School

Marco sends flowers to Stacy and Kimberly while they are in school.

 

School

 

 

 

Stacy was not happy over being called to the school office. She was having lunch with Nevada when the lunchroom monitor told her she had to go to the main office. She did not like leaving Nevada when it seemed they were just beginning to really talk, and she hated that they disturbed her lunch.

 Not that going to the office was all that bad; it did not fit Stacy’s agenda for the day. When she saw the huge vase filled with roses, she almost screamed. She thought at first that either Nevada or her father had sent them.

 As she read the card though, she almost burst into tears. They were from Marco. She dropped the card as if it had burned her fingers.

  “Stacy”, the office clerk asked, “are you okay?”

 “I can’t believe that slime did this!”

 Stacy felt like she had been punched hard in the gut. She was trying not to cry, but the tears were flowing down her face. Silent tears and she could not move a muscle to even wipe them away. The school secretary led Stacy to the back hall of the office next to the infirmary. 

“You can sit here for a few minutes” she told Stacy. “Would you like for me to get the school nurse?”                        

Stacy thought about that for a couple of minutes. She was going through all the scenarios her thirteen year old brain could imagine. She knew the office staff and the teachers would report the incident with Marco and her mother to the police, especially since they all knew her father and Laura very well. They would try to protect her and Kimberly from this man. 

Stacy decided the school nurse would be the route to take. After all, she was a registered nurse, and if Stacy had not been harmed, anything said to the nurse could not be repeated due to the patient caregiver relationship. 

“I would like to see the nurse” Stacy said. She was very deliberate in that statement.           

The nurse was taking the temperature for a couple of boys who looked very flushed in the face. It took her a few minutes, but she came out to talk to Stacy.

 “Stacy, is there something we should know about the man who sent those flowers? If there is, then please tell us so we won’t call your sister to get her flowers. He sent them to both of you.”

 “You can’t let Kimberly have those flowers! That man is slime!” It was so out of character for Stacy that she almost scared herself with the sound of her voice.   

 “Has he tried to hurt you, Stacy?” the nurse asked again.

 Stacy, now more in control of herself, lifted her head and held her shoulders square. She knew she had to talk to someone and the school nurse could not tell anyone what she was about to tell her. She took a deep breath and dried her eyes.

 “This is between you and me, because I am your patient, right?”      

 “It is unless he has hurt you or tried to hurt you, Stacy.”

 “Okay, then I can tell you why I hate him.”

 The nurse, who knew Stacy very well, was shocked to hear her say she actually hated someone. Stacy and Kimberly Wright were the two girls in the school who really did not have any enemies. Stacy was the most popular and loving girl in eighth grade to hear the word hate come from her mouth meant something really bad.

 Stacy related the story of the man in her house and what he had tried to do to her mother. Stacy told the story in clear detail and the nurse was almost in tears herself when she was finished.

 “I have not told anyone and I don’t know if I have done the right thing or not, but please throw those things out and call my Dad. I want to go home.”

 “I’ll throw them away for you.”

 “Please do. He has no business doing things like that. He is a bad man and I hate him.”

 “I’ll throw the flowers away, but Kimberly will wonder about why you threw your flowers away though. Maybe we should get the guidance counselor and the four of us work through this together?”

 “This could hurt Kimberly. Mom is still her hero.”

 “That is okay, Stacy. We can all talk this out and the two of you can go home. It seems like you are going to have some really tough times ahead of you.”

 “Not as tough as this past weekend. He gave my Mom a gold bracelet and I saw him try to kiss her, right before I had to compete on the bars.”

 “I know that was hard on you. I’ll get Kimberly and let’s go to the counselor’s office.”

 “Okay, but can we get Kimberly without using the loudspeaker?”

 “Sure, I’ll go get her from class. She has PE right now, right?”

 “Music. She had music and she’ll love you for getting her out of that class.”

 “Okay”, the nurse said. “The counselor is in her office and Kimberly and I will be there in a minute. It might be a good thing to let Ms Campbell know what we are about to drop on your sister.”

 “If you give me about five minutes, I’ll let Ms Campbell know about this and the dreams.”

 “Five minutes then, and Kimberly and I will join you. That should give us enough time to get there. You are sure you will be okay?”

 “I’m fine now.” She gave the nurse a big hug to reinforce her statement. “Thanks for listening, and helping us out.”

 “That’s my job.”