Page 57 of The Persistence of Thornes
Caleb stares at me for a long moment, then bursts into laughter, startling the shit out of me. “I’m so glad I have a daughter. Boys are something else.”
“You’re a boy,” I argue.
“Yeah, and teen boys do dumb shit.” He sets his book aside and gets up. “I’ll drive.”
I stomp my way into the school. Alone. By some miracle, I convinced Caleb to stay in the car. He was dead set on joining me, but I reminded him that I’m their guardian. I need to handle these kinds of things on my own if the boys are ever going to respect me.
I’m buzzed inside and head straight to the office, where I show my ID to the secretary.
“Halle—”
I snap my finger in my brothers’ direction. “I don’t want to hear anything from either of you right now.”
Eyes wide, they look from me to each other, no doubt using that twin telepathy.
The woman behind the counter stands and smooths the front of her shirt. “The principal would like to talk to you.”
“Lovely.” The word is more sarcastic than I mean for it to be, but there’s no taking it back now.
She leads me over to a closed door and knocks. When a gruff voice replies with a “come in,” she gives me an encouraging smile. It only makes me more nervous.
Inside the office, I come face to face with a large man with a receding hairline and ruddy cheeks. His eyes seem kind, though, so that gives me hope.
“Hi, Principal Lewis.” I hold out a hand. “It’s nice to meet you, though I wish it was under different circumstances.”
His grip is solid but not bruising. “I wish the same, Miss…?”
“Emerson,” I reply. I have our mom’s maiden name while the boys have their dad’s. My dad didn’t stick around long enough to even give me his name. Figures.
“Miss Emerson.” He nods once. “I understand that moving and starting school in a new place can be a challenge. Your brothers may still be adjusting, and that isn’t out of the ordinary, but catching and releasing a snake inside the school is inexcusable behavior.”
A weight settles on my chest, making breathing painful. “Believe me, I know. I promise I’ll deal with them.”
“As I’m sure Mrs. Clemons informed you, they’ve received a three-day suspension. Being that it’s Friday, it will begin on Monday. I don’t often mete out this type of consequence, but in this case, it’s necessary. There have been some… other incidents. Given the period of adjustment I believe students need, I chose to overlook them, but I’m afraid I can’t keep turning a blind eye.”
My stomach sinks. “What other incidents?” And why wasn’t I notified?
He winces. Maybe realizing that this information shouldn’t have been kept from me. “One of them took the plaque off my door.”
What?
“They also stole paints from the art department. They’ve yet to turn up. So you’ll see why I couldn’t let the snake incident go without a fitting consequence.”
With every transgression he ticks off, my blood heats further. I’m going to kill them.
How do parents do this shit? Where does the patience come from?
“Thank you for letting me know,” I say, somehow keeping my tone even. “Is there anything else you need from me?”
“No, not today.” He rests both palms on the desk. “But this behavior can’t continue, Miss Emerson. I like to think of myself as a patient and understanding man. Hence the reason I haven’t spoken to you about their behavior until now. My hope was that I could deter them by speaking with them myself. Clearly, I was wrong.”
Standing, I blow out a breath and force a smile. “I’ll talkto them.” I shake hands with him again, then let myself out. In the main area of the office, I level my waiting brothers with a glare. “Let’s go.”
Without a word, they follow, feet dragging and expressions stoic.
Outside, when they catch sight of Caleb’s idling SUV, Quinn physically deflates. “You brought Caleb?”
“He insisted on coming. And you’re in no position to complain about anything right now.”
