Chapter 6—Soldiers
1
"What?" Raisa said.
Anya frowned. "How many Maths do you have?"
"She has two," Anna replied. "Why?"
"Mama, don't be dense," Callen said, with a twinkle in his eye.
Anna gave him a dirty look. "Don't start!"
The kids loved when their father got in trouble with their mother, and they laughed.
"Mama, Papa gave her two penalties," Anya pointed out. "I think if she does both pages, she won't have any penalties!"
"Oh, for Pete's sake!" Callen reacted. "What is it with the two of you?" he asked, looking directly at Raisa and Anna.
"Sorry, Papa," Anya said.
Callen laughed. "It's okay, baby," he said. "I'm glad someone figured out what I was saying!"
2
Nikolai finished his papers, and put them in his bag. He brought his bag to the front door, and then ran back to the dining room, crowding between Anna and Raisa. He noticed that her paper was filled with + signs.
"Mama, you do it like this!" The little boy snatched the pencil from her hand, and then drew minuscule dots next to the numbers in question. Then he counted them, and wrote the correct answer under the line, even though the five was backwards.
Anna was speechless. "Good job, Nikolai," she praised. Then she looked at Callen. "He can add!"
"Say what?" said the shocked father. "He can add?"
"Yes!" Anna said. "Look!" She passed the worksheet to him.
"My gosh!" he said. "Nikolai, where did you learn this?"
"From Ms. 'Ronika," he answered nonchalantly.
"Let me see," Callen said to him.
"Okay, Papa," Nikolai said. He went over to his father, and then studied the paper. When he found an example that he knew, he drew the dots beside each number. Very carefully, he wrote the number seven under the line, but backwards.
"How—?"
"Papa! You do it like this!" Nikolai said firmly, causing his biggest sisters to laugh. He found another example that he knew, and very carefully drew the dots next to a four.
"What's that number, Nikolai?"
"Four," he replied. "See, Papa? I put four dots next to the four," he explained. Then he drew two dots next to the number two. After he counted the dots, he wrote an upside down six under the line.
"Wow," said the father. "Anna, I think we're doing this all wrong," he muttered.
She nodded in agreement, and then laughed. "Anya, what do you still have to finish?"
"Nothing, Mama. I'm done," she replied.
"Okay. Put your stuff away, including your bag," Anna added. "What about you, Kira?"
"Almost, Mama."
"That's fine, but get done soon, please."
"I will, Mama."
"Nikolai, you're done, right?"
"Yes, silly Mama! My bag is over there." He pointed to the front door.
Callen chuckled. "Okay. Nikolai, you and Anya come to the kitchen with me. Raisa and Kira are staying here with Mama," he said, getting up and closing his chair.
3
"What are we doing, Papa?" Anya asked.
"Making waffles," he said, pulling the box from the freezer. "Nikolai, please set the kitchen table," he added. "And Anya, you find the butter and syrup and jellies, please." He pulled three plates from the cabinet, and lined them up on the counter.
Nikolai was very careful to count his family, beginning with himself. First he took three forks from the drawer, and put them on the table. Next he took three spoons from the drawer and added them to the table. Last he took three knives and put them on the table, too. Then he placed one set at each place.
"Papa, can I knees today?"
"I don't see why not, as long as you're careful, Nikolai," Callen answered, removing two waffles from the toaster. He put them on a plate. "Are you ready, baby?"
Nikolai climbed up onto the chair, and settled on his knees. He knelt up so he could reach the table. "Yes, Papa."
Callen swiftly cut the two waffles into twelve pieces each, and set the plate in front of Nikolai. He let his son add his own condiments to his waffles.
Anya straightened up the other two place settings, and then sat down. "I'm ready, too, Papa."
Callen handed her plate to her, and then quickly popped two more waffles into the toaster. As soon as they were done, he joined his children at the table. Today, he decided to have both the jellies and the syrup on his.
"Me!" said Nikolai.
"That's fine. You can do it, baby."
"Thank you, Papa," said the happy little boy.
Anya made designs with hers…
4
"I don't see why Nikolai can do adding," Raisa complained. "It's not fair!"
"Oh, no! You are not starting that again," Anna said. She had to clamp down on her rising anger. "He can do adding because he listens to his teacher, Raisa."
Kira shot a glance to her littlest sister. "You better not start blubbering! I have work to do!"
Anna looked at her funny, but let it slide. She glanced at her upside down watch. "It's six-forty, Raisa. You have to have this sheet done in five minutes, correctly, or you will be in big trouble!"
"Isn't she already?"
"You're joining her, Kira?"
"Oh, no, Mama! No way!" She had only one more sentence to transfer, and did not want to be grounded for the weekend.
Anna nodded, and kept an eye on her eldest child. "Good job, baby," she said when Kira packed up her papers. "Go put your bag by the door, and ask Papa for some waffles."
Kira dropped her bag on the floor, and then hugged her mother."Thank you, Mama." After she kissed her mother, she brought her bag to the front door.
When she arrived at the kitchen, Callen handed her a plateful of waffles.
"Thank you, Papa!" Kira sat down, and Nikolai gave her a set of silverware. "Thank you, Nikolai."
"Papa, I play?"
"Oh, no, Nikolai! You need a bath!"
5
After Callen had given Nikolai a bath, he had to change his own sopping wet clothes. He draped his outfit over the edge of the tub, and then dried himself off. He couldn't believe the amount of water that had escaped from Nikolai's bath.
When he got downstairs, Anna laughed at him. She knew exactly why he had changed his clothes, as she had done so many times herself.
"Stop it, bat baby," he said with his eyes twinkling. Then he checked his watch. "Raisa, we are leaving in five minutes whether you're finished or not."
"But I'm going with Mama today," she contradicted.
"Nope," said Anna. "Papa is driving you to school today, Raisa."
Raisa's eyes opened very wide.
6
Raisa sulked for the entire ride over to the school. She became more grumpy when her father parked his car. She knew that she was grounded for the weekend.
Callen didn't say a word, but he did expect her to bring him to her classroom. He kept his eyes on the room numbers, and very softly steered her into her own classroom.
Ms. Horvath saw them enter the classroom, so she got up from where she was sitting, and greeted them.
"Mr. Callen, it's nice to see you again," she said.
Raisa made a face.
"Raisa, go sit down," Ms. Horvath told her.
The little girl clomped all the way to her chair, and the teacher looked funny at the father.
"She's been very contrary at home, too," he said. "Ms. Horvath, her mom and I would appreciate it if you could please give us a packet of homework that includes every single worksheet or workbook lesson that she hasn't completed."
Ms. Horvath was very surprised. "That's a lot of work you're asking for," she said.
Callen nodded. "We're aware, and it's fine. We want everything, but especially the Math. Are there any lessons in her textbooks that she hasn't completed?"
"I don't think so, but I will check," Ms. Horvath. "I'll have everything ready for you when you return, Mr. Callen."
"That will be fine, thank you, Ms. Horvath," Callen said. He turned around, and then went over to Raisa. "You behave, baby, okay?" He gave her a quick kiss on thetop of her head, and then left.
7
Anna stood in her room, staring at the blue chair. It seemed lonesome, and she suddenly realized why. At their apartment all those years ago, there was an ottoman that Callen used to rest his legs on, but they no longer had it. She also remembered that she had promised herself that she would get him a new one. Then life intervened, and everything was pushed back for when she had the time to get a new one. Well, today, Anna decided, she was going to make good on her promise.
8
Right after lunch, Callen spoke to Hetty. He told her that he had a meeting with his daughter's teacher, so she nodded, and told him to leave around three, which he did.
He grabbed his go-bag, and went through it, leaving the non-essentials in his desk drawers. Then he drove over to Raisa's school. Parking wasn't so easy this time, but he managed.
Callen slung his bag over his shoulder, and then found his way to the Office where he signed in. Finding the bank of third grade rooms wasn't hard, and he paused at the head of the corridor. He stood transfixed, watching a fight escalate between several children. In horror, he realized that one of the fighters was his own child!
"Sir?" said a woman's voice. "Can I help you?"
He turned around to see who was speaking to him. "Hello, Ms. Mahoney. I'm actually here for my daughter Raisa."
"Oh, boy," said the principal. "I'm sorry to tell you that she started this fight—"
Callen frowned. "Excuse me?"
"Mr. Callen, please go sit down in the classroom while Ms. Horvath and I try to sort this mess out," said Ms. Mahoney.
"Sure," he agreed, knowing that he couldn't do anything else.
9
"Ooooh! Now Raisa's really going to get it!" chirped Jorge.
"Yeah," said Magda. She clapped her hands like an evil lord.
"I heard that!" yelped from the hallway.
"Uh-oh," said Ursie. "Now you two are dead meat."
"Nuh-uh!" cried Jorge. "I didn't fight."
Callen listened to this exchange with horrified fascination. He also felt like crying. He could not figure out why Raisa persisted in fighting, and misbehaving in general, while she was at school. He really wanted to go home and hug Anna because he needed it so badly.
"Enough!" Ms. Mahoney said to the children. "All of you go into the classroom, and stand beside Ms. Horvath's desk." She watched the group of grumpy children file into their classroom. When they were assembled, she continued. "All of you will be given notes to your parents about your unacceptable behavior—"
"Oh, no, Ms. Mahoney! You can't do that. I don't want to be grounded," complained Raisa.
Callen's eyes popped open. He was appalled and embarassed by Raisa's statement.
"You're right, Raisa," agreed Ms. Mahoney. "You can't do that. You cannot continue to fight while you're attending my school."
"But I'm the boss," Raisa added.
Ms. Mahoney frowned. "Of what? Ms. Horvath is the boss of this classroom, and I am the boss of this school. At home, your parents are the bosses. The only thing you're the boss of is yourself. How old are you, Raisa?"
"Nine."
"Then why are you using four-year-old behavior?!" asked the principal. "I haven't heard the 'boss' speech since I stopped teaching preschool fifteen years ago." She glanced at the group of children. "Ms. Horvath, what is going on?"
"In a nutshell, bullying. This class is unusual in that it persists in bullying Raisa Callen-Kolcheck because she has trouble with Math. This was taken care of a few weeks ago until someone taunted her today. Although fighting is never a good way to solve anything, Raisa was justified this time," Ms. Horvath replied.
"Indeed?" Ms. Mahoney scanned the group in front of her. "David, you attend the Reading Lab in the mornings. Why don't they bully you? How about it, Ursie? You go to the Lab, too."
"'Cause we aren't dumb like Raisa," Ursie said.
Ms. Horvath was becoming angrier by the minute. "Hmmm. Not being able to read on grade level is okay, but not knowing Math isn't?"
"Well, yeah," agreed Ursie and David. "Not knowing Math is dumb," David added, "so that makes Raisa dumb."
"Really dumb," put in Magda.
"That's fine," said Ms. Mahoney. "Magda, you stand over by the blackboard with the other children.
10
Callen stood up. "Excuse me, Ms. Mahoney. Would it be all right if I took Raisa home now?"
"I don't see why not," the principal answered. "Please make sure she writes a five-hundred word essay about all aspects of bullying."
"Not a problem," he replied. "Go collect your stuff, Raisa."
Grumping and grousing the entire time, Raisa packed her backpack, and Callen added the list of assignments to his bag. He included everything: Worksheets, workbooks, and Raisa's Math textbook.
On the way home, Callen stopped at the deli. He brought Raisa into the shop with him, and asked her what flavor snow-cone she wanted. While the clerk was filling their order, Callen wandered around and picked up a box of crayons, a box of colored pencils, and a box of regular pencils. He also chose three pink erasers, and added all of his goodies to the counter. Then he ordered a grape snow-cone for himself.
The ride home wasn't pleasant. Callen decided to let Raisa do her own thing. She strutted around, smirking, because she thought she had gotten off scott free.
11
He was careful to put the bag of pencils, crayons, and erasers on top of the refrigerator. Then he dumped out his go-bag on the dining room table.
"Yikes!" he muttered, appalled by the amount paperwork that Raisa has to complete. He sorted everything out, putting the packets of worksheets into their own piles, and all of the Math papers into the Math workbook. Then he sat down, wondering if he and Anna had bitten off more than they could chew.
After a short reverie, Callen got up and called to his children. "Hey, guys, where's Mama?"
Kira came down the stairs. "She went shopping, Papa," she said.
"Yah," chirped Nikolai, who was right behind her. "Her is going to get a s'prise for you, Papa."
"Then who's staying with you?"
"Nobody. Mama let me watch the kids."
"Oh, boy!" Callen said. "That's pretty awesome! Did she say when she'd be back?"
Kira shrugged. "In a little while was all she said."
"Okay. How about you order a pizza or two?"
Nikolai clapped his hands. "Thank you, Papa!"
Callen's phone rang, and the expression on his face turned to pure horror. Kira noticed, and she sat down on the step behind her so she wouldn't fall down.
"What—" she began.
He held up his hand, shushing her as he listened intently. When the call was over, he could barely speak.
"Kira, get the other kids, and bring them down here, and sit together on the couch," he gasped. He sat on the coffee table. He waited for them all to assemble before he spoke again. Then he wiped his eyes with his shirttails.
"Papa, what happened?" Kira asked. "Is Mama okay?"
He put his knuckles into his eyes. "No, she is not," he replied. "Mama was in an accident, and I need to go to the hospital right now."
Tears streamed down Anya's face. "What about us?"
"You're going to have to wing it because Uncle Sam and the other agents are all still at work, or I can drop you off to stay with Rosa—"
"What about Bubbie?" Kira asked.
"She and Dedushka are away," Callen said. "Guys, decide. I know it's a scary prospect, but would you be okay for a little while by yourselves? I need to be able to trust all of you to do the right thing."
"Yes, Papa," Kira answered for them all. "Anya?"
"Yes, Papa," Anya said, wrapping her arms around her knees.
Raisa didn't say anything. She just looked at her father.
Nikolai got up so he could hug his father. He wasn't completely sure of what was going on, but he did understand enough to realize that his mother was hurt, and his father had to go get her.
"We got this, Papa."