Page 20 of Sweet Surrender

“I’m listening,” Principal Chittenden said.

“It’s Cal Lawrence,” Becca said. “He’s really bright.”

“Calvin is an excellent student, yes,” Principal Chittenden agreed with a smile.

“But I worry about him being so introverted,” Becca went on. “Is there any history I need to be aware of?”

“What kind of history?” the principal asked, frowning.

“Well, a history of trouble with another student,” Becca began. “Or anything the school psychologist might be aware of.”

Bullying or past traumawas what she meant, but didn’t like to come right out and suggest. In her experience, limited as it was, it was best for the school to offer any sensitive information.

“There’s family history,” Principal Chittenden said with a smile.

Becca sat forward, her heart aching at the thought.

“Two kinds,” the principal said. “But neither is what you’re thinking. First of all, the boys’ mother isn’t in the picture. You’ll hear all about it in the next few days if you haven’t already. This town is on fire about what happened there, even after all these years. But as far as this office is concerned, all you need to know is that the mother isn’t around, but there’s lots of other family support.”

“That’s good,” Becca said.

“The other family history is only anecdotal,” the principal said. “This is off the record, and I’m only telling you to put your mind at ease.”

Becca nodded.

“Calvin’s father was a quiet boy, too,” the principal said with a fond smile. “And he’s grown into a quiet man. But he’s highly respected around here, and truly gifted and innovative in his work, I’m told. Sometimes these traits are just part of who we are. And I think Calvin came by his quiet nature honestly.”

“That makes sense,” Becca said, smiling at the idea that the boy was so much like his father. But she couldn’t just leave things there. “What about that kickball incident yesterday? Someone hit him so hard with the ball that he got a nosebleed.”

“Calvin Lawrence is very well liked, if that’s what you’re worried about,” the principal assured her. “But I understand your concern. Watch him at recess today. I think you’ll see he participates in everything and enjoys himself. And if you spot anything else going on, be sure to let me know right away.”

Well, if that wasn’t an invitation to bring up her idea, nothing was.

“I’m sure you’re right about that,” Becca said. “But there is one other thing I noticed about recess.”

“What’s that?” the principal asked, leaning forward again.

“He’s different with his brother out on the playground,” Becca said. “I notice that Cal lights up and immediately joins the group whenever Nick is around.”

“It’s a wonderful bond those boys have, isn’t it?” the principal said. “In spite of theirverydifferent personalities.”

“Cal really gets a boost when his brother is there,” Becca said, deciding to jump right in. “Would you ever consider putting the boys in the same classroom?”

“I’m afraid not, Miss Hawthorne,” the principal said, shaking her head. “We don’t put twins together.”

“Why is that?” Becca asked, tilting her head to the side and hoping she seemed curious, not defiant.

“It’s school policy,” Principal Chittenden said. “And the reason for that is layered. First of all, twins need the chance tohave time on their own. It allows each of them to make their own reputation without being compared constantly to the other. Secondly, it helps them learn to function independently. At home they can always rely on each other, so it’s often in school that they really learn to stand on their own. And finally, siblings can tend to have more disagreements, since they are bringing in all their experience from being together at home. Our teachers don’t have the time to referee frequent squabbles about who took the last waffle at breakfast when they have full classrooms.”

“Those are good arguments,” Becca allowed. Though secretly she didn’t agree about the full classrooms. She had only nineteen students in her class, that was practically nothing compared to the city classrooms. “Just for argument’s sake, I’d like to try applying them to the situation with Nick and Cal.”

“That’s fine,” Principal Chittenden said. “Just as an exercise.”

“It seems to me that each of these boys has his own reputation already,” Becca began, looking to the principal, who nodded in agreement. “And I don’t think they’re known to have disagreements with each other, are they?”

“As a matter of fact, no,” the principal said. “They’re very close.”

“So it comes down to whether they lean on each other,” Becca said. “And I think that’s such an interesting idea.”

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