4:30 pm

The fact that Amelia had to leave work early irritated her. Not only would she have to work overtime the next day to make it up, she would also have no time to work on her studying. Juggling a job, online classes, and raising a child was not a good mix at all to her.

"Amelia, dear, you're going to be late if you keep trying to fix your hair."

Amelia's head shot up to see her mother, Rosa, behind her due to the mirror's reflection. She had stopped home to get herself ready for the meeting with her son's teacher at approximately five o'clock. Thoughts had consumed her mind; she didn't realize she had been trying to do her hair for a while.

She dropped her arms to her sides and looked at her mother as if trying to say, 'please help me.'

Rosa giggled and moved closer behind her. "Don't fret, dear, it's nothing professional." She felt her hair being released from the awful attempt at a bun she had been trying to mend. Instead, her mother brushed through the blonde tufts of her hair gently and let it fall to her shoulders. "Leave it down, it's more mature looking."

Amelia let out an airy laugh. Her mother knew how Amelia always brought herself down for not looking mature enough. She let her hands play with her hair for a bit until she smiled and turned to her mother. "Thanks, mom."

"No worries, dear. You look like you're ready to lead a company now! Ha ha!"

Amelia sneered and walked out of the restroom to grab her bag. She rummaged through her bag, muttering necessary items that she would need.

"Mommy?"

Amelia glanced up, only to see her son, Alfred, right in front on her.

"Oh, Al, I'm going to see your teacher for a while. I'll be back around dinner, alright?"

Alfred cocked his head to the side, "You're going to see Mr. Kirkland?"

"Yeah, all of your friends' parents have to see him today."

"Why?"

Amelia smiled and giggled, she thought her son was playing those 'why?' games. "For the beginning of the year, I suppose."

Alfred smiled widely and laughed, "Why?"

It was her turn to laugh. In the midst of her laughter, she crouched down to her son's level and kissed his forehead. She stared at him for a few long seconds, smiling mischievously at him.

"Why? Well…" She suddenly grabbed his sides, "Because of this!" She picked him up and spun him around. Alfred was laughing and squealing, spreading his arms out to pretend he was an airplane. Amelia couldn't help but join in in his laughter and make 'whoosh!' noises as she moved him across the room. Even though her son was six and growing rapidly, she still played the games they did ever since he was younger.

"Amelia! You're going to be late!" She heard her mother yell from upstairs. Amelia gradually let herself stop laughing and lowered Alfred to the ground.

"Alright, grandma said no more fun and games. I gotta go." Alfred protested in response. Amelia ruffled his hair and gave him a kiss on the forehead once more. "Listen to grandma and be a good boy while I'm gone, okay?"

"Okay, I will!"

Amelia fixed her attire and fixed the placing of her bag on her shoulder. She smiled warmly at him and then headed for the door.

"I'll be back around dinner!" She exclaimed, also trying to convey the message to Rosa upstairs. She heard no response from her, but Alfred waved goodbye and said something inaudible to her as she closed the door behind her. She felt somewhat guilty for interrupting her son's farewell but she was going to be late if she kept doing more activities around the house.

She hoped this meeting wouldn't last long.

4:58 pm

Her understanding of the parent-teacher conference was that all the parents were going to be in the meeting together in the same room. However, that wasn't the case. When she arrived, she had asked a woman waiting for clarification. The woman had a thick Russian accent but she was able to get the general idea of what she was trying to say. Apparently, each parent, or parents, was going to see Mr. Kirkland privately.

"How long do you think they will take?"

"Oh…ten minutes? Twenty? They go alphabetically by last name I think…"

'Fucking great. A least Jones isn't last.'

The Russian lady looked up at her once more, "What's your name?"

Amelia blinked, "Oh! Sorry, I'm Amelia Jones. My son's name is Alfred." She held out a hand for the Russian to shake, she responded with the action.

"I'm Anya Braginskaya. My son is Ivan Braginsky."

"It's very nice to meet you, Anya. Mind if I take a seat?"

"Please, go ahead." Amelia sat next to her, already taking a liking to this woman. So far she was the only other one that seemed fairly young. All the other parents looked to be around their late thirties or forties. The two sat in silence for a long moment, wondering if other parents were going to file in or if Mr. Kirkland was going to start calling in people.

Anya broke the silence and let out a short chuckle, "Husband couldn't make it?"

Amelia's heart stopped. She smiled sheepishly, not daring to look at her. "No, I'm not married…never was."

Anya let out a quiet gasp, "Oh, I'm sorry. I just assumed!"

"No, no it's alright!" She looked back at her and smiled, trying to let her know it was alright. Anya laughed apprehensively.

"I was wondering. You look so young so I would've thought that you were."

That didn't make too much sense to Amelia, but she got the gist of it. "Heh, yeah I get that a lot…If you don't mind me asking, are you married?"

Anya rolled her eyes and released a short-lived laugh, "To a workaholic, yes. He didn't even want to come and I said 'no one wants to come but we have to!"

Amelia laughed in reply, "Don't we all?"

The Russian beamed and nodded. She was about to respond until Mr. Kirkland came out of his classroom. Amelia glanced at her phone to check the time.

5:03 pm

She really shouldn't have been surprised. Alfred's kindergarten teacher last year was late as well. However, Miss Vargas, was a kind lady and apologized profusely to the parents last year for even being a minute late. She even allowed to have all the parents in one room for the conference so they would all return home for dinner on time. Amelia adored her, not just because of that one time, but how Alfred would explain what he did every day in her class. He learned so much because of her. She seemed ditzy but was very intelligent, at least in Amelia's opinion.

Amelia took a good look at Mr. Kirkland. He seemed rather tall, and somewhat lanky. His clothes seemed to fit him nicely but that fact that he was so skinny bothered her. His blond hair looked unkempt but neat at the same time. However, the features that stood out most to her were his vivid green eyes and thick eyebrows.

"God, my son wasn't lying when his eyebrows looked like caterpillars," Anya whispered to Amelia. She snickered loudly, trying hard to not laugh aloud. Anya covered her mouth, trying just as hard as Amelia.

"Mrs. Braginskaya?"

'Wait, he's British?'

The Russian grabbed her bag and smiled at Amelia. She quietly gasped again and rummaged through her bag. She handed her a business card. "We'll keep in touch, yes?"

Amelia took the business card, "Of course."

She nodded and headed towards the classroom, exchanging greetings with the teacher. Immediately she felt alone when Anya disappeared into the classroom. She still felt a bit shocked that her son's teacher is British.

A few moments later, she read Anya's business card. She was a home realtor. On the card listed all her ways of contact and the address of her office. She pursed her lips, she certainly wasn't moving anytime soon but at least she'll keep in contact with her.

It didn't seem long until Anya came out of the classroom. As she walked she placed a stack of papers in her bag and quickly waved goodbye to Amelia. She waved back and continued to wait for her turn. She looked her phone.

5:15 pm

'Huh, didn't seem too long.'

However, it seemed forever until it got to her turn. In the meantime, she played a few games of her phone and checked her email a couple of times. An email from her boss reminded her that she would have to work overtime tomorrow. She sighed heavily; she was not excited to be filing papers and answering calls all day tomorrow.

"Miss Jones?"

'Finallyyyy'

She got up from her chair and swung her bag around her shoulders. She made her way to the classroom and shook his hand.

"It's very nice to meet you, Miss Jones. Please take a seat inside."

"Thank you."

She walked inside, letting her eyes wander around the room. Typical elementary school designs adorned the walls such as the alphabet, class rules, art, and numbers. It reminded her of her days in grade school which didn't seem too long ago now that she was thinking about it. The classroom was very small though, she wondered how many kids he had to teach.

She took her seat in front of his desk and placed her bag beside her. Mr. Kirkland took his seat as well and organized a few papers that he eventually gave to her.

"I have to say, Miss Jones, your son, Alfred, is a very bright student," he said, smiling lightly. It was more of a polite smile, at least in Amelia's perspective.

She nodded. She knew her son was smart and she was delighted to hear that even in the first few days of school he made a good impression. Alfred was rambunctious but he certainly can make himself memorable.

"Although," Mr. Kirkland paused and looked straight towards Amelia for the first time, "he doesn't…really get along well with a few classmates."

Amelia paused. She had to admit, him looking at her like that made her nervous. The more she looked at him, the more attractive he was.

'God Amelia, he's probably married annnd he's your son's teacher. Pull yourself together.'

She rubbed her right arm due to her apprehension and finally asked, "Who doesn't he get along with?"

She could have sworn he looked briefly at her left hand but he cleared his throat and focused his attention on her. "Well, um, there's only a few but they do cause a distraction. You may not know them but I'm sure your son has talked about them before. There's Kiku Honda and most importantly Ivan Branginsky."

'Anya's son?'

"What does Alfred do?"

"Alfred does tease Kiku a lot. Kiku tends to ignore it but it's affecting him. With Alfred and Ivan, it doesn't get physical…but they are the ones fighting," Mr. Kirkland explained.

She couldn't help but feel down. She hit it off with Anya really well and, just her luck, their sons were the main ones fighting each other. She was definitely going to talk to Alfred about this when she gets home. She bit her lip and briefly looked at the papers and then back at him, "Is there anything I can do? Or what can be done?"

He hummed in thought, letting his hand rub his chin. "Well, there certainly are consequences if this does keep happening. You are aware of the check policy, yes?"

She nodded then sighed, "Very much aware."

To her experience, if students are marked down three times for actions such as being tardy, cheating, not listening, fighting, and other misdemeanors, it will result in detention and a call home depending on the transgressions. Alfred had only got two checks back in kindergarten but only for small things. Amelia was now afraid that if this continued, he would get detention in the beginning of the school year.

"I haven't issued any yet, since it's just the beginning of the year. But I suggest talking to him because honestly I know this will only continue," he explained, "I've also talked to Ivan's mother. She's aware of this as well so hopefully Alfred and Ivan will not get any checks."

Amelia was a bit relieved by this, she asked, "Do Kiku's parents know about this too?"

"Yes. However, there isn't much they can do. Well because you know…"

She nodded, "That's understandable."

There was a pause until he pointed her hand at the papers. Arthur shook his head as if he were in a trance and cleared his throat. "Oh, yes, my apologies. Since it's the beginning of the year, there's more paperwork for you as if you haven't had enough."

Amelia laughed; papers after papers she had to fill out just to get Alfred into school. The papers from Mr. Kirkland looked simple enough. They seemed to ask what Alfred was like and if he had any conditions. She shuffled through the papers and nodded to say she understood. "When are they due?"

"Next week, not a major rush."

She nodded once more and placed the papers in her bag. She looked back at him and smiled, "Is there anything else I should know?"

Mr. Kirkland didn't answer right away but moved slightly as if he was thinking of something else. "Uh, no…no that should be it. Just, uh, talk to Alfred and fill out the paperwork and things should be well."

Amelia beamed, "Thank you, Mr. Kirkland."

"My pleasure, Miss Jones. Have a good evening."

"You too," She said as she got up from her chair. She took her leave and looked back him, sheepishly waving. He stared back at her and held a hand up as a goodbye. She wanted to smack herself on the head once she got out of eyesight.

'God Amelia, snap out of it.'

She quickly got out of the school and practically ran to her car to try to run away from her embarrassment. He probably thought she was a ditzy blonde.

'He probably looked at my left hand to see if I was actually married. Oh my god, he probably knows I'm too young to have a kid and thought I'm a whore. Oh my fucking god this is mortifying.'

She paused and then proceeded to start her car.

'Just drive to get your mind off of things. Think of your son and his education…and dinner. Yeah. Nothing to worry about, Amelia.'

When she arrived home, it was six thirty. She arrived just in time for dinner. She had to admit, driving did not get her mind off of things. Her head pained her from thinking too much and all she wanted to do was eat and go to sleep.

She opened the front door and was immediately greeted by her son running towards her yelling, "Mommy!"

He clung to her legs and she leaned down to embrace him and then picked him up. "Hey, how's my little hero doing?" She pecked him on the nose and smiled at him. He never failed to make her smile like an idiot.

She closed the door behind her with her foot. Alfred laughed while she waddled in her high heels, trying to support Alfred's weight. "I was a good boy!"

"That's great, Al. Eat dinner yet?"

He shook his head, "Grandma said it should be done in a few minutes."

"Perfect, I'm hungry." She placed Alfred down and placed her bag on the chair. She turned to Alfred, "Oh Alfred, after dinner I need to talk to you. Not in trouble, just need to talk."

Alfred still looked worried. He was about to say something until her mother called for dinner.

"Amelia, how did the meeting go?" was the first question her mother asked at the dinner table.

Amelia moved her food around with her fork, "Mr. Kirkland said Alfred is a very good student." She grinned at her son when she said this, making Alfred smile a toothy grin in return. "Hey there buddy, chew your food first."

Both Amelia and her mother laughed.

"That's good. How is Mr. Kirkland though?"

"Gosh you wouldn't believe it, mom, he's British, or well English to be exact, but he has eyebrows that literally look like caterpillars!" Amelia exclaimed. Her mother laughed, she had been born in England as well and moved to the U.S. because of her husband, Amelia's father, decades ago.

"Ho ho! Is this true Alfred?"

Alfred nodded, "Yeah! Me and Kiku think his eyebrows will turn into butterflies one day!"

Amelia and her mother went hysterical. Alfred joined in, covering his mouth to keep food from flying out. Amelia slammed her hand on the table and stared right into Alfred's eyes while laughing, "Pffft don't choke there buddy!"

Eventually they all calmed down and went back to eating. Amelia briefly mentioned she had paperwork to do and couldn't pick up Alfred after school the next day. Usually the school would send Alfred to after school day care once class ended for the day. Amelia explained she had to work overtime and that Rosa would have to pick Alfred up.

"That's fine. I suppose you'll get your own dinner tomorrow then?"

"Yeah. I'll be back around eight or nine. Who knows?"

Rosa made a noise of affirmation. Dinner eventually ended. Rosa took their plates, knowing Amelia had to talk to Alfred. The boy, knowing that his punishment was imminent, tried to sneak away.

"Uh uh uh, Al. Sit across from me. This will only take a bit."

Alfred reluctantly took his seat and fiddled with his thumbs. There was a silence for one long moment until she inhaled sharply.

"Mr. Kirkland told me you get into fights with Kiku and Ivan."

"I don't start any of them-"

"Al, listen to me. It's the beginning of the year and I'm already worried," she reached for Alfred's hands across the table, wanting to hold them. Alfred took her hands. He looked ashamed, she wrapped her hands around his small ones.

"Al," she started, "if they start fights with you, you tell Mr. Kirkland, okay? I don't want you to get into trouble."

He looked down at the ground. "But they'll call me a tattle tale…"

She gave a tiny smile, "Al, trust me, telling people that someone did something wrong will do good later in life. I don't want you or any of your friends to get into trouble, is that understandable?"

Alfred nodded solemnly. She squeezed his hands. "I'm not mad, Al. I'm just…worried. You're a great, smart kid, don't forget it."

"Okay, mom." She let him go. He got off the chair and Amelia soon followed. She embraced him and kissed him on the forehead.

"Love you."

"Love you too, mom."

She knew Alfred had lied when he said he didn't start the fights. She gave him the benefit of the doubt, for just this time. She trusted him and knowing that the other parents would talk to Kiku and Ivan relieved her. Maybe, just maybe this year will turn out just right.

Amelia glanced at her alarm clock. Ten thirty. She wanted to sleep early since she had to wake up early tomorrow for work, but she needed to fit in her studies. Her online classes were demanding.

'Only for thirty minutes. Then I'll sleep.'

She brought up some study guides online and briefly read them. After five minutes she decided not to study and instead just look online.

It wasn't long until she thought of Mr. Kirkland again. She forgot about him for four hours and she still wanted to punch herself for being so embarrassing during the meeting. She smacked the sides of her head in attempt to get rid of the thoughts. She shook herself out of her thoughts and typed into Google: Mr. Kirkland teacher Boston

She wondered why she was doing this or what even compelled her. She guessed she wanted to know his first name at least, maybe his age. Maybe everything. She felt like she was an actual stalker.

She pressed enter and thousands of results came up. She clicked the first one leading to a directory of the number of Kirklands in Boston. She scrolled down the list until she came to one possible candidate.

Arthur Kirkland

Age: 30 Location: Boston, MA

She went on to Facebook, having the impression that he might as well have one if his general info is floating online. She typed his name in the search bar and lo and behold, the most recognizable face on earth.

From looking at his information he was most definitely thirty years old, his first name was Arthur, he was born in London, and graduated from University of Oxford.

'Shiiiitt'

She wondered why an Oxford graduate was teaching first graders in the U.S. It baffled her. She thought this guy might as well be the next Prime Minister. Curious, she look at the family and relationships tab, thinking 'why the fuck not?'

Single

'Holy shit, are you serious?'

She laughed to herself, mainly out of shock. This guy couldn't be single. He's handsome, he's smart, and he's English. Women, even men, should be after him; at least in her opinion.

She meant to click the home button to exit. However, horror struck when she clicked the dreaded button.

Friend Request Sent

"...shit."

A/N:

Amelia - Fem!America

Alfred - America

Rosa - Fem!England

Arthur - England

Anya - Fem!Russia

Ivan - Russia

Kiku - Japan