Page 72 of Clean Slade
“You’re Mac’s teacher, right?” I asked the man.
He grimaced and inspected me from top to bottom before his face brightened, and he smiled.
“I remember you. You were at the PTA meeting last week with King Moore. You’re…Mac’s nanny?”
“Yup. That’s me.”
I couldn’t exactly tell them my official role, and it wasn’t that far off from the truth anyway. I dropped her off and picked her up from school. I made her breakfast and helped her with homework. Iwasher nanny.
“Slade Myers. You’re…?” I offered him my hand and winced when I couldn’t remember the teacher’s name.
“Wesley Crawford,” he answered with a chuckle.
The other teachers moved on without him, and he turned his attention entirely to me.
“How can I help, Mr. Myers?”
I took a deep breath, rubbed my hands together, and bit my lip.
“Is Mac doing okay? Have you noticed anything strange about her behavior?”
“Is there any cause for concern? Did something happen?” he asked.
“I don’t know. Her dad says she used to enjoy school, but lately, she’s been acting as if it’s a prison.”
Wesley laughed and repositioned his glasses on the bridge of his nose.
“Isn’t that what all kids are like sometimes?”
I shrugged.
“It could be nothing, but maybe…maybe there’s something more going on. I was hoping you could tell me what that was.”
Wesley sighed and put his hands in his pockets.
“I’m sorry. I don’t know. And even if I did, I’d only be able to discuss it with Mac’s father.”
I ran a hand over my beard, nodding.
“Yeah. I…I understand. It’s just…he’s got a lot on his plate at the moment, and I don’t want to give him another cause for concern. Especially if it’s nothing.”
Wesley pursed his lips and shook his head.
“I sympathize, but the law is the law. If I give you information you aren’t authorized to have, I could get into trouble.”
“Of course. No, I understand.”
Agh. So much for helping.
“What if I spoke to King, and he gave his permission? Would you be able to talk to me then?”
“If he did, yes, I could.”
That would require some work on my behalf, but I could get that done without letting King in on anything being wrong.
For all I knew, everything was fine, and Mac was just going through adolescence a little early.
“Great. Leave it with me. And if you could look into it in the meantime, that would be great, Wesley.”
