Total pages in book: 123
Estimated words: 118965 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 595(@200wpm)___ 476(@250wpm)___ 397(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 118965 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 595(@200wpm)___ 476(@250wpm)___ 397(@300wpm)
The boys run with boisterous laughs to the entrance. She smiles at the driver and dips her head before trudging after her brothers. My heart squeezes when I take in her thin legs and small frame. The urge to run after her and hug her is so big that I have to force myself to walk away. I only get to the corner before my resolve weakens.
Knowing it’s a mistake, I retrace my steps and hover in front of the closed gate of the school. The building sits right on the street with the playground at the back. I walk along the pavement, trying to peer inconspicuously through the classroom windows. I’m acting like a looney or a stalker. I better be careful or someone will report me as a crazy person hanging around the school.
Just another quick look to ensure she’s fine. Then I’ll go.
A burst of laughter comes from the window in front of me. I stop next to it. The windowsill is at my eye level. I stand on tiptoes to see through the window frame. A bulky man stands in front of a blackboard on which words are written in English.
I gasp.
Roch?
He’s a teacher?
He raises his hands, trying to calm the outburst in the classroom. All the children are hollering except for one who sits in the front—Johan. His cheeks are red. He stares straight ahead with his arms crossed tightly over his chest.
“Quiet,” Roch says, his voice carrying over the raucous noise. “Or you’re all doing an extra hour of grammar after school.”
The laughter dies down to snickering.
“Johan,” Roch says. “Weed isn’t the same as weeds. You can’t smoke them. Try again to make a sentence with the word.”
Johan clamps his lips together and glares at the blackboard.
The other kids giggle some more.
A boy at the back raises his hand. “Weeds grow in the garden.”
“Good,” Roch says. “Who else wants to try?”
A pretty girl with a tweed jacket and a high ponytail throws her arm so high into the air that her body lifts off the chair. “The Russos are like weeds. They’re hard to get rid of, and they never die.”
More laughter erupts.
Johan turns more red.
Roch addresses the girl in a stern tone. “You’re staying after school. One hour of extra homework.”
“But that’s what my parents say,” she says.
Roch points the chalk at her. “Another word from you and I’ll make it two hours.”
“Why must I be punished for the truth? He’s ugly and stupid.” She makes a face. “He should’ve already been in the fifth grade. That’s why he’s two years older than the rest of us.”
Johan shifts down in his chair, making himself smaller.
I don’t think. I’m too outraged. I simply act, knocking hard on the window.
The children turn their heads. Johan blinks and gapes. Roch gives a start. He frowns as he walks over and opens the window a crack.
“What are you doing?” he asks through thin lips, keeping his voice down.
“Let me in.”
A grumpy look comes over his face. “You’re disrupting my class.”
“Now, Roch, or I swear I’ll climb through the window.”
He narrows his eyes. “Don’t make me call the police and cause a scene.”
“I have something to say, and I’m not saying it through the window.”
He’s all growling and teeth as he pulls back his lips and bites out in warning, “Sabella.”
“Don’t mess with me, Roch.”
The light in his eyes turns calculated. “Must I call your husband? I’m sure he’d like to know what you’re up to.”
“Do what you have to, but you’re going to open that door for me.”
“I can’t just open the door. There’s a protocol to follow.”
“I don’t care.”
I turn on my heel and march to the gate where I ring the button on the intercom.
A woman’s voice comes through the speaker. “Yes?”
“I’m here to see Roch. He’s expecting me.”
“Is this an emergency?”
“Yes. My husband’s nephew is in his class.”
“I’ll let the principal know. Please wait.”
A moment later, the gate clicks open. I charge through it just as a woman with a halo of red hair steps out.
“I’m the principal.” She looks me up and down. “I believe there’s an emergency?”
Roch appears behind her. “It’s all right. She’s got a kid in my class.” Shooting daggers at me with his eyes, he says, “She just needs a quick word with him.”
“Who?” the principle asks.
“Johan,” I say. “Johan Russo.”
Her red lips form an O. The change in her attitude is remarkable. Fear creeps into her eyes. “This is highly irregular.” She pulls on the neckline of her cardigan. “You better make it quick.”
Shooting Roch a concerned glance, she goes back inside.
I don’t wait for Roch to drag me back to the gate, because I don’t doubt he will. I slip in behind the principal and walk with determined steps behind her down the hallway.
The principal stops in front of a door and crosses her arms. “You can call him out, Roch.” Turning to me, she says, “You have a minute.”