Page 75 of Crossing the Brooklyn Briggs
“Oh.” His tough guy demeanor drops, and he actually looks seventeen for a second. “I didn’t think…”
Sighing, I drop into the chair next to him. I barely slept last night, and today has been full of more phone calls and emails. There’s a part of me that’s grateful for this distraction from work, even if I don’t love the reason for it. I’d gotten trapped in the grind again, just like yesterday, and if it hadn’t been my mom who called me…
The worst part is I almost didn’t answer.
I run a hand through my hair, glancing around the office as memories of my own high school days come flooding back. I ended up in the office plenty of times, but I always felt justified in the reasons. At the very least, I’d gotten some good entertainment out of it, and I never did anything to harm someone else.
“What’d you do, anyway?” I ask.
The tension returns to his shoulders as he puts his hands in his hoodie and drops his head against the wall behind him. “I didn’t do anything.”
“So you got sent to the principal for your cheery disposition?”
“The teacher’s an idiot.”
“Hey.”
He flinches. “He was doing it wrong, so I told him the right answer. That’s it.”
That’s clearly not it, but I don’t get a chance to ask because the principal’s door opens and out steps Mr. Math himself. He immediately shoots a glare to Mateo, who glares right back, but then his eyes land on me. Recognition sets in quickly, turning his glare into a gloating smirk.
“The landscaper. He’s your kid?” Laughter colors his words.
Okay, maybe I’m on Mateo’s side this time. I stand, pleased to see I’m a few inches taller than Mark and fifty pounds of muscle heavier. “He’s my kid brother.”
He steps closer, dropping his voice so only I can hear him. “No wonder he’s a troublemaker, if his parents can’t bother to show up. Looks like he’s bound for a dead-end job just like you.”
He’s lucky I have self-control or he would be flat on the ground right now, a bruise the shape of my fist on his face. Without speaking another word to him, I look past him to the older woman who must be the principal.
“Can we move forward?” I ask.
She gestures for me and Mateo to follow her into her office. To my dismay, Mark follows us in and stands behind the woman’s desk like some security guard. He looks far too smug, and I hope it’s not because he thinks he has Brooklyn under his thumb. I still don’t know if the two of them have interacted since their date, and I hate that I haven’t been there for her.
“Mr. Torres, thank you for coming. I’m Principal Cheng.” She shakes my hand before settling in her chair. “I’m sorry to hear about your mother’s condition.”
“Thank you.”
She glances between me and Mateo, clearly struggling to figure out how best to proceed. “Mr. Torres, Mateo is a bright student, and we are happy to welcome him to Sky View High School. But we do require a level of respect for our teachers, and—”
“I’ll respect him if he respects me,” Mateo mumbles.
I kick his foot. “You’re not helping your case,” I warn him.
“All I did was correct him on the equation on the board!” Mateo says this to Principal Cheng, ignoring me and Mark. “He was teaching it wrong.”
Mark scoffs, and Principal Cheng purses her lips. “I am sure Mr. DeNiro was perfectly—”
“He was wrong!”
“What would you know?” Mark says with a sneer.
Principal Cheng holds up a hand. “Whether or not he was wrong, that does not give you the right to bad-mouth your teacher in front of the class, Mateo.”
He slumps in his chair. “I didn’t bad-mouth him, ma’am. I just corrected him.”
“You humiliated me,” Mark says.
“Doesn’t seem hard to do.” When all eyes turn to me, I realize I said that out loud. Cringing, I duck my head, but I don’t miss the slight smile Mateo has. “Sorry. It’s been a long day. What’s going to happen, Mrs. Cheng?”
