Page 20 of Beyond Perfect

A deep sigh. Jackson cared about these kids. “I’m sorry to hear that. What do the kids know?”

She told him everything.

“Let me get this straight. You waited two hours to call me?”

“I was hoping he would come in late.”

“You didn’t follow policy. You know I asked to be notified immediately if the kids don’t attend class. I track them down.”

“I know. I own what I did.”

A long pause. “I’ll take it from here. I’ll see you in my office at the end of the day.”

“I understand.”

He clicked off without saying goodbye.

She did some work while the boys were in Language Arts, then when Annie came to the office, she said, “Frankie skipped my class.”

“Mine too.”

“I notified Jackson.”

“He’s angry that I didn’t right away.”

Annie frowned. “Why didn’t you?”

“Because I was hoping he’d show up.”

“Maisy, you know the policy.”

“I made a mistake.” She glanced at her watch. “I have to meet with Jackson now.”

“What will he do?”

“I don’t know. See you later.”

“Good luck.”

Jackson was furious. He and Maisy were supposed to have a truce and she went and broke the rules. He didn’t understand her.

She came into the office and said, “Should I sit down?”

“You better.” Across from each other, they squared off like enemies. “Why didn’t you report this right away?”

“Because I didn’t want him to get another demerit.”

“And you knew you weren’t following policy?”

“I did.”

“Maisy,why?”

“Maybe I didn’t trust you to do what’s best for Frankie.”

The emotional blow hit him square in the stomach. He took in a heavy breath, let it out, then said, “I’m sorry to hear you don’t trust me. I thought you knew me better.”

“I know you’ll follow policy. We can’t give up on him.”

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