"So you want me to watch Francis while you are out?"
"Yes. Hopefully I should only be gone for a few hours but if it is longer I will let you know. Make sure that no one gets anywhere near the house. It does not matter if they are human or nation, Francis is a secret and it is imperative no one knows of his existence."
"I understand."
They continued talking softly.
Unknown to them, Francis had woken up. The first thing he noticed was how quiet it was which surprised him slightly. Usually at this time of day he could hear Mr. Arthur puttering around in the kitchen, preparing breakfast for Francis and tea for himself, having already eaten. Curious, he slipped down the stairs and wandered around the ground floor until he peeked around a corner and found Mr. Arthur sitting with Miss Archer, whispering.
A flash of movement caught Arthur's eye and he looked up to see Francis' innocent eyes watching him with a questioning gaze.
"Oh Francis," he called in a gentle tone, waving the boy into the room. Francis padded over to the pair and stood by Arthur's side. "I did not know you were awake. I am sorry but I have not made your breakfast yet. Miss Archer and I have been discussing some work and lost track of time." Looking down at his watch, Arthur quickly finished what little was left in his tea cup and stood up. "Unfortunately I have to go out for a bit today but Miss Archer is going to stay here with you. Do you understand?" Francis nodded obediently. "Good. I will be back as soon as I can."
With that, Arthur turned and left.
"Thank you for meeting with me," he started as he sat down across from three people. "I only have a few days off of work to get this resolved."
"Of course," the man on the other side of the desk replied. He was a larger man with an easy smile on his face. His white hair thinned as it moved towards his forehead and was dressed in a simple gray suit. "My name is Mr. Pendleton, the woman to my left is Mrs. Croft." He indicated a middle aged woman who appeared to be well versed in educational matters. "And this is Mr. Cooper." To his right was a young man with caramel skin and dark hair. "We know how hard it is to make sure your child is placed in the right school-"
"I am sorry to interrupt but Francis is not my child." Three sets of bewildered eyes stared at him so he continued. "I am currently Francis' guardian but I am not his father."
"Oh," the woman whispered.
A few silent, uncomfortable minutes passed until the man behind the table with the white hair asked, "May we be made aware of why that is?"
Arthur took a deep breath and began reciting the story he and his bosses had created.
"Francis' father works for the French government in a top secret department. Because of his position, he was always worried that something might happen to him and he would not be able to care for his dear son. Since we had known each other since we were children, he asked if anything ever happened to him would I watch after Francis?" He paused for a moment before continuing. "To ease his troubled mind I agreed. I never thought that I would actually need to do so." He sighed sadly, looking down. "However, a few weeks ago he disappeared. Social services picked Francis up and held him until they discovered the paper I had signed claiming guardianship of him if his father ever went missing. They released him to me after proving the document's authenticity and I was given a week of leave in order to find and enroll him in a school in England. I work for our government, in a position that does not need to be named, and while I saw Francis' father occasionally when our work overlapped, I never met his son. The most I saw was an enthusiastic picture now and again."
As he spoke the three people across from him started sending each other strange looks.
"Mr. Kirkland," the older man began once Arthur had finished. "Do you have any paperwork to back this up? It is a little hard to believe your story."
"Yes, of course." Reaching into the bag on the floor next to him, he pulled out a manila folder that his assistant had brought him that morning. "Here you are." He handed the folder to the man. "This is everything that was released to me when Francis was."
The man removed the contents and flipped through them: a forged guardianship note, a fake birth certificate, and fictitious doctor's records.
"This is all well and good but what of his school records? He is seven years old, correct?"
"Yes," Arthur replied politely. "Francis is seven but before now he has been taught by private tutors. His father was very old-fashioned. I would have continued to have him educated by private tutors but I cannot afford to do so and I do not believe that way of learning is appropriate today or helpful for his social development."
The woman smiled at that.
"That's true. Being educated by a tutor alone makes it very hard for a child to learn social customs and behaviors. It would be slightly more feasible if there were other children in the house but from what I can gather this is not the case, is this true?" Arthur nodded. "Then your thoughts are just."
"In order to properly place Francis in the correct grade he will need to take a placement test since he has no previous school records," the man in the middle added.
"Is there a version of the test that is given in French?"
"No. It is only in English."
"Then it will be difficult for you to obtain an accurate recording since Francis does not know a word of English."
Dumbfounded silence greeted his words as the others in the room stared at him.
"H-He doesn't understand English?" the man in the middle asked, exasperated.
"No. His father does not know any English so Francis was not taught that language."
This information caused the woman to lean towards him, eyes challenging.
"If his father does not know English then how did the two of you communicate?"
"I am fluent in French," he replied, crossing his arms and raising an eyebrow at her, proving his statement to be true with five simple words. He was not afraid of this woman and had told no, harmful, lies.
Detecting the rising ferocity between the two, Mr. Pendleton decided to cut in.
"Mr. Kirkland, you are aware that this is not a bilingual school, yes?" The blond man nodded. "Then why are you attempting to place him in this particular school? There are several bilingual schools in London and they are all competent."
Arthur stared at him for several long minutes before finally answering, "I want him to learn English," with a simple tone.
"And you don't think bilingual schools do that?" the older man questioned, trying to understand the line of thought.
"I believe they do but I also want him to learn quickly so that he can navigate and survive in an English based country.
'I want him to be safe,' he added in his head. 'I want him to be able get help if someone tries to harm him. I want him to feel like there is no reason to be scared even as I try to hide him away from whoever caused him to change.'
"If I am correct in my assumption," Mrs. Croft interjected. "Then you believe that placing Francis in an English only classroom will teach him this foreign language faster?"
"Yes."
"This is a common misconception, Mr. Kirkland. If you were to place Francis in the classroom that you think he belongs in then you will cause him a great deal of damage. Not only will his language skills be harmed but also his social and emotional development when he cannot communicate or bond with his classmates. And his academics will be negatively affected since he will not be able to understand his instructor or the work he is given. Due to this I honestly believe that the best option for Francis would be a bilingual school."
Arthur was not convinced.
"Francis is a very bright child. I truly believe that he will grasp the language quickly."
The younger man took this moment to finally join the conversation.
"Mr. Kirkland, it seems to me that you are worried that bilingual schools will not prepare Francis well enough with either his academics or his language development. Is this true?" Arthur said nothing. "I thought so. I myself went to a bilingual school when I was a child. Do I seem to be struggling with my second language?" The blond man shook his head. "Exactly. The school Mr. Pendleton has in mind for Francis will be a fine fit for him, Mr. Kirkland. Do not worry."
"Francis will be happy at this school. I promise you," Mrs. Croft added. "He will not have to fight to learn in a language he does not know and he will still be able to learn English. He may be a bit behind due to only being taught by tutors but his classmates will be able to help him catch up." She paused for a moment. "Have you heard of Vygotsky's Theory of Social Development?" Arthur shook his head again. "It states that children learn best by working together and exchanging ideas. This is something Francis would be striped of at this school but would be able to utilize at a bilingual school."
"Please understand that we are not trying to harm you or Francis. We only want what's best for him which, unfortunately, is not this school."
Taking a deep breath, Arthur made up his mind. "All right."
The older man smiled.
"I'm glad you understand. I will call the other school and have Francis enrolled. As soon as I am finished I will send you an email to confirm it's taken care of and so you can see the documents for yourself. Is that a deal?"
"Yes. Thank you."
The four stood up, shook hands, and meeting was over.
AN: Italics- speaking in French or internal thoughts
No Italics- speaking in English