Once upon a Family

Laura Williams had never once, when she was a girl in school, been sent to see the principal. Today, she was standing in front of her son's Cimarron High principal's door. They'd only been in town for two weeks, and her oldest was already in trouble. Probably some kind of record. Her hand shook as she knocked. When the door opened, she took a small step back. The tall, broad principal filled the entrance to his office. Her mouth went dry. With her small, just-over-five-feet stature his large presence overwhelmed her. "Laura Williams?" She swallowed hard, drew in a deep breath and stuck out her hand. "Yes. You must be Peter Stone." His fingers closed around hers, a warm, firm grip. "Come in. I'm sorry we're meeting for the first time under these circumstances." He moved to the side to let her enter. "I wanted to talk with you alone before I bring Sean back in." He closed the door and rounded his massive desk, gesturing toward a chair in front of it. "Please have a seat." "I can't believe Sean was fighting. He's never done anything like that before." The principal flipped open a file and scanned a paper he'd picked up. "I see you all moved here a couple of weeks ago. How did Sean feel about the move?" She looked into the man's dark brown eyes and saw kindness and concern. For a moment she wanted to tell him the whole story of how she and her four children had ended up in Cimarron City, Oklahoma. But the pain was still too fresh, and she didn't confide in many people, even one who gave off empathetic vibes. "We're adjusting." Doubt entered his eyes. "When I asked Sean about the fight, he was silent. He hasn't said more than a sentence or two. I didn't know if the anger I was sensing from him went beyond the argument he had with the other boy." "What was the argument about?, Laura clutched the handle of her zebra-striped purse tightly, her fingernails and leather straps digging into her palms. "The other boy told me Sean cheated off him in English." "What did Sean say?" "Nothing. I talked with his teacher and their test answers were remarkably similar." Until recently her oldest had always been a good student. "Could the other boy have cheated off Sean?" The principal frowned. "I don't think so. He's at the top of his class." Dread blanketed her in a cold sweat. She'd hoped coming to Cimarron City would be a fresh start. "Who started the fight?" "Your son." Laura sat forward on the edge of the padded chair. "Are you suspending him?" "That's our policy. Three days, until next Monday." "Is the other student being suspended, too?, He nodded. She closed her eyes for a few seconds, thoughts of the hostility that was so much a part of her family since-- No, she couldn't go there. That wouldn't change what was happening. She pushed to her feet. "Very well." "Let me bring Sean in." He stood and walked to the door. Laura faced her son as he trudged into the office, his eyes downcast. She didn't need to see them to know the defiance in their green depths. His clenched hands shouted his anger, always present since his father had passed away nine months ago. The intense, churning emotions coming off the boy struck Peter with their force. The teen held his tall, thin frame in a rigid stance as though daring anyone to come near him. He was screaming for help. he'd seen the signs before. The anger. The silence. The defiance. "Sean, as I said before, you'll be suspended for three days for fighting. When you come back, you'll retake the test." The tightening of the boy's mouth prompted Peter to add, " As will the other student, since we can't determine exactly who cheated. The test will be different, harder." Laura stepped forward. "Thank you, Mr. Stone. He'll be prepared to take it." She waved her hand for her son to leave first. At the door she glanced back at him. "I appreciate thDaley, Margaret is the author of 'Once upon a Family ', published 2007 under ISBN 9780373813070 and ISBN 0373813074.