Another Life
Chapter 2
Sarah drove quickly and secure through the streets of L.A . which was unusual for her but no problem. For starters she had lived in L.A. most of her life and also she didn´t want to be late to pick up her daughter from school, because she knew how fearful Paige got when she thought she had been forgotten.
When Sarah parked on the school parking lot, she realized she was actually 10 minutes early and chose to wait in front of the school but not too close to the main entrance. Paige had told her very clearly now that she was almost 11, she needed to build up a reputation that would be endangered if the other kids thought she was still dependant on Mommy.
The fact that she was,Paige chose to ignore generously and so did Sarah
She did think this sort of behaviour was silly, though, but she also remembered how she had felt when she had to stand with two little children, Justin and Kevin,while Nora tried to find Kitty and Tommy who always were in a very important conversation, Kitty, or had a very important game of soccer to win,Tomm, when Nora came to take them home after school.
Therefore Sarah knew what it was like to feel humiliated and so without comment she followed little rules like this one.
Sarah leaned relaxed against tree when she noticed that a man stood only a few steps away. She also noticed that in the meantime dozens of mothers but no fathers had gathered all around the main entrence. All of them obviously didn´t known how embarassing they were to their children.
Sarah wondered wether all these women were the reason for the man next to her not to go nearer and she couldn´t help herself but make a comment.
„Wow, you are courageous."
The man turned to Sarah and she was a little distracted by his gleaming dark-blue eyes, but with a smile she continued: „I mean, no man ever dared to join the club of Mommys picking up their mini versions, even from this distance!"
„Oh,"the man next to her grinned in agreement and Sarah believed to notice that the color of his eyes was now lighter than before. „Yeah sometimes it´s auch a big contrast, but I do see fathers here sometimes."
Sarah nodded: „Yeah certainly but this circus here,right now, it seems the great mothers of this city have just been let out of their cage!"
He eyeballed her carefully: „Aren´t you supposed to be one of them?"
Sarah defensively: „Um no. If I mingle with these women, I get nasty side-looks because I always take calls from work on the playground and I give my children unhealty sweets, not cookies from scratch."
Again the man seemed amused: „Well then there is no danger revealing my identity. I´m Adrian."
He held out his hand and Sarah gladly took it: „I´m Sarah."
Normally the following silence of this curt introduction would have been akward, but actually both just stood there now closer to each other, somewhat harmoniously connected in both being outsiders.
When the big bell of the school rang, masses and masses of children were streaming out of the great wodden doors, were welcomed by their mothers and the air was filled with laughter, screams and lots of voices.
Sarah expected Paige to rush out any minute, keen on telling her mother her latest adventures or those of others. It didn´t really matter. There was always so much to tell and Sarah enjoyed it hugely in the back of her head remembering how during the divorce Paige had been angry and agressive, then quiet and introverted, but mainly just unreachable to both her parents.
Therefore Sarah felt very grateful that Paige had got her joyful, lively nature back but aside all this. Where was she now?
Sarah turned to Adrian: „I think I´ll go look for her. Paige is probably playing hide and seek with someone forgetting the time."
Adrian asked : „Paige? Your daughter´s name is Paige?"
„Yeah, something wrong with that name?"
„No,no." He lifted his arms concilliatory. „It´s just my daughter Sofie kept on going on and on about a Girl named Paige the whole weekend and as she´s not here either, maybe...
„they´re together, doing whatever. Let´s go."Sarah decided immediately.
They both walked quickly up to the school and Sarah asked Adrian anxiously:
„Um they haven´t been friends for long, right? I mean I..I would know about Sofie if they had been!"
„Oh no, unless they were chat buddies."
Sarah looked at Adrian with a confused, not understanding-a-thing look-
„Oh we just moved here a month ago. And Sofie´s been in this school for less than two weeks."
Sarah really felt relieved. She was trying so hard to make it right, she was just scared to get out of touch with her kids becuse she didn´t have them around all the time and she didn´t want to give them the impression she didnt know,or want to know about their lives.´
They rushed through the huge building and finally arrived at the seond floor where their daughters classroom lay.
The door to room 209 wasn´t closed but when they entered the room it was empty. However Sarah turned to her left and there they were.
Paige and that other Girl Sofie sitting and leaning to the wall, their heads close to each other, bowed over a little cage in Sofie´s lab.
Paige had spotted her mother and excitedly whispered:
„Mom! Look what we´ve got."
While Adrian chose just to watch, Sarah kneed down next to Sofie who quitely Sofie said with widened eyes that were those of her father:
„The janitor caught a mouse, but we saved him."
Sarah frowned: „You what? You saved „him"? It´s a mouse."
Now that she had a closer look Sarah realized that the mouse wasn´t in a cage but in a mouse trap and it began to become clear to her what was going on and apperantly she wasn´t the only one. Adrian kneed close to Sarah saying conspirationaly: „You found the trap and you don´t want to let the janitor hurt, um, him?"
To Sarah´s slight embarassement Paige looked at him as if he was especially slow: „Yes, you got it. And you CAN´T talk us out of it.""
„Oh I would never dare to do that, right Sofie? You know that." He smiled and suddenly started tickeling Sofie who burst out in loud laughter.
Sarah quickly grabbed the mouse trap as Paige started jumping Adrian´s back in a playful attempt to help her friend.
Sarah first shook her head unsure what to make of this but when Paige´s face laughing ecstatly flew by, Sarah couldn´t help but join in and soon there was a big ball of arms and legs and everybody involved had the best time until someone made loudldy „chrm, chrm"
All four quickly unclenched themselves from each other and especially the adults were a little ashamed when they made out a woman looking stern but not annoyed.
Her head red rom the sudden physical exhaustion Sarah went forward gasping: „Mrs...Keller. I´m.-...um...sorry. We... we were about to go."
„Oh really?" Mrs Keller answered with a small smile and then discovered the little cage in the back of the room, she added more seriously: „I hope you´re planing to take this mouse with you far from the school grounds or I will have to call for the janitor."
Both girls screamed „NO!!" which made Mrs Keller flinch and Adrian hurried to say:
„We will take it away, Mrs, um, Keller, right?"
Mrs Keller nodded but didn´t care to ask for his name. She just took out her keys and everybody got in motion, while this time Paige grabbed the little cage.
The girls were already making jokes about what just happened, putting their heads together,and holding their hands.
Sarah was more than just a bit embarassed but when she looked over at Adrian, who looked at her with no sign of contempt she relaxed. They both had a look in their eyes, that said „we just did something fun and it´s just ours, nobody knows about it, well except our daughters who were the fun."
All four marrched out of the school with their heads and spirits high.
The name Holly or those icy blue eyes were magically nowhere to be found in Sarah´s mind.
To be continued... ;-)