...And Then I Met You...

Meeting Mr. Garroway

I've never been asked these many questions ever before in my entire life. To say that I was annoyed beyond thought would be the understatement of the century. Mr. Garroway, the Dean's Private School director, smiled enthusiastically at me, displaying all of his perfectly straight teeth to us. When I threw him a scowl, his smile dwindled away. Mom sat next to me, her posture impossibly professional, and threw me a pointed glare. I continued scowling at Mr. Garroway, slumping further into the chair.

The office was filled with gag-evoking motivational posters, but more than the "inspirational" quotes, every square inch of the wall bolstered high acclaimed medals, certificates, and trophies. The walls were painted in the school colors: blue, silver, and green. The mascot, a raven, was sitting atop a cabinet and bore its beady eyes srcuritinizingly at me. Though it was only an inanimate object, it unnerved me. Pictures of talented students hung with pride on the blue, silver, green walls. It was so clearly obvious that I was not meant to go here. I didn't belong here!

Mr. Garroway cleared his throat, an odd thing to do when all of us were giving him our undivided attention. Well, maybe not me, but either way, it didn't make a difference as I glared daggers at him. "Hiram, Hazel," he said, giving them a curt nod. "If you would give us some privacy, I would like to...address some things to Ida."

Mom's grip on my hand tightened. "I'm sure you can say whatever it is you wanted to say with all of us in the room," Mom cut a glance at Hiram as if asking him to agree with her. Hiram muttered an agreement.

Mr. Garroway only smiled and explained, "I would love to do that, but Ida here does not seem willing to open up with all of you here. I assume she's hesitant to express her actual emotions..."

I huffed an exasperated sigh and Mom observed me before locking her eyes with Hiram. They both pushed their chairs back in synchronized movements, and Mom gave me an hesitant smile before asking, "Will it take long?"

"Not at all!" Mr. Garroway confirmed, his gray hair bobbing as he nodded at them. In all honesty, I didn't want them to stay. I would much rather want to know the real Mr. Garroway behind the façade he built. As soon as Mom and Hiram left the office, Mr. Garroway leaned forward, his hands propped up on the table, and his face still smiling.

"Ida," he said, his voice icy. "I'm sure you and I are both well aware that you're not suitable for this school. At all-"

My ears instantly perked up. I beamed at him, nodding vigorously. "I totally agree. Now tell me, what is it that I have to do to get kicked out of the school? I already thought of a couple thirty scandalous ways to help achieve that, but what do you think is the ultimate deal breaker?"

He was clearly not expecting that. His eyebrows shot up, and after a moment of being taken aback, he chuckled. "Oh, Ida," he clucked his tongue to the roof of his mouth. "Why in the world would I want to get rid of you?"

I narrowed my eyes. There's something about the way he said it that makes me think there are underlying reasons- motivations- for why he would let me stay.

"Hiram is one of the richest people in the city, and admitting you into the school would benefit the school more than it would you," his eyes glinted with greed as he continued. "Imagine, the amount of money he could fund or donate for my cause. No. No, Ida. You're not leaving this school, no matter how hard you try."

"Um," I scoffed. "I'm not so sure about that."

"Well, you will be once I remind you that your mom has such high expectations of you going to this school. Do you really want to crush her hopes of getting you better education- giving you a better life?"

I closed my mouth as fast as I opened it. Mr. Garroway smirked, and took this as a chance to continue, "I'll get your grades soaring high, Ida...even if you don't put in the work. I'll make sure you fit in here as best as you can. You don't even have to be academically strong, although I could rig the system-"