My Father's Best Friend
a
hool was bigger than
de looking at it on my first day. Had it been s
I didn’t feel intimidated at all that other morni
ated the swarm of students in the main hallway, none of who gave me so much as a second look. Right then
s of kids there who needed help in some way or another. Luckily, that’s what I was there for. Hopefully
bered my name or not. I just wanted to have as muc
her half-hooded eyes looking bored with me already. A thread of anxiety wound its way throu
unselor.” Despite my feelings, I smil
but a male voice fil
Miss Jacobs. Ho
n the other side of the office. He smiled at me, noddi
ously squeezed—then quickly dropped them at my sides. The only
oyce.” He motioned at the woman behind the desk and, a
emed to be more pleasant since she
n my head, sure I would only be able to remember half th
swung his arm in excitement, and
al complied. The guy in charge of the school seemed kind of young for a principal, maybe a little more than ten years older t
e we
mall, but it was at the corner so had two windows. A filing cabinet, a desk with a computer th
as you see fit. With, uh,
rse,” I
d there, signaling the s
ble to see all the kids’ current schedules. We don’t usually print that out unless it’s needed, it changes so much. Ah,
time he talked, I forced myself
here. Yes. I’m
l Staffor
you like. All the teache
was just wondering, why di
interview, but the school replacing s
ss and all. Wanted to make a career change. But
thing considering my lack of height had always been a source of irritation for me. I wondered how he kept the kids in lin
red in the doorway, taking everything in. The last counselor had qui
as pretty frea
I bit the inside of my bottom lip. Oh god. What was I getting mysel
? They’d already replaced me, ye
pered out loud. “Yo
t it had padding. And the desk, one of those long ones that a couple of people usually work a
what could wait. In the desk’s top drawer were a few files, all of them pretty sparse. Whoever had held the
harp, green eyes. It was a school portrait, and even though the teenager was posed in
acker, f
ly my firs