Page 2 of A Noble Affair
Shutting the door behind them, she took a seat across from him and folded her hands on the table, trying to keep them still.Why am I so nervous?“I’m sure you know why I’ve requested a meeting?”
“I’ve no idea, other than your note, which said you wished to discuss my son’s English language skills.”
He doesn’t care a whit about his son,she thought. “That’s not exactly…it’s not so much a problem with his language skills. It’s that he doesn’t seem to understand the material we’re studying, and he rarely participates in the class discussion. When he does talk, his spoken English is pretty advanced, actually,” she added.
“Yes, that’s what I thought.” Mr. de Brase spoke with complacence.
Irritated, Chastity began again. “Have you been following his coursework? His grades on the papers he’s handing in?”
“My son is fifteen years old and doesn’t need me to stand over him to get his homework done. He’s been doing his own homework for a few years now and his grades were not worrisome last year.”
Then why do you keep getting called in for parent-teacher meetings?She cleared her throat. “Something has changed, I guess. I don’t know how he was last year, but in my class Louis is below-grade, and if he keeps on in this way, he’s in danger of failing. I’m not sure he’s reading the assignments. And the papers he hands in are not as advanced as other students his age.”
“Mademoiselle Whitmore, English is not his mother tongue.”
“Yes, but that’s what I’m trying to tell you. He speaks English well enough, but he…he can’t think critically, or analyze what he’s reading, or…organize his thoughts well enough to write an essay that will get a passing grade.” She grabbed the papers from her desk, slapping the colored file on the table with more force than she intended. Mr. de Brase jerked at the noise, which made her flush with embarrassment.
She heard her voice grow sharper. “Here, for instance.” Flipping through the papers until she found the right essay, she pointed to a paragraph in his son’s scrawl. He talks about Aegus being a god. But he’s not a god. He’s the king of Athens. Louis wasn’t even able to keep track of the characters, which means he didn’t read the play and needs to work harder. Or he did read it and can’t understand it, and is therefore in the wrong class.”
“I’m not familiar with—”
“And here.” Chastity knew she was starting to become aggressive but couldn’t prevent everything from spilling out. “He writes like someone in the sixth grade. There are fragments, and misused words, and punctuation in the wrong place.” She stopped abruptly.
Mr. de Brase sighed. “Isn’t this the teacher’s responsibility to oversee all this? What do you expect me to do?”
Ignoring the implied insult, she leaned forward. “Help him with his homework. Take an interest in what he’s reading and what he’s working on. Be willing to hold him back, even, if that’s what it takes.”
Mr. de Brase folded his arms.Oh, he did not like that suggestion.
“It’s your first year here?” he asked.
“Yes.”
“Perhaps you don’t know who I am.”
Her eyes narrowed. “What…”
Mr. de Brase changed the subject so fast her head spun. “I’ll talk to my son about his grades, but I won’t start looking over his shoulder. I didn’t raise him that way, and he doesn’t need a babysitter. Besides, his work has always been good enough before.”
Chastity bit back retorts like “father’s coercion” and “gullible teachers.” Clearly he was used to people eating out of his hands. She would not be one of them. She forced her shoulders to relax. “There’s something else.”
“Go on.”
“For the past month or so, I’ve had this suspicion that your son is using illegal substances.”
Mr. de Brase looked at her sharply, the first sign of possessing an emotion other than bored indifference. “My son doesn’t use drugs. Where would he get them? He doesn’t even smoke.”
She looked at him in surprise. “He smells like smoke every time he comes into class. And this area is wealthy—a prime target for people who sell drugs. I’ve overheard students talking about weekend parties, and someone is getting drugs. That, in itself, is a concern. But when it starts spilling over into his school days it becomes a real problem.”
“What makes you so sure Louis is using drugs? You mentioned smoke, but that’s not the same thing as drugs.”
“I can’t be sure. It’s true—I have no proof.” Chastity took a deep breath, knowing that this admission didn’t add to her credibility, but she was certain enough in her suspicions to insist. “Sometimes I catch a whiff of something that doesn’t smell like nicotine. It’s mostly his behavior in class. He seems so mellow at times, he’s almost comatose.”
“My son is reserved.” Mr. de Brase shrugged. “As you said, you can’t be sure that the smoke is what you think it is. Or even that it came from him.”
“Yes, but—”
Mr. de Brase stood, ending the conversation. “I appreciate your concern for my son. I’ll take into consideration everything you said, but I believe you’re mistaken in the matter.”
