Page 108 of Waiting for Friday Night

Quinton looked at him. “I’m not making any threats toward your child. But your child did try to assault my child. Not only that, she’s starting rumors and throwing insults. You better handle her before she’s reported and suspended from school.”

The man’s chest puffed up. “My daughter isn’t going to be suspended.”

Jeremiah rushed forward. “Now, now, everyone calm down. It was just a misunderstanding.”

Quinton turned to Jeremiah. Now wasn’t the time for the principal to search for a compromise. “No misunderstanding.” Quinton pointed to the kids with cameras recording everything. “We’ve got tons of video evidence right here. I want a thorough investigation on what happened and a promise that it won’t happen again.” He glared at the girl’s father. “Understand me?”

The man wrapped an arm around his daughter. “They’re just kids playing around.”

Quinton slowly pulled off his aviators so the man could see his eyes and know he was dead serious. “Playing around until someone gets hurt for real.” He looked at Jeremiah. “Deal with it. Or you’ll be looking for another football coach.” He turned to Shania. “Let’s go.”

She nodded and slid her hand in his. Quinton gave it a squeeze and led her from the crowd.

“Thank you,” she said when they were several steps away.

“Has she said stuff like that before?”

Shania shrugged. “It’s just girl drama.”

“No, it’s not just girl drama. It’s wrong. Why didn’t you tell us?”

“I was trying to handle it,” Shania said defensively. “Besides, everyone knows she’s just jealous.”

“Never let people walk all over you. If they think they can get away with it, they’ll keep going.”

“I know. I just didn’t want you or Mom to feel guilty about people teasing me.”

He stopped walking and looked her in the eye. “We’re adults. Our job is to protect you. Not the other way around. Understand me?”

Her eyes watered, but she blinked quickly and smiled. “I understand... Dad.”

Quinton’s world shifted on its axis. He was a dad. And he would protect her for the rest of his life. His own eyes burned, and his throat felt thick. Unable to speak, he nodded, squeezed her hand again and headed toward their family waiting near the exit.

Thirty-Five

Even though Quinton and Shania told Halle what happened after the game, and Quinton said he handled everything, she still felt the need to go to the high school during her lunch break and talk with Jeremiah herself. She wanted to make sure they were going to deal with the girl in question.

She was checked into the front desk and quickly led to the principal’s office. Jeremiah came around his desk and shook her hand. “Halle, thank you for coming by.”

“I wish it was for a better reason,” she said in what Shania called her “principal’s” voice. This wasn’t a social call. “I want to talk about what happened after the game the other day.”

“I was going to call you about that. Have a seat.” He pointed to the chair in front of his desk.

Halle sat and Jeremiah sat in the one next to her instead of going around his desk. His face was serious. “Coach Q came to me first thing this morning. After calling me on Sunday to ensure that the school was going to investigate.”

Halle leaned back. “He called you yesterday?” He’d reassured her yesterday that he would handle things, but hadn’t mentioned calling Jeremiah.

“He did. First thing in the morning. He actually didn’t have to worry. After the game, other parents and kids came forward with complaints about her. Apparently, she’s been spreading rumors and bullying other girls in the school. We pulled her and her parents in this morning and showed the evidence of what she’d been doing. There was a lot. Her actions resulted in an automatic suspension and she’ll have a hearing in front of the school board to determine if there needs to be any additional punishment.”

Halle blinked. “You’ve already handled it.”

“Like I said, we were going to call you and update you as well. I’ve already informed Coach Q.”

“That was quick.” Halle was impressed. She’d normally tell Jeremiah that if she wasn’t so shocked.

“We like to deal with these things quickly.”

“Or, were you worried about losing your head football coach?”

---