Excerpt
Snow Globes
Ava Kelly © 2021
All Rights Reserved
The hallway was silent around them. Across from where they were sitting, at the counter dividing the office part of the school from the waiting area, a woman busily wrote in a big notebook with thick covers and yellowing pages. Abby didn’t know her name, not like she’d known everyone’s back at her old school. Starting middle school had been exciting and scary all at once, but both Daddy and Daniel had assured her it was what all kids felt when a big change happened. It was what adults felt as well, and Abby had marched forward with her chin high and her belly in knots.
She shouldn’t have been worried. The very first week of classes, she’d found that most of her classmates were the same, and the teachers were awesome. It didn’t hurt that the middle and elementary school buildings sat next to each other, sharing a big yard. So Abby still got to see Daniel, and Ben got to see Amber and Sara when their breaks aligned.
But then—
Abby tapped her toes against the floor, the swift patter too soft to cause much noise. She’d waited on a similar bench many times for Daniel to finish classes and drive them home. Except, the other building was made directly the opposite, so everything was like in a mirror world. Left was right and right was left, and thankfully up wasn’t down, but it still felt wrong.
Next to her, Ben hadn’t moved, curled up with his arms around his knees and his face hidden. He held the hem of his skirt tightly in his shaking fists, and Abby bit her cheek. Before she could say anything, footsteps echoed in hurried thumps, and soon Sara stopped beside Ben.
“What happened?” she asked, eyes set on him.
“Ms. Gauthier,” the woman at the counter said. “Apologies for pulling you out of class. There was an incident, and you’re listed as this boy’s guardian?”
Sara pushed the curls off her forehead and sat down with a hand on Ben’s shoulder. Abby shivered, both waiting for and dreading the moment when—
The outside door opened, and in rushed Daniel.
“Abby, are you all right? Hey,” he said when Abby crossed her arms, unwilling to look up. But Daniel’s face came into view anyway as he crouched in front of her. “What’s wrong?”
Instead of words, Abby could only release a trembling breath, and she squeezed her eyes shut. So much for being strong. Even so, warmth fell around her like the softest blanket as Daniel hugged her to his side, and for a while, Abby focused on that. The palm rubbing up and down her arm was soothing. Neither Daniel nor Daddy had ever been disappointed in her, but they might be now. Not that Abby had done anything wrong; she was sure of it. Well, almost anything.
“Amber’s on her way,” Daniel was saying. “I was lucky my class has gym, but she had to find someone to supervise hers.”
Abby leaned in closer. Daniel was teaching first grade again this year. When Abby had been in his class for those few months before Daddy and Daniel had fallen in love over winter vacation, she’d hated gym so much. Daniel had explained why it was important, and then he did all the exercises with them, and it had become fun. She wondered if the little kids liked it or not, but then her eyes fell on Ben, and it was back to today.
While she hadn’t been paying attention, Amber had arrived. Now, at least Ben was talking to his moms instead of looking like a hiding turtle.
“Do you want to tell me what happened?” Daniel asked in that voice he had when Daddy was upset and needed a smile.
But nothing could make it better, and Abby shook her head stubbornly. She wished today had never happened. Middle school sucked.
Principal Saunders came out and talked to Sara in the hallway, but even though Sara seemed angry, they weren’t loud enough for Abby to hear. Then, Daniel was called in, and Ben left with his moms without even looking at her. It was fine though. Ben would be by for dinner later, like always on a Monday, because they had chess practice. All would be well.
*
The bench on the side of the big desk was worse to sit on than the one outside, but that might have been because she was there. Abby put on her best Wednesday Addams glare, leaning back against the cold wall.
“It’s less than two weeks before the holidays,” Principal Saunders said. “Why can’t these days pass without trouble, hm?”
Daniel raised an eyebrow, like always whenever someone did something they weren’t supposed to, and Principal Saunders adjusted his jacket.
“Ms. Hunter is our substitute history teacher for this semester. She started today.”
“Zoe’s on maternity leave; I know. What happened?” Daniel asked.
“Abigail yelled at me,” said Ms. Hunter, and Abby shivered as the words fell down like an axe on wood.
Abby’s family worked in schools. Apart from Uncle Nick and Daddy, they were all teachers. Abby knew them, knew what they valued as good behavior and what she’d done was not. But what Ms. Hunter had said was way worse.
The thing was, now Daniel would be disappointed. Abby curled further into herself. Maybe she should’ve told him outside. Now she’d have to explain in front of the very problem. Abby eyed the substitute with a disdain worthy of Ms. Morticia.
“I’m sure there was a good reason,” Daniel said, surprising Abby from her glaring.
Ms. Hunter raised a finger, red nail polish glinting. “Children should be quiet, pay attention, and not speak back when—”
“If a child is upset enough to yell, something must be wrong. You’re an adult. Maybe you weren’t paying enough attention.”
Like that, with a poof, the sickly feeling drained out of Abby. Daniel was defending her without knowing everything. She blinked fast. Daniel was her daddy, too, even if she didn’t call him that, but he was. Scolding herself—because how could she expect differently from Daniel?—she stood and took a step closer.
“Ms. Hunter saw Ben’s dress. She made him go up front and—” Abby choked on her words, the scene from earlier replaying in her mind.
The teacher had been laughing. “Oh, you poor boy, what are you wearing?” she had asked. “Didn’t your parents tell you what proper clothes are for a boy?”
Then, when Ben had said, “But these are my clothes,” and refused to change the skirt for his gym sweatpants, she’d gotten mad. And she’d asked Ben in front of everyone if he wanted to be called some very nasty names.
Of course Abby couldn’t let that stand.
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