person once he's better."

"I appreciate that," Dr. Keating said. "I do want to say that your kids weren't the only ones in the wrong. Asher is suspended for two days for what he did to provoke the fight."

Ava narrowed her eyes as she turned to look at Imani. "Asher? Is this the same boy—"

"Yes," Imani said. Switching to Swahili, she said, "Can we talk about this at home?"

Ava nodded her head and returned the principal's gaze. "Is there anything else we need to know?"

"Yes," Dr. Keating said. "Because this is all the kids' first offense and they are all generally good kids, I won't put this on their record, and they will still be allowed to go on the fall trip. But if this happens again, the consequences will be more severe."