"Can you do me a favor?" Kim asked Bosco over the phone.
"Sure. What's up?" he asked her, puzzled. It wasn't often that she called him during work, particularly when they were both working since they usually saw each other at least a few times during the day.
"I just got a call from school. Joey's in the Principal's Office," she said with an edge to her voice.
"Ummmm. What happened? Is he okay?" Bosco asked, as Faith looked over at him from behind the steering wheel of the RMP.
"Yeah, he's okay. But, he was mouthing off to his teacher and he finally had enough and sent him to the Office. I really don't know what else to do," she said, referring to her numerous conversations with Joey over the last couple of weeks in response to letters and phone calls from his teacher.
"Did you talk to Jimmy about it?" Bosco asked her.
"Yeah. He thinks it's no big deal. He said he'd talk to him and I think he did, but I don't think Joey's listening to anyone. Jimmy's away this week and I don't know what to do. I'm afraid if I go to school, I'm going to lose it," she said.
"You want me to go talk to him this time?" Bosco offered, looking at his watch. They had about a half hour left of their shift.
"Well, they're not gonna let him go on the bus. Someone has to come pick him up and speak with the Principal. I hate to do this to you, but I really don't know what else to do and I'm so angry at him right now that I wouldn't say the right things anyway," she said, sorry for dumping this in his lap.
"It's not a problem. Call the school and tell them I'll be there in about a half hour, okay?" he said.
"Okay. Thanks, Babe. I owe you," Kim said.
"Remember that tonight," he said and she could hear the smile in his voice.
"Yeah. Unless I'm in jail for homicide," she joked back. "Thanks. Love you."
"Uh huh. Okay. We'll see you at home," he responded, hanging up the phone.
"Everything okay?" Faith asked as he put his phone away.
"Joey's been getting in trouble at school. It's just this one teacher. I guess he mouthed off and this time got sent to the Office. They won't let him go unless someone comes to get him and Kim's so mad she can't even see straight right now," Bosco explained.
"Where's Jimmy?" Faith asked, heading back toward the Precinct.
"Out of town. He hasn't been much help with it over the past two weeks anyway. I'm gonna give it a shot. Any suggestions?" he asked his partner.
"Just keep calm. Don't lose your temper. Remember what it was like when you were his age. Maybe it's just a personality clash between him and this one teacher. It happens sometimes," Faith explained.
"Okay. Thanks," he said, nodding his head.
A couple of minutes later they were in the locker room and getting changed. Bosco grabbed his jacket and headed out. "See you tomorrow," he called over to Faith.
"Yeah. Good luck," she said to him.
*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*
Bosco walked into the school and followed the sign to the Office. He walked in and saw Joey sitting in a chair along the wall. He nodded to him and said lightly, "Hey, buddy. Who do I have to see to get you sprung?"
"Mr. Olsen. He's in there. Just knock, I guess," Joey said, looking at the floor.
"Okay. Sit tight, okay?" Bosco said, walking over to the door that Joey had indicated.
"Where's Mom?" Joey asked and Bosco stopped.
"She's working - tied up on a call. Hang tight and I'll be right back," he said, not wanting to worry him about Kim being mad right now. The boy nodded and sat back in the chair as Bosco knocked on the door.
The door opened and Mr. Olsen reached out with his hand to shake Bosco's. "Ken Olsen," he said, introducing himself.
Bosco returned the handshake, "Maurice Boscorelli. I'm Joey's step dad."
"Yes, your wife called to tell me you were coming in. Why don't we have a seat in here," he said, inviting Bosco into his office. "We'll be out in just a few minutes, Joseph," the Principal said to Joey.
"Yes, Sir," Joey replied as Bosco looked at him and gave him a wink.
After they were both seated, Mr. Olsen began, "It's nice to finally meet you. Joey speaks very highly of both his Dad and you. He's very proud of what both of you do."
"Thank you. I guess it's when they get older that having a police officer coming to pick you up cramps your style," Bosco joked, getting a chuckle from the Principal.
"I'm afraid that it's parents in general that cramp their style. I have a boy and two girls and I'm cramping their style all the time," he said. "Well, I'm assuming that Mrs. Boscorelli told you what's been going on the last couple of weeks."
"Yes, we've both discussed it with Joey. I really don't understand what's going on," Bosco told him.
"Well, he's doing wonderfully in all his other classes. It just seems to be this class that he's having problems with. His teacher, Mr. Morgan, has told me that Joey is a bright boy. He does 'okay' with his grades in this class; however, Mr. Morgan feels he's capable of doing much better. He's been disturbing the class by speaking out of turn or while Mr. Morgan is trying to instruct. He talks with the other kids, thereby hindering their time to learn," he said, pausing to give Bosco a chance to respond.
"Yes. Both my wife and I have spoken at length about this, both with Joey's Dad and with Joey. There's really is nothing going on at home that I can see that would be causing this. I know that Joey has told us that he feels that Mr. Morgan is picking on him. Is it possible that this is just a personality conflict?" Bosco suggested, using Faith's suggestion.
Mr. Olsen seemed to be mulling this idea over. "It's possible. I'll speak with Mr. Morgan and maybe you can speak with Joey to see if maybe it's as simple as that. If so, then maybe we can just make a teacher change and all will be well. Although, if handled properly, this may be a good opportunity to show Joey that sometimes we just have to make the best of a difficult situation and get along with people we don't necessarily agree with," Mr. Olsen said, standing up.
Bosco stood up and shook hands again. "We'll speak with Joey and hopefully be able to come to some kind of understanding. Thank you for your time."
"Thanks for coming in," Mr. Olsen said, opening the door and walking Bosco out to the hallway where Joey was still sitting with a worried look on his face.
"Well, Joseph. I think we're all done for today. Why don't you go home and discuss things with your parents and I'll talk to Mr. Morgan and we'll start fresh on Monday, okay?"
"Yes, Sir. I'm sorry you had to leave work to come to pick me up, Bosco," Joey said, looking up at him.
Bosco reached out and tousled his hair. "We'll, talk, Joey. We'll figure it out. I told you I'm here for whenever you need me and sometimes even when you don't."
"Goodnight," Bosco said to Mr. Olsen and he picked up Joey's book bag and they headed out the door. "Whatta you say I call your Mom and tell her that you and me are going to stop off and get some pizza for dinner? It can be a guy's night and we can talk."
"Okay," Joey said, brightening at the suggestion.
"Okay," Bosco said, taking out his cell phone and calling Kim at home.
^*^*^*^*^*^*^*
It was 9:30 at night when Joey was finally settled into bed. They let him stay up a little later on the weekends as long as there was nothing going on the next day. Kim came in from getting some laundry out of the dryers in the laundry room and sat on the couch next to him and started folding it.
"So, how'd your little talk go?" she asked him.
"Okay. I was talking to Faith before I went over to the school and she had a suggestion. I talked to Mr. Olsen and we couldn't really come up with what the problem might be, so I asked him about Faith's suggestion," he said, pausing.
"So, what did she suggest?" Kim asked, interested.
"Well, she said that maybe it's just a matter of conflicting personalities. I mean, think about it. We deal with people everyday that we just don't get along with - for no reason in particular," he explained.
"That's a good thought," Kim said, mulling the idea over. "So what did Mr. Olsen say?" she asked.
"Well, he said he'd talk to Mr. Morgan and I told him we'd talk to Joey and see if that was the problem," Bosco told her.
"And, did he say anything while you were eating dinner?" Kim asked, hoping that they'd finally reached the root of the problem.
"Not much. But, from what he did say, I'd say it's a very strong possibility that's the problem. Now, do we switch teachers or do we use this as a way to help him learn that sometimes in life we all have to deal with people we just don't see eye-to-eye with?" Bosco asked.
"Well, there's only like three months left of school. If we switched him, then he'd have to get used to a whole new teacher. I guess this is as good a time as any for him to learn that lesson," Kim said, breathing a sigh of relief that it wasn't something more serious.
She finished folding the laundry and sat back before putting the clothes away. Bosco nudged her and said, "Now, about that payback we were discussing earlier?"
She leaned in closer to him and just before she kissed him said, "Well, you've certainly earned it. Thanks for taking care of this one."
He kissed her back and as they started to intensify their intimacy, he replied, "Well, I have to admit that I'm only in it for the fringe benefits."
"Sure. What's up?" he asked her, puzzled. It wasn't often that she called him during work, particularly when they were both working since they usually saw each other at least a few times during the day.
"I just got a call from school. Joey's in the Principal's Office," she said with an edge to her voice.
"Ummmm. What happened? Is he okay?" Bosco asked, as Faith looked over at him from behind the steering wheel of the RMP.
"Yeah, he's okay. But, he was mouthing off to his teacher and he finally had enough and sent him to the Office. I really don't know what else to do," she said, referring to her numerous conversations with Joey over the last couple of weeks in response to letters and phone calls from his teacher.
"Did you talk to Jimmy about it?" Bosco asked her.
"Yeah. He thinks it's no big deal. He said he'd talk to him and I think he did, but I don't think Joey's listening to anyone. Jimmy's away this week and I don't know what to do. I'm afraid if I go to school, I'm going to lose it," she said.
"You want me to go talk to him this time?" Bosco offered, looking at his watch. They had about a half hour left of their shift.
"Well, they're not gonna let him go on the bus. Someone has to come pick him up and speak with the Principal. I hate to do this to you, but I really don't know what else to do and I'm so angry at him right now that I wouldn't say the right things anyway," she said, sorry for dumping this in his lap.
"It's not a problem. Call the school and tell them I'll be there in about a half hour, okay?" he said.
"Okay. Thanks, Babe. I owe you," Kim said.
"Remember that tonight," he said and she could hear the smile in his voice.
"Yeah. Unless I'm in jail for homicide," she joked back. "Thanks. Love you."
"Uh huh. Okay. We'll see you at home," he responded, hanging up the phone.
"Everything okay?" Faith asked as he put his phone away.
"Joey's been getting in trouble at school. It's just this one teacher. I guess he mouthed off and this time got sent to the Office. They won't let him go unless someone comes to get him and Kim's so mad she can't even see straight right now," Bosco explained.
"Where's Jimmy?" Faith asked, heading back toward the Precinct.
"Out of town. He hasn't been much help with it over the past two weeks anyway. I'm gonna give it a shot. Any suggestions?" he asked his partner.
"Just keep calm. Don't lose your temper. Remember what it was like when you were his age. Maybe it's just a personality clash between him and this one teacher. It happens sometimes," Faith explained.
"Okay. Thanks," he said, nodding his head.
A couple of minutes later they were in the locker room and getting changed. Bosco grabbed his jacket and headed out. "See you tomorrow," he called over to Faith.
"Yeah. Good luck," she said to him.
*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*
Bosco walked into the school and followed the sign to the Office. He walked in and saw Joey sitting in a chair along the wall. He nodded to him and said lightly, "Hey, buddy. Who do I have to see to get you sprung?"
"Mr. Olsen. He's in there. Just knock, I guess," Joey said, looking at the floor.
"Okay. Sit tight, okay?" Bosco said, walking over to the door that Joey had indicated.
"Where's Mom?" Joey asked and Bosco stopped.
"She's working - tied up on a call. Hang tight and I'll be right back," he said, not wanting to worry him about Kim being mad right now. The boy nodded and sat back in the chair as Bosco knocked on the door.
The door opened and Mr. Olsen reached out with his hand to shake Bosco's. "Ken Olsen," he said, introducing himself.
Bosco returned the handshake, "Maurice Boscorelli. I'm Joey's step dad."
"Yes, your wife called to tell me you were coming in. Why don't we have a seat in here," he said, inviting Bosco into his office. "We'll be out in just a few minutes, Joseph," the Principal said to Joey.
"Yes, Sir," Joey replied as Bosco looked at him and gave him a wink.
After they were both seated, Mr. Olsen began, "It's nice to finally meet you. Joey speaks very highly of both his Dad and you. He's very proud of what both of you do."
"Thank you. I guess it's when they get older that having a police officer coming to pick you up cramps your style," Bosco joked, getting a chuckle from the Principal.
"I'm afraid that it's parents in general that cramp their style. I have a boy and two girls and I'm cramping their style all the time," he said. "Well, I'm assuming that Mrs. Boscorelli told you what's been going on the last couple of weeks."
"Yes, we've both discussed it with Joey. I really don't understand what's going on," Bosco told him.
"Well, he's doing wonderfully in all his other classes. It just seems to be this class that he's having problems with. His teacher, Mr. Morgan, has told me that Joey is a bright boy. He does 'okay' with his grades in this class; however, Mr. Morgan feels he's capable of doing much better. He's been disturbing the class by speaking out of turn or while Mr. Morgan is trying to instruct. He talks with the other kids, thereby hindering their time to learn," he said, pausing to give Bosco a chance to respond.
"Yes. Both my wife and I have spoken at length about this, both with Joey's Dad and with Joey. There's really is nothing going on at home that I can see that would be causing this. I know that Joey has told us that he feels that Mr. Morgan is picking on him. Is it possible that this is just a personality conflict?" Bosco suggested, using Faith's suggestion.
Mr. Olsen seemed to be mulling this idea over. "It's possible. I'll speak with Mr. Morgan and maybe you can speak with Joey to see if maybe it's as simple as that. If so, then maybe we can just make a teacher change and all will be well. Although, if handled properly, this may be a good opportunity to show Joey that sometimes we just have to make the best of a difficult situation and get along with people we don't necessarily agree with," Mr. Olsen said, standing up.
Bosco stood up and shook hands again. "We'll speak with Joey and hopefully be able to come to some kind of understanding. Thank you for your time."
"Thanks for coming in," Mr. Olsen said, opening the door and walking Bosco out to the hallway where Joey was still sitting with a worried look on his face.
"Well, Joseph. I think we're all done for today. Why don't you go home and discuss things with your parents and I'll talk to Mr. Morgan and we'll start fresh on Monday, okay?"
"Yes, Sir. I'm sorry you had to leave work to come to pick me up, Bosco," Joey said, looking up at him.
Bosco reached out and tousled his hair. "We'll, talk, Joey. We'll figure it out. I told you I'm here for whenever you need me and sometimes even when you don't."
"Goodnight," Bosco said to Mr. Olsen and he picked up Joey's book bag and they headed out the door. "Whatta you say I call your Mom and tell her that you and me are going to stop off and get some pizza for dinner? It can be a guy's night and we can talk."
"Okay," Joey said, brightening at the suggestion.
"Okay," Bosco said, taking out his cell phone and calling Kim at home.
^*^*^*^*^*^*^*
It was 9:30 at night when Joey was finally settled into bed. They let him stay up a little later on the weekends as long as there was nothing going on the next day. Kim came in from getting some laundry out of the dryers in the laundry room and sat on the couch next to him and started folding it.
"So, how'd your little talk go?" she asked him.
"Okay. I was talking to Faith before I went over to the school and she had a suggestion. I talked to Mr. Olsen and we couldn't really come up with what the problem might be, so I asked him about Faith's suggestion," he said, pausing.
"So, what did she suggest?" Kim asked, interested.
"Well, she said that maybe it's just a matter of conflicting personalities. I mean, think about it. We deal with people everyday that we just don't get along with - for no reason in particular," he explained.
"That's a good thought," Kim said, mulling the idea over. "So what did Mr. Olsen say?" she asked.
"Well, he said he'd talk to Mr. Morgan and I told him we'd talk to Joey and see if that was the problem," Bosco told her.
"And, did he say anything while you were eating dinner?" Kim asked, hoping that they'd finally reached the root of the problem.
"Not much. But, from what he did say, I'd say it's a very strong possibility that's the problem. Now, do we switch teachers or do we use this as a way to help him learn that sometimes in life we all have to deal with people we just don't see eye-to-eye with?" Bosco asked.
"Well, there's only like three months left of school. If we switched him, then he'd have to get used to a whole new teacher. I guess this is as good a time as any for him to learn that lesson," Kim said, breathing a sigh of relief that it wasn't something more serious.
She finished folding the laundry and sat back before putting the clothes away. Bosco nudged her and said, "Now, about that payback we were discussing earlier?"
She leaned in closer to him and just before she kissed him said, "Well, you've certainly earned it. Thanks for taking care of this one."
He kissed her back and as they started to intensify their intimacy, he replied, "Well, I have to admit that I'm only in it for the fringe benefits."
