Page 18 of Minor Trouble
“This is weird.” I turned the phone to Lyla.
“Is that from Seth?”
“I guess. How would he get my number?”
“Um, didn’t you just tell me he called you about your car?” Lyla tilted her head to one side.
“But messaging me outside of school?”
“Think about what he’s going through. What they’rebothgoing through. Maddox told me Seth’s in bits about not being about to get through to Noah.
I sucked in a breath. “How do you think I should respond?”
“That’s up to you.” Lyla stood up and stretched, gathering her purse and jacket. “Look, I’m going to head off now. I’ll be here at seven tomorrow morning, don’t be late!”
Once Lyla had gone, I went into the second bedroom and sat down at my desk. I logged on to my laptop, something I didn’t usually do on a Sunday evening, but curiosity got the better of me. When I fired up my emails, I spotted several with “Noah Hudson” in the subject line. When I briefly scanned each of the reports from his teachers, my heart sank into my shoes. It seemed things weren’t going as well as I had thought. Closing down the application, I checked my schedule for Monday. There was a catch up with Pepper Smart before lunch, then one with Noah Hudson at the end of the day, along with other staff meetings. I drummed my fingers on the desk. I could potentially check in with Pepper how she thought Noah was doing, then I could check in with Noah himself. After I’d introduced them on Noah’s first day, I’d spotted them hanging out together at breaks and lunch most of last week.
Staring at Seth’s message for about the hundredth time, my fingers hovered, trying to think of an appropriate response.
Ainsley: Now?
I smacked my forehead with my palm, as I watched the message send. What was I thinking? I wasn’t even one hundred percent sure it was Seth. But who else would ask me for help about his son? The dots indicated he was responding.Shit, shit, shit!I tried to find the power button to turn the phone off, so I didn’t have to face up to my stupidity, but it was too late.
Seth: Thanks, but maybe a bit late on a school night :) Do you have some time this week?
Sucking in my lips, I wondered what to say next. Should I send him down the official “get in touch with me via the school” message? Or given he’d reached out to me directly, could I cut him some slack?
Ainsley: Sure. When suits you?
Seth: I can work around your schedule. Maddox is being a total hero about me needing all this time off to deal with Noah stuff.
Ainsley: Okay. I’ll check my schedule and let you know when could work.
Seth: Cool. Really appreciate it. Thanks :)
Okay, so he was a bit heavy handed with the smiley faces, but it was sweet. I figured after I’d tackled all the emails and issues around his son, he was going to need all the support he could get.
The next morning, I chose my outfit for work carefully, fully aware I’d be picking my car up from Seth later that afternoon. I paired a simple black pencil skirt with a red sweater and black, knee-high boots with a small heel.
Lyla let out a whistle when she pulled up outside the apartment block. “Ooo, someone’s made an effort today! Who do you have a meeting with today?”
I climbed into the car and slammed the door behind me. “No one. I felt like a change.”
She peered at my face. “Are you wearing eyeshadow and liner as well as mascara?”
“Does it matter that I am?”
“And that red lip is going to need attention throughout the day.” She paused. “Wait, you have a hot date later, don’t you?” A giggle escaped her. “Did you reply to Seth last night then?”
I chose to ignore her question and turned to look out of the window. “So what if I did?”
“Be careful, Ainsley,” she warned. “This whole situation has the potential to turn into a shit show if you get it wrong.”
All I planned to do was help a single dad out with some carefully selected advice and guidance for his son. Nothing else. Then why did my heart flutter when I thought about going to the garage after school?
My meeting with Pepper proved inconclusive. She told me how things were going for her at home, but when I’d asked her about Noah, she was less forthcoming. All she’d said was he was finding it difficult to adjust to the new school and home life. That was pretty obvious from the emails I’d read from the other teachers. It looked like I would have to talk to Noah himself to find out what the root of the issues were.
When he knocked on my office door shortly after two o’clock, I was ready.
