Principal Daddy Read online

  It took Sara about half an hour to respond to my message, I knew because I was eagerly awaiting her response, even as I worked. When she did respond, it was when I was just finishing up for the day and handing over to our evening manager. I didn't check her text until I was sitting in my car, waiting for my son Chris to come out of the school.

  "OK. You can have that one balloon, but no more." She wrote.

  I sent her back a little smiley face before my car's passenger door was opened and I looked over to see Rick.

  "Hey!" He said, standing there, as he never had before. Rick only talked to me when I was in the cafe working and he came in for his coffee. He had never had to talk to me at the school before, or even about my son.

  "Hi!" I said, feeling a little bewildered about what felt a little bit intrusive.

  "Can you park the car up the street a little, in one of the hour zones?" He asked. My car was in the five minute zone that parents used when they picked their kids up from school.

  "Ah, sure." I said, "is everything okay?"

  Rick's face went through a few different expressions before it settled on a stoic one, steady and sure of himself he told me, "park the car, we'll talk about it in my office."

  I nodded my head slowly and he closed the door with a soft thud. Driving up a little way, I parked my car before walking back down to the school.

  The school office was well marked and I found it quickly. Walking in, I told the receptionist that I was Chris Piper's mother and the principal had just told me to come in. She gave me one little nod and told me to go ahead, that the principal was waiting.

  "Hi." He said again, this time a little more sure of himself - I guessed because he was in his office now, I was on his turf.

  "Hi." I said, taking a breath and asking him the question I wasn't really sure I wanted to hear the answer to, "what did you want to talk to me about?"

  Rick motioned for me to sit down and I took the chair nearest to me begrudgingly.

  "It seems, I spoke a little soon when I saw you earlier today." He told me.

  "Oh no, what has he done?" I asked quickly and Rick shook his head just as quickly.

  "No, no, it's not what he's done. It's what he's seen." He told me.

  "What he's seen?" I asked.

  Rick looked embarrassed, staring down at his desk. I was sure I had never seen that face before in all the times he came into the cafe. He looked a little like a scolded child himself. He didn't answer me.

  "Where is my son?" I asked, the tempo of my voice changing as worry started to set in.

  "Oh no, don't worry." He told me, "his teacher has him now, she'll be bringing him to my office when the school bell rings." He told me, and almost as if the bell had heard him and was making a point, it started to ring through the PA system. I could hear it ringing outside and through the corridors. The school day was done.

  Rick looked all the more uncomfortable as he cleared his throat before telling me, "I wanted the chance to talk to you first, before your son came in. He is fine, he just had a bit of a distressing afternoon. Apparently when he went to use the toilet earlier, he happened upon..." Rick's voice faded away and he looked yet more embarrassed.

  "He happened upon what, Rick?" I asked, feeling all the more frustrated. This seemed to be taking far too long for him to tell me why he had called me in here in the first place.

  Rick cleared his throat. "He walked in on two of the local teenagers having sex in the boys toilets." He told me.

  My jaw dropped. "In the boys toilets, at the school? At our local primary school?" I asked, shocked.

  "Yes, in the toilets nearest to his classroom." Rick told me, his voice faster than normal.

  I laughed, almost involuntarily before saying, "well, that's a stupid idea! Of course someone would walk in on you, it's the middle of the day! The middle of a school day! Stupid kids."

  I caught sight of Rick's face and cleared my throat, looking down and trying to imitate the same embarrassed expression he had been making just before he had told me what my little boy had seen.

  "He didn't see much, luckily. He more heard them, then went to get his teacher, telling her something was wrong. But, I thought it was best to let you know." Rick told me, his voice with that old authority back in it.

  "Yes, well, it's wrong. To expose a child to that." I told him.

  "I don't think he was exposed, he heard noises, and didn't know what it was. I just wanted to let you know what was going on, so if he said something at home, you would understand what it was about." He told me.

  I nodded my head. I really wasn't too worried about my son seeing nothing and hearing funny noises, knowing plenty of parents were overheard by their children all the time. I was mostly just thinking little and less of the people who were doing that in the toilet block at a school and how ignorant and disrespectful they were being to the whole community.

  "Were they caught?" I asked.

  "Um, no." Rick said, "the teacher had to get another teacher to watch her class while she went and checked. By the time she got there, the teenagers were already gone."

  "How do you know it was local teenagers then?" I asked.

  Rick looked at me, his face quizzical. "Sorry?" He asked.

  "Well, it could have been anyone. It might not even be what you thought. How do you know?" I asked.

  Rick looked a little taken aback before telling me, "I guess we don't know, yet. I could check the school security cameras-"

  I shook my head, cutting him off and laughing. "No. It's fine." I said.

  Then there was a knock at the door.

  "My son?" I asked him.

  Rick called out, "Who is it?"

  "Mrs. Robertson!" Called a muffled voice from the other side of the door, "I'm here with little Chris."

  Rick nodded, "Yep. Yours." He told me at regular volume before calling out, "come in!" and in came my son and his teacher. He looked so small in this room with its over sized furniture, escorted by the tall teacher and with his large school bag covering more than half his back. I knew the bag wasn't very heavy, but it was still strange that schools sent kids to school with such large bags on their backs. I had often wondered why they didn't sell smaller bags, it wasn't like you sent kids to school with that much stuff anyway.

  "Are you okay, sweetie?" I asked as my son sat beside me. I was sure if the principal and his school teacher weren't here, he would have crawled into my lap, but he was going through a phase where he wanted to be a big boy right now, so I had to let him go through that without grabbing him and giving him cuddles just whenever I felt like it.

  "I'm fine, mum." He told me, "what happened?" He asked, while looking around at the principal and teacher, feeling self conscious asking this question in front of them.

  "I'm not sure." I told my son, "what do you think happened?"

  My son made a face as he was thinking before telling me, "I don't know. I just heard some funny noises and went to find the teacher. They tell us to do that if there is anything weird at school."

  "We tell the kids to always come to us if there is something out of place in the school." Mrs. Robertson told me, "especially if it's in a private area, like the toilets."

  "Ah, fair enough." I agreed. Feeling as though the two had over-reacted here. Yes, I needed to be told these things, but my son had not seen anything that would cause him long term harm and if we didn't make a big deal about this, he would probably forget.

  "Well, thank you for letting me know that Chris has been following school rules." I told them both, standing up, "We really should be on our way however." I told them.

  My son's teacher looked a little taken aback before she told me, "that's fine. He is one of my best students."

  I bit my tongue and didn't tell her that of course he was. I just nodded my head, agreeing. Sure, whatever she said.

  "Thank you." I told her, "and thank you too, Principal Calder." I said, struggling to keep the corners of my mouth from rising up into a smile at the wor
d 'principal'. It felt funny to be calling him principal anything, almost as funny as it felt to hear Sophie call Rick 'Mr. Calder'. But, I said it anyway. Just as much for my own entertainment as for the joy of seeing the look on his face.

  "That's not a problem at all." The formerly apparently hyper concerned principal said as he went back to his papers.

  I nodded my head and took my sons hand, we walked out of the office and went home. My son behaving exactly the same way he did every day. Excited to see me and tell me all about his day. He didn't spend any more time on the toilet incident instead telling me how Jo, one of his classmates, had been told by her step father that they were going on holidays this year for three weeks instead of two.

  "Why don't we go on a three week holiday?" My son, who had never worked a day in his life asked me.

  I laughed, "well, that's a long holiday Chris!" I told him, "wouldn't you miss our house, and your friends?"

  He thought about this for a long moment before answering, "I think I'd miss my friends more than the house, mum." He told me and I smiled. Good answer, kid, I thought.

  My son was sweet as could be, and deserved the best I reminded myself as my feet hurt as we walked up the hill to my car. Even if these long days at the cafe hurt, they were well worth it for the smiles I would see on my son's face when we did get to go on holidays and go camping and when he got exactly what he wanted for Christmas or for his birthday.

  Life has its sunshine, even though it has its drudgery too. My life was one of drudgery so I could give my son as much sunshine and happiness as I could, while basking in the fact that I could make my little boy so happy.

  CHAPTER THREE

  As I handed over what felt like the thousandth coffee I had made in the first hour of my Friday shift, I smiled at the mum who took it off my hands. One coffee closer to the weekend, and one coffee closer to Sara's going away party. I could do this I told myself, just one more day.

  Everything was ready now with the balloons - small wins, that one balloon was waiting for the helium I would put in it at the end of my shift - and the guest list, and even the music was ready. I just had to get through today and I'd be sweet.

  At eleven thirty, in that sweet spot between morning rush and lunch rush, in came Rick, almonst like clock work.

  "Hey!" He said, all smiles, "that had to be the shortest trip anyone has made to my office ever." He told me.

  "What do you mean?" I asked.

  "Usually, I had to deal with naughty boys and girls..." he told me, with a twinkle in his eye and a small smirk when he said naughty girls, "and I have to give them a thorough dressing down. Or if someone is complaining about being bullied, I have to be sensitive and listen to their problem, but you just came in, heard what happened, and moved right along."

  "I thought it would be better for Chris if I did. He doesn't really know what he heard. If you make a big deal of it, it will be a big deal." I told Rick.

  "Yeah?" He asked me.

  "Yeah, it will." I told him, "it's better to not. I don't want him to develop some weird trauma around something when it can be avoided."

  He nodded his head and we exchanged a smile. "You're a good parent." He said with a nod.

  "And you're a good principal. I totally believed your over-sensitive face yesterday." I told him with a raised eyebrow. "Convincing."

  "What do you mean convincing?" He asked. "I wasn't acting. I was really concerned about your son."

  "Were you?" I asked and he nodded. "Why?"

  "Because he doesn't need to be exposed to adult things, not when he's five." He told me.

  "I agree with you." I told him, "One hundred per cent. But I still don't think he knew what he heard. So, why make it into a big deal and give him the opportunity to feel uncomfortable about something he knows nothing about?"

  "And what's why you're the parent, and I'm the principal." He told me.

  I narrowed my eyes, unsure what he meant by that. Was it a compliment, or was he mocking me?

  "No. I mean, because you think long term, we only think about today in the schools, and tomorrow, and maybe next year if you're lucky. Although, you're usually not that lucky." He told me.

  "Yeah, well." I said, "were you after a coffee by the way?" I asked, remembering suddenly that we were at my work and I hadn't even offered to do my job.

  As I became aware that I wasn't doing my job, I wondered at surveillance by anyone else who could get in into trouble if they wanted. Sophie was off cleaning a particularly messy table - twin two year olds came to have breakfast with grandma this morning - and it was just Rick and I, I realized. As a result of it just being the two of us, I had forgotten myself and just become immersed in our conversation.

  "Oh, yes. A coffee would be fine thanks." He told me.

  I went to make his coffee and we kept chatting.

  "So, you're going to be at Sara's going away, one hundred per cent?" I asked him and Rick nodded.

  "I'll be there." He told me, smiling.

  "Good!" I said before catching myself, "because I am supposed to be checking numbers for food." I told him.

  "Oh?" He asked, "you're cooking?"

  "Well, the catering company is. But, I am getting all the food and drink together, and some of the party decorations." I told him.

  "Then I know it will be good." He said with a smile.

  I handed him his coffee and Rick handed me the money. I hadn't even opened the cash register when he was saying his goodbyes and on his way.

  Nodding to myself, I checked my phone again for messages from Sara.

  CHAPTER FOUR

  Saturday, the day of the going away party rolled around. As planned, I took my little Chris to stay with my parents. They loved having him, and I was sure would fill him with sugar and take him to the zoo - something he loved all the more because he knew Sara worked there and she had taken him on a private one-on-one tour for his last birthday - they would do all the fun grandparent stuff with Chris before giving him back to me loaded with sugar and great stories about all the great things he got to do while he was away.

  After dropping my son off, I went straight to Sara's place to set up. I had all the things I needed for her going away tucked into the back of my beat up old SUV and when I arrived she was just as excited to see me as I was to be there.

  Like two teenage girls throwing their first party with alcohol while there parents were away, we were throwing Sara's going away party with that same exuberant happiness.

  "I am going to miss you when you go." I told her as I tied off a balloon I had just been blowing up.

  "I am going to miss you too, but it's only for a year!" She told me, her voice more upbeat than I had been prepared to hear.

  "I know." I told her, feeling a heavy sadness in my body. "I just, feel kind of sad is all."

  "Yeah?" She asked.

  "Yeah, I feel sad. Because you know, you're going to be over there, probably finding a future husband, then you'll leave me for good." My tone was deliberately over-the-top when I spoke about her leaving me for good, and it caused Sara to bash me with the balloon she had been holding.

  "What?" I demanded, "a girl is allowed to feel sad when someone abandons her!"

  "Pfft! I am not abandoning you! This is an amazing opportunity! Karen learned so much when she came out here, now I'll get to learn a lot when I go over there!" She told me.

  "You are kidding, right?" I asked, "Now, I've seen that guy she's going with. I'm not sure she's learning a lot from him."

  "What do you mean?" Sara asked, and the sincerity on her face made me laugh. She legitimately didn't understand what I meant and I wasn't sure I wanted to tell her.

  "No, no. Don't worry!" I told her, stretching out another balloon and blowing hard into the balloon.

  "Don't worry?" Asked Sara with a raised eyebrow, "what does that mean?"

  I shook my head as I kept inflating the balloon, then when I was done I held the neck of the balloon with my thumb and index finger as I told
her, "never you mind!"

  "So when are the guests arriving?" I asked her, changing the subject.

  Sara shook her head slightly before answering, "I don't know. All different times, I guess." She told me in the end, her voice light and unconcerned about specifics. The opposite of how I had been leading up to this party.

  "Different times?" I asked.

  "Yeah, all different times. The close friends are here at seven, everyone else is here from eight o'clock on wards." She told me.

  I nodded and took another balloon. "Better keep going then." I told her and Sara nodded.

  #

  Just as Sara had said, her closest friends arrived and helped with the set up - although there wasn't much to do since we had already set much of everything up - and then the rest of the guests arrived for the party.

  The vibe of the party was pretty relaxed with each guest knowing at least three people - something Sara had told me a few times, and something she always tried to do for her parties, as much for her guests as to take the pressure off her as a host - no-one felt out of place or awkward, but warm and friendly. In addition to knowing different people, each guest also seemed chilled out enough to reach out and meet other new people. There was none of these awkward little circles not inter-mingling, instead it felt like everyone was mingling with everyone else. I loved it, it was something that felt very Sara in its warmth and openness.

  I made sure the food was out and the balloons were in place (having to tack them onto the ceiling as they only had air in them) and generally just moseyed around with not much to do, which felt a little weird.

  The party had been in full swing for a few hours before Rick arrived. I both wondered where he was and told myself I shouldn't care, then got excited when he did grace the party, before telling myself I wasn't allowed to be this excited and I should just knock it off. He was my kids' principal, and I was being inappropriate.