Getting Schooled by Parker Ali

Author:Parker, Ali
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: BrixBaxter Publishing
Published: 2019-09-03T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter 21

Jace

The first of October was nearly upon us.

The teachers at Youngster Academy had put in some sweat over the last few days to get the school all decked out for Halloween. The two front windows were plastered with child friendly spook-tacular images, like black cats, carved pumpkins, and green-skinned witches in tall black hats.

One of the teachers had even gone through the effort to make bats out of black construction paper and popsicle sticks, and she’d spent the first half hour of the morning hanging them from the branches of the trees that lined the path to the front door. Along with that, there were fake tombstones in the grass, cobwebs in the corners of the doors, and caution tape haphazardly draped over windowsills and wrapped around the trunks of trees.

I twisted around in the driver’s seat of my truck to peer back at Paxton, who still had his seatbelt on and was looking warily out the back window. He was so short he could barely see over the door panel, but his eyes flicked back and forth, soaking in the sight of all the spooky decor.

“The school really did a good job, don’t you think, kiddo?” I asked.

Paxton licked his lips and fidgeted with his hands in his lap.

Stifling a sigh, I got out of the truck, walked around the hood, and opened the back door. Paxton looked up at me.

“Come on, Pax,” I said, nodding over my shoulder at the school. “It’s time to go in.”

“I don’t want to.”

“I know you don’t, buddy. But you always have fun once you go inside. Right?”

He didn’t say anything. He merely blinked at me.

I hated this part of our morning routine. I wanted more than anything for him to spring out of the back seat and rush through the front doors without looking back at his poor old man. I wanted him to enjoy himself. I just had no idea how to help him get to that place.

“Can we go home?” Paxton’s bottom lip trembled.

His shoulder was small under my hand, and I gave him a comforting squeeze. “What do we say about school?”

“School is where we make connections.”

“And what else?”

Paxton sighed heavily and stared up at me. “School is a luxury.”

“Right. We’re very lucky to get to go to school, Pax. A lot of kids can’t. One day soon, I’m going to bring you to school, and you’re going to be excited to go inside and see your friends. I promise.”

“Like the other kids?”

I nodded. “Yes. Like the other kids. We all work on our own timeline. Some other kids might get comfortable in school faster than you, and that’s okay. There’s no rush. But remember what we talked about? Trying something new each day. Say hello. Smile. You’ll make friends and that will make everything easier.”

Paxton rubbed at his eyes. “I just want to go home.”

Back at the beginning of the year, I’d caved at times like this and got back in my truck and gone home. I’d

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