Missy was about to go out to an interview and a soft warm hope ignighted within her. Things were going to get better. She stood up straighter today, and her confedeince was palpable. Then the phone rang.
"Hello?" Missy Cooper answered the phone hoping it wasn't anther bill collection service.
It was worse. Albert's school. Again.
"What did he do this time?" She asked sighing heavily. She worried how much this would cost her this time.
"He did what?!" Missy yelped. "No please…Ill Ill be right down." She sat down defeated, and dialed the number of the office she was supposed to interview with. "Yes, Hi – this is Missy Cooper. Im afraid Im going to have to reschedule I –" Her lip trembled, and her voice quivered. 'No…no I understand youll have to offer it to someone else. Its just my son hes – yes…I understand. Yes thank you." She hung up with a heavier weight around her shoulders than before. "Well keep your information on file" is a euphemism for you didn't get the job. She grabbed her keys.
When Missy got to the school, Albert sat outside the principle's office with a deep fowl frown on his face, his arms folded. He threw his mother a horrible hateful look that broke her heart. A child that age should never have that look on his face.
She sat down beside him. "What happened?"
"You know what happened, the school you two hours ago. Apparently Im some sort of delinquent. They want to expel me because I am smarter than everyone in this building, and Im being suffocated by the plastic bag of idioticy and mediocrity." He looked at the wall. "And worst of all - it was you who put me here. My own mother."
Missy swallowed hard. "Honey….please understand. I know youre smart, and Im proud of you its just…." She finished lamely. How could she possibility explain to him that the real reason they were in this mess is because she screwed up her life and wasn't ready to have a baby seven years ago.
"Why do you hate me?" He looked up at his mother with a withering cold deadened feeling. He got to his feet and walked down the hall without a backward glance.
"Albert – honey" She began to go after him.
"Ms Cooper? The principle will see you now." The administer said.
"What – oh oh yeah." He gave her son one sad glance before entering the office.
Missy sat in the princables office which resembled more of the wardens office from Shawshank Redememtion than anything else.
Mr Prince was a large burly man with hairy knuckels and slicked back hair.
"Ms Cooper, we have had your son in our school for a little over two months and in that time he has caused three brawls in our hallways, almost burned down the science lab, tried to hack into a government server, vandalized the walls with his equations, thrown out what he calls out of date text books, and litters out halls with his" He held up bunny ear fingers 'Inventions' "and today, he had to be escorted form class by security because he refused to answer a question and tried to insight a riot."
"Im very sorry hes …hes just going through a rough patch."
"A rough patch?! With all due respect Ms Cooper I have had gun wielding psychopath kids in my halls, Ive had kids with knives, kids whose parents are crack whores, kids with real psycho problems, but youre son is the one I have to really worry about!"
"Hes really a sweet kid, he just… hes sort of… ya know… different."
"Ill say." Mr Prince snorted.
"Please don't expel him, I cant put him in another school again. Ill get him to behave I promise!"
"Im sorry Ms Cooper. We should have never took him in the first place. Hes at least five years younger than anyone in his class, and Ill admit the boy is very intelligent, he needs a special school designed for specail kids like him."
"Look, I just cant afford something like that…please don't make him suffer through another move to another school."
"Im sorry Ms Cooper, that's my final word." He unfolded his hands and flipped his chair around to look out the window.
Missy shuffled out into the hall. Now what she going to do?
