Join the Club - Lani Lynn Vale Page 0,20

lunch. Why?

“Sometimes she makes me stand up in STAR lab.” He shrugged. “And other times, she skips over me at lunch when I need help opening my ketchup. I don’t even ask for help anymore.”

Anger started to boil away inside of me.

“Is she mean to any other students?” I asked casually.

“One other student. His dad is a police officer, too.” Asa shrugged. “But he’s bigger and can get his own ketchup packets open. She does give him detention a lot, though. For talking. He never talks during lunch anymore. Neither do I. Except, Ms. Greeley was all the way across the cafeteria today when Oliver and I decided to stack our hamburgers. I didn’t think she could see.” He paused. “Last week she made me get out of line and go to the end because I was talking. We’re not allowed to talk in line.”

My hands fisted at my side as I listened to him explain more and more and more.

Once the dam was broken, he just provided us with tons of things that had me seeing red.

I looked at the clock, upset that by the time that I got all of that out of him, it was well past when I would think the teachers would still be at school.

To help cool myself down, I walked back outside and started to water my plants, hoping that would get me under control.

Except, it didn’t.

When Nico, Bourne and Booth’s father, pulled into Priscilla’s driveway ten minutes later, I marched right over to him, pissed as hell.

He saw me coming and got out, his eyebrows lowering.

“What is it?” he asked worriedly.

I looked back at the house to make sure that my son wasn’t anywhere close. Then I burst out crying.

“Someone’s being mean to my baby!”

***

Bourne

I bypassed the mom with the screaming toddler that was pissed he didn’t get a cookie at the fuckin’ book fair, then went in search of the front office.

I found my destination and marched inside.

Normally, this would be Booth taking care of this.

Actually, he was supposed to take care of this.

After we listened to everything that was being said last night that Asa had been dealing with when it came to the computer teacher from hell, Dad and I decided that Booth was likely too close.

And so was Delanie.

Which was why I found myself walking into the office that I hadn’t been in in years.

“Oh, hello,” an older, smiling woman said. “You’re Asa’s dad, right?”

Some of the perks of living in a small town was that everyone knew you. Some of the drawbacks of living in a small town was that everyone knew you.

“Um, no,” I said. “I’m Bourne, Asa’s uncle.”

Her eyes widened. “Two sets of twins. That’s amazing. Can I help you?”

I looked past her into the long hallway behind her, which was likely where the principal’s office was located.

“I’d like to speak to the principal,” I said, crossing my arms over my chest.

“Oh.” She frowned. “Well, he’s in with a student right now. Can I take a message?”

I shook my head. “No. And this needs done in the next twenty minutes. Why don’t you go get him so I can speak to him?”

The older lady frowned. “That’s… that’s not possible.”

“It is,” I said. “Because you’re going to go in there and get him, and he’s going to want to see me. Trust me on this.”

Principal O’Malley was my principal once upon a time, too.

My dad had saved his life once during a traffic stop.

Needless to say, O’Malley knew me. And he would talk to me.

“Please,” I added as an afterthought.

The old lady blinked, obviously perturbed that I was making her get out of her chair to do my bidding.

But I didn’t care.

I was pissed.

After hearing all that had gone on last night from my dad, I’d decided to make a little visit by the office before heading out with Delanie. Who would be here in twenty minutes or less.

I knew that she was going to come in here and talk to the principal on her own. I just wanted to beat her to it.

The old lady disappeared down the long hallway, and I watched her shuffle along.

Long moments later, O’Malley came hurrying out, completely scooting around the old biddy who had wanted to deny me his time.

“Bourne! Booth? Shit, I can never tell y’all apart,” O’Malley said as he held out his hand.

I grinned. “Bourne. It has to do with Booth’s son, though.”

O’Malley blinked. “What’s wrong?”

I then told him everything that had happened and explained what