Page 38 of Second First Kiss

“Good morning, Principal Beekman.”

“That’s up for debate,” Beekman said, her authoritative tone making Kat feel like she was a bad seed of a teenager all over again.

“What can I do for you? Is Tessa okay?”

“Physically, yes. Attitude, questionable. Decision-making, not the wisest.” It was said as if it was a given that Tessa would act out like Kat. And that pissed her off. Tessa might be pushing the limits, but she was a good, kind, loyal honors student.

Kat grimaced and she thunked her head against the steering wheel. Twice. “What can I do to help?”

“You can come pick up your sister who is suspended for the rest of the day.”

Kat’s head flew up. “Suspended? For what?”

“Besides cutting PE? An egregious violation of the school’s dress code.”

“That’s still a thing?”

There was a long, scolding pause on the other end of the phone.

“I just meant that I thought we were past silencing kids who are exploring the beauty of self-expression and making a statement about who they are.”

“Her statement is distracting for other students.”

And that sour stomach burned with anger. “Let me get this straight. Because some little prick can’t keep his eyes on his own paper, my sister either has to extinguish her female fire or get suspended?”

“We don’t refer to our students using those labels.”

This was where Kat would normally blow her top. “Pop off” as Nolan said. But then she thought about how it would look to Tessa to see her guardian go toe to toe with an authority figure. How it would appear to Ms. Woods if she were standing there witnessing the ordeal. What Nolan would say.

The last thought shocked her. Since when did she care what he thought about her parenting skills?

Since he would know how to navigate this situation like water over rocks, she thought. Rather than bang into every obstacle, Nolan would glide around them, pacifying the situation, and getting what he wanted without raising his voice or throwing around words like prick.

And if she wanted to stand a chance of being a good role model then maybe it was time she took a different route. Kat closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and channeled her inner Nolan.

“You can see then, how being labeled as a distraction could negatively affect my sister’s self-esteem. And I know none of us here want that.”

“Well … no. Of course not. It’s a simple matter of following the rules.”

“Cutting class? I agree and I will handle that when she gets home. But there is nothing simple about censoring my sister’s right to dress in a way that makes her feel good about herself,” Kat said. “Tessa is an honors student, co-captain of the cheer team, and a good kid. She goes to school to learn, yet you’re sending her home to miss an entire day of learning because you don’t like her skirt?”

Kat could almost hear Principal Beekman removing her foot from her mouth before she spoke. “Maybe suspension was too extreme. But this was the third time she’s been caught skipping class.”

“I wasn’t aware,” Kat said honestly.

“And that’s part of the problem. This is her junior year. An important year of her schooling and I’d hate to see everything your sister has worked for be all for nothing.”

“I agree,” Kat whispered, feeling the burn of blame like a shot of whiskey stinging all the way down to her stomach.

When Ms. Beekman spoke again her tone was soft with pity. “I know that you are trying your best to raise your sister, but it seems that things are falling through the cracks. I have a meeting with Tessa’s social worker at the end of the week and I want to be able to give a glowing review, but as things stand now, I’m not sure I can.”

“Let me assure you that Tessa will show up every day as a star student. And let me prove to you that I am the best choice for her guardian.”

She could hear the older woman considering, hesitating to commit one way or another. She nearly cried when Beekman said, “You both have two weeks to prove that this can work. As for skipping class? One hour of study hall after school as punishment for each violation.”

“And the skirt?”

“I think it’s time to revisit the dress code,” the woman said, and Kat nearly fell out of the car, she was so surprised.

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