*six years later*
Leonara’s POV
“Ms. Skyler, your son, Jayden Skyler, has once again put on a fight” the principal admonished me with stern words and a disapproving tone.
My eyes were drawn to my five year old son, Jayden, who was sitting beside me with his head hung low, unable to meet his gaze with mine. In my school days, I have never been to the principal office and here my five year old has brought me here for the third time in just three months.
I am working day and night to give him a good future and here he is fighting with kids his age.
“You are well aware that this is the third time I have had to call you here, and it’s only been months since his admission” the principal continued, her frustration evident.
She turned her stern gaze back to Jayden, who was still looking down, absently moving his tiny legs back and forth. I am sure that at this point he is trying to control himself.
“This is your final warning” she said, her gaze remaining on my son. “If this happens again, I will have to suspend him”
“Please, I am sorry on his behalf ” I apologized. “I assure you, he won’t repeat this behaviour ”
I am afraid that if he got suspended in the very first year of his school, especially in nursery, it might jeopardize his future admissions to good schools.
“You know that according to our school policy, we give only two warnings and in the third, we just suspended the child. The last time I let him go was just because of you but we couldn’t afford to be lenient again”
I nodded in understanding, embarrassed by the doings of my five year old.
“Just look at the boy, his head almost burst”
I glanced at the injured boy, who stood with his mother. His head was wrapped in a bandage, with visible spots of blood on it. Jayden had clearly dealt a heavy blow.
I don’t get where he gets all this energy! I think I need to review his diet and daily routine to help him channel his energy more constructively. It seems like I need to take a break from work to look at him.
“The safety of the kids is our responsibility. What would we have told his parents if he hard a serious injury?” She asked me and I wasn’t left with any words.
As a parent, the mere thought of something terrible happening to my child sent shivers down my spine. Jayden was at fault, and deep down, I couldn’t find any words to defend his actions.
“Ms. Skyler” her brows furrowed with worry, leaned forward, her voice tinged with concern. Her voice softened a bit. “You yourself are a lawyer and you really know how important the protocols of the school are. This is just a last warning and after this, your child will either be suspended or terminated”
My eyes widened a bit at the severity of her decision, but my voice remained quiet. I nodded my head in reluctant agreement, realising that I was not in a position to argue.
Standing up, I took Hayden’s wrist in my hand and walked out of the principal office. I stopped in my tracks to make him understand things but he was not ready to look up.
The principal has already scolded him enough and it seems like this is not the right time to tell him anything. First need to take him back to the house.
With this thought, I came out of the school and was about to walk to the parking area when the mother of the child whom Jayden hurt came in front of me.
She was looking pissed and was looking at me as if I were her enemy.
Considering what my child had done to hers, I couldn’t blame her for feeling this way. I tried to ease the tension by addressing her child first, asking.
“How are you feeling?’
“Shall I hurt your son and then ask him how he is feeling?” Her words were harsh and laced with anger but I decided not to react to them.
“Mrs. Wilson I understand that your anger and frustration are all justified. I am really sorry on behalf of my..”
“What’s the need for being sorry on his behalf?’ she cut me off before I could even complete myself. “When he hasn’t apologized even for once”
“Jayden ” I looked down at him and found him still staring at the ground.
When he is so embarrassed with his deeds and also knows that I will get angry, then why does he do this?
The silence persisted, and I was patiently waiting for him to utter an apology, but no word came out of hid mouth. This only made the situation more uncomfortable and awkward.
“You know what, Mrs. Skyler?” I said looking up at Mrs. Wilson. “He needs a strict father who can put him in the right place. He has gone out of your control. It is better if you…”
Before she could complete herself, she was cut off by a baby voice, which was loud enough to scare anyone.
“How dare you?” Jayden his silence. “How dare you talk to Hayden’s mother like this?”
“Look! Look at him! ” Mrs. Wilson said to me.
“Jayden ”
His outburst didn’t come as a surprise to me because it hadn’t happened for the first time. No one could disrespect me in front of him.
Grabbing his shoulder, I turned him around. As he looked up, his tiny, shining green eyes met mine, and they were wide and filled with pure anger.
In those fleeting seconds, I could see a hint of Ansell in his gaze. But as he continued in his eyes began to soften, replaced by innocence.
“Deal with your son and keep him away from at least mine” Mrs. Wilson taunted before turning on her heels and walking away with her son.
“Why didn’t you apologize?” I asked Jayden once we were alone and on the side of the road.
“Because Jayden never says sorry” Hayden’s small lips formed a pout, and he crossed his arm defiantly. His stubbornness was evident in his voice.
My patience was running thin, and I shot him a stern look. I didn’t want to handle him so strictly, but sometimes he left me with no other option.
Jayden blinked, and once again, his face softened as he looked at me.
“He deserves this because he was teasing a girl. He ran away, taking her lunch box and she was crying out of hunger” he spoke in broken words in his baby voice but it wasn’t hard for me to understand what he wants to say.
It was clear he believed he was justified, but I needed to help him see the bigger picture.
“So? Are you a judge here? You should have complained about this to the teacher or simply shared your lunch with the girl” I told him.
He just looked away without saying anything. I had to sit on my knees to come to his level.
“Jayden”
My hands gently rested on his shoulder and he turned his face to look at me.
“You know need to understand things. You are growing up. Not all problems are solved with anger or fighting” I told him.
“Jayden don’t know ” he didn’t look at me because he knew that he would have to surrender.
He is very hard but to crack and it is now becoming increasingly difficult for me to control him. He has many traits of Ansell and one of them is uncomfortable anger. It was worrying to witness him lose his ability to differentiate right from wrong when he was engulfed by anger, but I am also determined to prevent my son from following in his footsteps.
I don’t want to give the world another Ansell!
“Did you like your mother apologizing to someone on your behalf?’ I questioned him, hoping to make him see the consequences of his actions.
He took his head without making eye contact.
“Then?” I pressed further, and this time, he turned his head to face me.
“Because of you, I had to listen to so much from your principal” I explained my frustration to him.
“You are right, mom” he admitted, taking a small step back.
“The principal should not have talked to Hayden’s mother that way”
I was somewhat relieved to know that he understood and that now he would behave but his next words took me off guard.
“Let Jayden show that principal her place. How could she mess with Hayden’s mother?’ he said, with a fierce determination that mirrored Ansell’s stubbornness.
And before I could know he was running on the streets to get to his principal’s office.
“Jayden stop!” I shouted from behind but he had already lost his control.
“JAYDEN!” The sheer panic was quite audible in my voice.
I immediately stood up when he started running in the middle of the streets.
God!
My heart pounded as I struggled to catch up with him. Every step felt like an eternity, and the world around me blurred into a chaotic frenzy. And then, out of nowhere, a black car came hurtling down the road at an alarming speed, heading straight for my son.
Jayden, equally surprised and caught off guard, came to a sudden, bone chilling halt in the middle of the road, mere seconds away from the oncoming car.
My hands flew to my face as I couldn’t bear to witness the horrifying scene of the car possibly colliding with my son, the only reason for my existence.
“JAYDEN!”