-Thank you to everyone who has reviewed this story. I appreciate you taking the time to let me know what you think. It took me a while to decide what I wanted to write about for Will's 5th year, but I decided to play the school card (I AM a teacher, after all). I have a gifted nephew whom I have patterned Will after in this particular chapter.
- April 29th is getting closer and closer! I'm excited to see where our favorite characters go (hopefully down the aisle )! Enjoy!
Cassie stood outside of Middleton Elementary School awaiting Sam's arrival. She had received a call from Will's kindergarten teacher asking for a meeting that afternoon. She had called Sam, who was able to rearrange some appointments, but who was running a little late. Suddenly, his car pulled up and he jumped out, jogging over to her.
He gave her a quick kiss in greeting. "Hey, sorry I'm late. My last appointment ran a little long." Cassie smiled and took his hand, walking toward the building. Sam looked over at her.
"Any idea what this is about? Is he in trouble?" he asked.
Cassie shook her head. "She said he's not in trouble, just that she wanted to meet with us as soon as possible. She said she would explain more when we met."
Sam nodded and held the door open for Cassie to pass through before following her inside. School was over for the day so it was pretty quiet. Will's teacher, Ms. Brown, asked to meet with them without Will, so Cassie had arranged for George to watch him for a little while that afternoon.
Making their way down the hallway to the kindergarten classrooms, Cassie smiled at the work that was displayed on the walls. The students had written a single short sentence about their families and had drawn pictures above. One boy named Jack had written, "Mi famale is fun." The crooked writing and stick figures made her smile wider. When she spotted Will's name, she stopped. He had drawn a cute picture of their family—Cassie, Sam, Nick, Grace—and included Lori, Brandon, Tara, George, and Abigail. What really caught her attention was under the picture. He had written,
"My family is the best! My moms nam is Cassie and my dads name is Sam. They love me a lot. My mom is amasing. We like to go on woks and make cookees. My dad is awsum! He teeches me a lot about being a docter and he is teeching me how to play baskitball. I have one brother named Nick. He is funy and he maks me laf. I have one sister. Her name is Grase. She is one of my favrit peple. We like to play games and bild forts in my room. Grandpa George lives with us. He is the best grandpa ever. Brandon Tara and Lori are my extra family. They are grat. Abigail is my moms cusin. She tikles me a lot. I love my family!"
Cassie looked over at Sam, who had also been reading Will's work. He was glancing back and forth between Will's paper and the other kids', eyebrows raised. He finally looked at her with a smirk on his face. "Well, I think I know why she wants to meet with us," he said with a chuckle.
They entered the classroom and greeted Ms. Brown, whom they had just met a month or so before when Will had first started school. She directed them toward some chairs that she had set up for them right by her desk. "Ms. Nightingale, Dr. Radford, thank you for coming in today. I know it was short notice, but I feel like the sooner we get this process taken care of, the better." Cassie and Sam looked at each other, confused.
"Sorry, what process?" Sam asked.
Ms. Brown smiled. "As you know, Will is an exceptionally brilliant child. He is already reading on a third grade level, and his writing and math skills are far beyond the beginning of kindergarten. I have spoken to the principal, counselor, and other teachers and I wanted to ask you for permission to have him tested. I also want to talk to you about the possibility of having him promoted to first grade, effective as soon as possible."
Cassie and Sam looked at each other. Of course they had known that their son was smart, but they didn't know just how far above his peers he truly was.
"He hasn't mentioned anything to us about being bored in class. He has mostly talked about the friends he has made. I want to talk to him to see if he would even want to move up. I don't want him to have to leave his friends if he doesn't want to," Cassie said. Sam nodded in agreement.
Ms. Brown smiled. She liked these two. "Absolutely. That was one of the reasons why I wanted to get this process started soon. If he DOES move up to first grade, the beginning of the school year is the best time to do it. It would be an easier transition for him."
Cassie and Sam spoke to the teacher for a little while longer and signed the paperwork agreeing to have their son tested. As they were leaving, Ms. Brown shook their hands. "Thank you for coming in today. We will have our School Psychologist test him this week, and we will call you with the results. Those results will determine if he should move up to first grade. In the meantime, why don't you go home and talk to him about it. See what he thinks, and we will chat later."
On the way to their cars, Sam stopped. Cassie glanced back at him with a questioning look. He bit his lip, and his forehead was creased, "If we do this, he'll go off to college a year earlier. He'll only be 17. We have to think about that." Cassie smiled and took his hand, squeezing it. For someone who was so concerned about being an older father, Sam had thrived since Will had been born.
"We'll talk about it, and we'll talk to him. Nothing's going to be resolved tonight, so don't worry about it right now."
When they got home, the sounds of high pitched and deep laughter met them. Will and George were sitting at the table playing a game. When Will saw his parents enter his eyes lit up. "Mama! Daddy! You're home! I just beat Grandpa at checkers!" He rushed up to them, hugging them both together. Sam and Cassie smiled at him and hugged him back.
"Did you both have fun?" Cassie asked him. Will nodded. "I finished my homework, too. It was really easy." Sam and Cassie glanced at each other.
"Will, go wash up for dinner, please," Cassie told him.
As he scampered off to the bathroom, Sam turned to Cassie. "If we don't do this, will we be holding him back?" She lifted a shoulder in a half shrug. George looked between them questioningly.
"How did the meeting go?" he asked.
Cassie sighed. "His teacher thinks he needs to be moved to first grade. We need to talk to him about what he wants to do."
George smiled. "I'm not surprised at all. He is an extremely bright boy. I didn't even let him beat me," he said sheepishly, nodding toward the checkerboard.
After dinner, Cassie and Sam sat Will down in the living room for a talk.
"Will, how do you like kindergarten so far?" Sam asked him. Will shrugged.
"It's okay."
Cassie frowned. "You told us last week that you like it. You said that you have friends in your class that you have fun with."
Will shrugged again, but this time he looked toward the floor and tears were welling up in his eyes. Cassie reached for him and pulled him toward her, hugging him to her side.
"What's going on?" she asked softly.
"I don't think my friends like me anymore." He sniffled.
Sam raised an eyebrow and placed his hand on Will's shoulder. "What do you mean? Why not?"
Will lifted his head. "One boy, Joey, started calling me 'smarty pants' and now all of them do. They keep following me around at recess calling me that. They never do it when the teacher is looking, and I don't want to be a tattle tale." He looked at Sam. "You told me that I need to do my best, but not make other people feel bad when they can't do something. I tried, but they don't like me anymore."
Cassie and Sam glanced at each other, as Cassie pulled Will closer and rubbed his back. Will buried his face in his mom's side and hugged her tightly. Sam raised his eyebrows at her and she nodded. He placed his hand on Will's shoulder and gently turned him to face him.
"Will...has kindergarten been too easy for you?"
He hesitated, then nodded.
"Why didn't you tell us?" Cassie asked.
"Well, because you told me I need to be…humble…" he said, searching for the word.
Cassie and Sam chuckled. "Oh, buddy," Sam said with a smile, "Being humble means that you don't brag about what you can do and talk about how much better you are than everyone else. You can always tell us how you're feeling."
Will searched his dad's face, took a deep breath, and nodded. "Okay. It's too easy. The rest of the class is learning about the sounds that letters make. I already know how to read chapter books. I'm so bored. Ms. Brown is really nice, though. She gives me harder things to work on and she has let me tell the class how I solve math problems."
"We had a meeting with Ms. Brown today," Sam said.
Will nodded. "I know. Mama told me before she left. I'm not in trouble am I?" he asked softly.
They smiled. "No, you're not in trouble," Cassie said as she poked him gently. "Why? Did you do something we don't know about?" she asked teasingly.
Will perked up and grinned. "Well…" he joked.
They all laughed, breaking the tension that filled the room up to that point.
"Will, what do you think about going to first grade? Ms. Brown said that kindergarten is not the right place for you, and I'm beginning to think she's right. If you do this, you would start first grade in the next couple of weeks," Sam said.
Will thought about it. "First grade? Really? That means that I would be in the same grade as Jenna!" Jenna was Will's best friend, the daughter of one of Cassie's friends.
"You would be," Cassie said with a smile, "It would be a little more of a challenge for you."
Will sat up straight and puffed out his chest. "I think I'll be okay. I might be smarter than some of the other kids in my new class, too," he said with a grin.
Sam and Cassie bit back smiles and Sam reached over and poked Will gently in the shoulder. "Now THIS is what I meant by being humble and not bragging," he said with a soft smile.
Will pursed his lips, holding back a smile. "Sorry," he said. The mischievous spark, however, remained in his eyes.
Cassie stood up and reached for Will's hand. "Well, your daddy and I need to talk about it, but let's get you to bed. We will talk more about it in the morning," she said. Sam stood up and joined them for Will's bedtime routine. When they were tucking him in, Will bit his lip and looked at his parents.
"Mama? Daddy? Do you think I'll make new friends in first grade?"
Cassie smiled and leaned down to kiss his cheek. "Oh, honey, of course."
Sam grinned and gently tickled Will's side. "Of course. You have a mix of the Radford and Nightingale charm. I think it'll be okay," he said with a chuckle as he bent down to kiss his son's forehead.
It was. The next week saw Will's testing come back and he started first grade the week after, ending up in the same class as his best friend. She introduced him to the rest of her friends in the class, and Will was happier than ever.
While Cassie and Sam were still concerned about their future 17 year old son going off to college, their little 5 year-old boy was happy, so they were too.
