Strip

Chapter 19

Chapter 19

I pulled James the rest of the way to his school, until we reached the doors. There was no one in front of the school, which made sense because they don't have school on parent-teacher conference days... I think. Either way, I didn't see it as a very good sign. 

The halls of the school were empty, and creepy, as empty schools always are. My foot steps echoed through the halls, as well as James, which were faster, struggling to keep up with me. 

"Where's your teacher's room?" I asked.

"Uh..." James looked around, clueless.

"Really James?" I said, stopping to look at him. "You don't know where you're own class room is?"

"I go in the other entrance," James said quietly. "So I don't get..."

"What?" I leaned down to look at him eye to eye. "What James?"

"Beat up," James mumbled. "There are bullied in the front doors."

I stood up. "Do they hurt you?"

"No," James said. "Because I take the side door."

"Good. Keep doing that. Do you know where the main office is?"

James nodded, and started leading me down the hall. It was at the end of the hall, a big intimidating door. I stopped, and noticed my reflection in the small window. I remembered that I was wearing a t-shirt that didn't look very professional, and my hair was just a messy bun, with a ton of fly aways. I tried to smooth them out, but it didn't help.

Deep breaths Molly. Deep breaths.

I opened the door and peered in. A secretary was sitting at a small desk, typing away at a computer. She looked up as I opened the door.

"Can I help you?" She asked, looking a little skeptical. 

"Um, I was wondering where-" I looked down at James- "What's your teacher's name?"

"Mrs. Little."

"Mrs. Little," I said to the secretary.

"Oh, I believe she's in a meeting right now," She said looking back at her computer, and typing some more. "Do you have an appointment?"

"No..." I said.

"Well, she has an open spot in 20 minutes. It's for a little under half an hour, if your interested." She looked back up. "Are you a parent here for conferences?"

"Um..." Parent. Parent. Parent. "Yes. I guess so... yeah."

"Ok then. And you're a parent of..."

Parent. Parent. Parent. "James Canner."

"Ok." More rapid typing. "Great! It's all set up!" She flashed me a smile. Her teeth were to white they hurt my eyes a little. "You can wait in here, or the chairs right out there in front of the office until it's time for your appointment. Her room is 3 doors to the right." She paused for a minute and added, "20 minutes."

"Thanks," I said, and slipped back into the hallway, closing the door behind me.

I took a deep breath, and took down my hair. I sat down, pulling my hair back into what I hoped was a sleeker more professional looking bun. James sat beside me.

"Do you have something to read?" I asked, tying up my hair.

"Uh huh," James said, reaching into his backpack.

I sighed, and pulled out my phone, to check my hair. After analyzing my reflection in the blank screen, I turned it on. My screen was full of notifications of texts. Which surprised me, because no one texted me.