His father gave him a genuine smile before returning his attention to his food, giving Adam the out he needed to retreat.
As he stood next to his car in the driveway, he took a deep breath, letting the crisp fall air fortify him.
“He’s an old man, Adam. Just let it be.”
Yes, he was, but Adam knew from the countless times he’d sat on his therapist’s couch that Grady’s age didn’t excuse his behavior. He should’ve said something. His therapist would’ve encouraged him to. Unfortunately, as he always did, he swallowed his pain and focused on what was in front of him.
“Way to go with establishing boundaries, Adam, way to go.”
“Principal Keller, may I have a word with you, please?”
Janae watched as the woman’s face drained of color, the warm smile she usually greeted people with quickly vanishing. Yeah, she knew exactly what Janae wanted to talk about if her facial expressions were anything to go by.
“Mrs. Sanders. To what do I owe the pleasure?”
So we’re playing ignorant today, huh?
Janae stepped up to the woman, shaking her hand as she usually would before getting right to the point.
“You shut down the design and performing arts programs without any notice to the kids or their parents. What’s going on? This isn’t standard operating procedure. We’ve worked well together over the last two years. What brought this about?”
Principal Keller took a deep breath, before tipping her chin toward the main office.
“Let’s have this chat in my office instead of the hallway.”
Janae followed her, accepting the seat she was offered as the principal sat down on the opposite side of her desk.
“Budget cuts, Mrs. Sanders. We’ve fallen prey to them. We havea new superintendent who’s decided to attempt to rein in our budget. The first things he cut were the clubs and other extracurricular activities.”
“All the clubs?”
Principal Keller closed her eyes, pinching the bridge of her nose. “No, just those falling under the humanities umbrella.”
Janae honed in on what the principal was saying or at least attempting to say in a tactful way.
“So, let me get this straight. This new superintendent cut the arts programming, but everything else, including STEM and sports, he left alone?”
Principal Keller raised soft, thoughtful eyes to Janae. From her experience with the school administrator, the principal always tried to do what was in the overall best interests of the kids. So, if she was doing this, Janae understood she was backed tightly into a corner.
“I know the extracurricular programming for the arts is very important to the kids. I’ve seen how children like your James have blossomed once they’ve found and are allowed to tap into their calling. But we just don’t have the money to support the program anymore. I’m sorry.”
Janae tilted her head, giving the principal a nod and a general smile.
“Mrs. Sanders, there’s really nothing I can do.”
“Oh, don’t worry. You might not be able to do anything. But I can.”
“What do you plan to do?” The principal’s nervousness produced a slight tremble in her voice. Yes, Janae was one of those parents that didn’t take no for an answer, and Principal Keller knew Janae didn’t care about being a pain in the ass when it came to her son-shine.
“Isn’t there a district board meeting coming up soon?”
The principal gave a nervous nod.
“Good.”
“What does that mean, Mrs. Sanders? What are you going to do?”
“Oh,” she replied with a bright smile. “I’m sure you’ll hear about it eventually. But whatever I do, I can promise you we’re getting this program back for those kids.”
