"Helena, hurry up. We have to have Sammy checked in by one." Barbara sat by the elevator waiting for Helena to appear. She ran through the list of things to do in her head. Drop Sammy off, Helena's haircut, go to the mall, stop by the school, and then my apartment by four. "Helena lets go!"
Helena appeared at the top of the staircase with Sammy's leash but no Sammy. Her hand was still bandaged, but no longer in a cast and she could use it now. She looked more grown up in fresh clothes, but her wild hair made her seem younger than she really was. Today she wore low cut jeans and a white top that had a black raven on the front. "I can't find Sammy."
"Sammy!! If you don't make yourself present soon I am going to call Laura and tell her what you did to my shoes." That panther had chewed up her favorite pair of black high tops. It wasn't like she would ever wear them again, but still.
Sammy appeared from the balcony and lowered his head. "Good. Helena, put his leash on and lets get going or you're not going to the mall."
Helena immediately put his leash on and the trio headed to basement. Barbara pressed some buttons on her chair and the back of the Hummer opened and a ramp came down to allow the paralyzed woman access to the vehicle. She strapped her chair in and slid into the driver's side. Sammy walked up the ramp after her and Helena slammed the back closed.
Babs led the way to animal check in as Helena followed leading Sammy on his leash. The sight of the large Panther caused many passengers to jump. Helena found it rather funny.
"I have an animal to check in," Barbara addressed the woman at the counter who jumped at the sight of the wild creature.
"Name, please," the woman managed to say when she got control of herself.
"Sammy. His owner is Laura Harris."
"Yes, here he is. Just one moment please." The lady went to the back and soon returned with some men and a large cage for shipping wild animals. The woman attached the tag with all Sammy's information while one of the men undid the padlock and opened the cage.
Helena leaned over and hugged the animal, "It was fun, Sammy. I hope you get to come back and visit." Sammy licked her face and walked into the cage. Helena slipped his leash off and handed it to the lady who placed it in an envelope and attached to the cage. Barbara patted his head and the man locked the cage. Sammy laid down as he was rolled to the back to await his flight.
The petless duo headed back to the Hummer and headed to their next destination, the salon.
Barbara sat scanning a hair magazine. She paused at a young female model with long brown hair. I wonder what Helena will do with her hair. It is down to the middle of her back now. She looked so cute with her long hair, but she said she wanted a change. She turned the page to see another female model with really short hair, almost in a boy cut. It looked really bad on the model and Barbara hoped her rebellious teen wouldn't to that.
"I am done," Helena startled Barbara. She hadn't heard the girl approach.
"What do you think?" Barbara looked up and her mouth dropped. The girl had cut her hair short. It was now even with her chin. Her bangs had been trimmed back so they hung above her eyebrows now. It appeared the girl had gotten some black highlights for her hair had a darker shade to it. The stylist had curled her ends so they flipped up, making her look older than she was.
"It looks good on you," Barbara pasted on a smile. This is going to take some getting use to. Barbara went to the counter to pay the hundred dollars for her cut and highlights.
Once in the hummer, Barbara looked at the clock. It was already 2:30 and she knew how long Helena took to shop. She dug in her purse and pulled out a visa credit card. She handed it to Helena.
"We are behind schedule, so I am going to drop you off at the mall and then I will go to the school to work things out," the wild child had missed half of her junior year and Barbara wanted to see if it was possible for Helena to still graduate on time. "Remember jeans and t-shirts only, and you are not to go over a hundred. I will pick you up a the front of the mall in an hour."
The new hair moved up and down, "Not a problem."
Barbara drove the ten minutes to the mall and dropped her off. "Remember jeans and t-shirts and not over a hundred."
Helena waved as she walked into the building and headed for her shopping spree. "And buy something sensible," Barbara hollered as the door closed.
Barbara sat in the principle's office waiting for him to get out of a teachers meeting. The school year was coming to an end in two weeks and Barbara was worried Helena wouldn't be able to graduate next year as planed.
"Barbara, good to see you again," Principle Mathews shook her hand before sitting down. "I am glad to hear you will be rejoining the staff in the fall. I know your students will be happy."
"I am eager to get back to work, Jeff, but that's not what I am here about. As you know, Helena Kyle is now in my care and I want to see if she will still be able to graduate next year as planed."
"Ah yes, Helena Kyle. We were so sorry to hear about her mother. She seemed to be doing alright when school started, but then she just disappeared." He typed a few commands on the keyboard and Helena's record appeared on the screen. "She missed the entire second semester of school. Even if we enrolled her in summer courses she would still be short two classes."
"What if I agreed to tutor her in the courses not offered over summer school. All I would need is a syllabus and guidelines to follow for grading."
Jeff Mathews leaned back in his brown leather chair, "Are you sure you are willing to do that, Barbara. You have been through a lot and I don't want you to push yourself too hard. According to her teachers, she can be quite a handful."
"I have known Helena a long time and realize what a handful she is, but if anyone is going to handle her it should be me."
"Alright, I will need to talk to the teachers on getting a syllabus and grading guidelines. If they agree to it, I think I can squeeze her into the summer school courses."
"What courses will she need to take?"
He typed a few more keys, "For summer school she will have to take Written Communications, World History, and Algebra two. For tutoring she would need to take Biology 101, and some type of a Physical Education/Health class. Would those be a problem for you to teach?"
Barbara smiled, "Not at all. But why Biology 101, shouldn't she have taken that last year?"
"It appears that she failed the class last year and has to repeat the course. If this is all right with you, I will contact the PE instructor and the Biology teacher to see if they agree. I will have them contact you and get Helena signed up for the summer school classes. If she passes all the classes she will be able to graduate on time."
"Thanks, Jeff. This is really great of you. See you in the fall," The two coworkers shook hands.
"See you in the fall, Barbara."
Barbara wheeled out to the Hummer and chuckled to herself. Will that be hard for you he asks. "Well, I haven't taught Bio 101 before, but it isn't like I don't have a science background. And PE, you have got to be kidding me. I was going to make her work out anyway."
Barbara shook her head on the drive back to the mall. As it came in sight, she became somber as she realized what the next stop was. It was time for her to pack up what was left of the beloved Batgirl. Once those boxes were closed, so would be that part of her life.