September 30th, 2022
Salem Black
I haven't seen Harlow since Monday. She's been sick all week! I was supposed to go and see her yesterday but my mom (who I never talk to) asked me to come over and help her clean out her basement. I left her house with a box full of my old shit.
Halo's dad dropped her off this morning so again, I didn't see Harlow. Im hoping she's feeling better today. I really wanna see her face.
"Who can tell me the name of the first president of the United States of America?"
"George Washington Carver!" Rhodes answered.
"You're an idiot, Driveway," Valentine sighed.
"Hey!" I gasped, "Go separate the salt and pepper."
My "punishments" for my students are usually meticulous. I started off by having the child separate a pile of letter and number magnets but they were enjoying it too much so I switched over to having them sort through seasonings. They hate it so they'll usually try to stay out of trouble.
I'm a genius.
"You're on the right track, Rhodes! Anybody catch his mistake?" I asked, looking around the room.
"Wrong George Washington." Noah answered.
"Good! Carver invented peanut butter, Washington was the president."
"I was close! Valentine is such a hater."
I giggled at the little boy's comment and walked over to my computer so I could pull up a picture of George Washington.
Our new history unit is U.S. history. It's nothing like high school level U.S. history. Raven and I had to really dumb everything down so that a bunch of seven and eight year olds would understand it.
We had to leave a few things out because some of the information wasn't suitable for children and we didn't want parents calling the school asking why their child was telling them George Washington was gay.
_+_+_+_
"Alrighty if you did not receive a blue, purple, or white star in your booklet today that sounds like a personal problem. You have to explain to your parents that your weren't listening, not me. With that being said I need numbers one through eleven to grab their things and line up.
I gave the kids time to collect themselves then called the other set.
"Now I need everyone to zip their lips so we can walk down the hallway. I don't know about y'all, but I'm ready to go home." I said, grabbing my clipboard so the parents could sign their child out.
Once we got to the cafeteria I looked around to find my group of parents. There was a certain person I was looking for. I couldn't see her but she's short and Jackson- or whatever the hell his name is, is not.
The first two to go was Valentine and Rhodes; per usual. Then Elliot, Melody, and Noah. Elliot and Melody have grown pretty close since the school year started.
I swear they're gonna be just like Valentine and Rhodes and Halo and Atticus in a couple months. Apparently they stared taking singing lessons together.
After them was Violet, Mika, Isla, and Esmeralda. By the time all the parents were gone I only had Rylee and Halo. Atticus and Halo usually ride together but today Atticus' dad picked him up. He said something about a doctor's appointment for his mother.
I sent Rylee to his mom and Halo and I walked back to the classroom. I began grading papers and Halo pulled a book from her bag and began reading it.
"What are you reading, Halo?" I asked.
"Matilda." She answered.
I lost track of time and some how, some way the next time I checked the clock it was nearing three-thirty. I was about send Halo downstairs to the office when there was a soft knock at my door.
"Mommy!" Halo cheered.
"Hi, baby." Harlow smiled, "Put your book in your bag and stand in the hallway for me. I need to talk to Miss Black. In private."
The seven year old obliged and left the room.
I was more than happy when Harlow began walking towards me.
"Hi," She breathed.
"Hi," I replied, "You're not still sick are you?"
"Would I be here if I was sick? That was a stupid question." She giggled.
Not to be cliché or anything, but her laugh was fucking angelic.
"Well you didn't drop her off! How was I supposed to know?"
"I just wanted to see your beautiful face. JJ is waiting in the car and as much as I would love to stay here, he's impatient and Halo needs to eat dinner." She said.
I gave her a small nod and kissed her cheek before she could completely walk away. Because she's so pale I could see the redness rushing to her cheeks. I made her blush.
What an accomplishment.
The two of them left leaving me alone in my room. Well I was alone until Rylee came running into my room.
"Hi, Salem!"
"Hey, Rylee. Why are y'all still here?" I asked him.
"Mommy's coming to pick us up. Momma's car is possessed." The boy shrugged.
"Oh...so why did you decide to come in here?"
"Momma kicked me out."
"Well go tell her I said I'm leaving so you have to go back."
"Ok." He said, running back to his mother's class which was two doors away.
As I was packing up my things my phone began ringing. I quickly picked it up from my desk and read who the call was from. Penelope never calls so it had to be an emergency.
Incoming call from 'Nellie'
Hello?
Salem? Hi, Salem.
What's going on? Is everything okay?
No. One of the interns was eating cake while sitting with the dogs and accidentally dropped a piece. Beast was right next to her and ate what she dropped.
It was chocolate?
It was chocolate. We just called the vet's office. He and I are on our way there. Binx is with me too.
Thank you! I'm on my way. What's gonna happen with the intern?
We relieved her of her duties. She shouldn't be eating while with any of the pets. And she already had two strikes.
Cool. I'm getting in the car now. I'll see you in a bit.
Bye!
Call ended
Who the hell eats chocolate while they're surrounded by dogs? Whoever that intern is has a lot more coming than just being fired. She's about to hear from me, my mom, Raven, Rylee and Ashley, and Harlow.
I hope my baby is okay. He's too young to die.
1093 words
A/n: I'm starting a Penelope fan page. We love Penelope! But anyways next chapter will be a one month time skip because I'm trying to get this book done. I've reached that point where I'm over it. (Unedited chapter bc I'm feeling lazy).
-Mj