Are you the gentleman we spoke to on the telephone a few days ago?” the secretary asked.
“Yes, ma’am. I’m Roman Lyakhov and this is Darcie Davis-Lyakhov,” Roman explained.
“I’m Mrs. Waters, Mr. Lyakhov. We’re very excited to have Darcie here with us. The teachers are in a faculty meeting with our principal, but I’ll be happy to show you around and get all the details taken care of.” Then she directed her attention to Darcie. “Are you excited to start classes with us, dear?”
Darcie looked at the woman and shook her head.
“Mrs. Waters, if I may… Darcie has been through quite a bit and is very nervous around new people at the moment. She warms right up once she knows you, though,” Roman explained.
“You know what?” Mrs. Waters asked, getting up from her desk and walking around the front of her desk until she was standing in front of Roman and Darcie. She leaned over to be closer to Darcie’s level, then she whispered, but loudly enough for Darcie and Roman to both hear. “I can’t say I’ve been through anything much recently, and I still get nervous around new people. Just don’t like them asking me all kinds of questions, you know?” Mrs. Waters said.
Darcie smiled and nodded.
“You’re going to do just fine here, sweetheart. And if you don’t like something, or get nervous, my desk is always in the same place and you can come talk to me anytime you need to,” Mrs. Waters said.
“Okay,” Darcie said, relaxing a little and looking around the office.
“Let’s get the paperwork taken care of and then we’ll get your schedule worked up and I’ll show you around,” Mrs. Waters said.
Fifteen minutes later they were walking around the school.
“And this is the lunchroom. You’ll sit with your class and teacher, who will escort you to the cafeteria when it’s time for your lunch. You can buy your lunch or bring your lunch,” Mrs. Waters explained. Then she took them to the gym, and showed them the rest of the buildings. The school hosted from Pre-K4 to eighth grade. “Pre-K4, Kindergarten, First and Second grade are in this building the left of the office,” Mrs. Waters explained. Then she pointed at the building to the right of the office. “Third, Fourth and Fifth grades are in this building. This is where you’ll be Darcie. Sixth, Seventh and Eighth are in the rear building behind the Cafeteria. The library is on the second floor above the office, along with the art room and our computer centers.”
“Do you prepare the meals on site?” Roman asked.
“No, we do not. All are catered. We send out a menu at the beginning of each month for the following month. For example, in July, you’ll order for August and so on. We have two caterers, so you’ll have two choices each day. Just choose the one you want, or neither if Darcie would rather bring her lunch that day, and send it back to school with Darcie. You can order small, or large orders. On Fridays we offer smoothies as well. Just three flavors to choose from, but the kids seem to like them. It’s a fundraiser for the school.”
“That sounds awesome!” Roman said, looking down at Darcie. “You want me to order you a smoothie on Fridays?” he asked.
“Yes, sir,” Darcie said excitedly.
“I’ll give you your menus so you can choose the meals you want for the rest of January and for February before you leave today so they’ll be ready when Darcie starts in a few days.”
“That’ll be fun. Want to go pick out your lunches?” Roman asked.
“Yes, sir,” she answered, but then she looked up at Mrs. Waters. “Can we go back to where Daddy will drop me off every day and you show me where to go to get to my class and to the office?”
“I certainly can. But, the first day, why don’t you both come to my office and we’ll go to your new class together and introduce you to everyone?”
“Can we do that?” Darcie asked excitedly, looking up at Roman.
“We can do whatever you want, baby,” Roman said.
“Let’s go to the carpool line where parents drop off their kids and I’ll show you where you’ll get out of the car on regular school days, where your class is from there, and where my office is from there,” Mrs. Waters said.
“Thank you,” Darcie said, feeling more relaxed now as she followed along with Roman. “What about my school supplies?”
“I’ve got school shirts in the