Banana Pancakes ▷ James Rhodes

15 - PARENT-TEACHER CONFERENCE

IT WAS THE END OF LIBBY'S SCHOOL YEAR AND HER TEACHER WAS HAVING PARENT-TEACHER CONFERENCE. They weren't sanctioned by the school, but Libby's teacher wanted to talk with all the parents, if possible, about their children to make sure that they were aware of what they might need to acknowledge and touch upon over the summer and keep in mind for the upcoming school year. Flick thought it was the kindest thing a teacher could think to do, especially when it wasn't mandatory, and couldn't help but feel for how little the woman was making yet how much she cared.

Libby had always talked about how much she liked her teacher and how she wished she could stay in the fourth grade, because she didn't want to have to deal with the mean fifth grade teacher who didn't care about the students and always made sure each student got into trouble at least once.

Though Libby had been more reserved as of late, and as much as Flick poked and prodded, her daughter kept insisting that everything was fine and she just didn't have anything to talk about. While she worried immensely, Flick knew the importance of just trusting her daughter to finally talk to her when she was ready, and chose to give her the space she needed, knowing how well how counter-productive it was to try and force something out of a child.

But the parent-teacher conference was a perfect time to ask her teacher how she was doing without needing Libby to actually come forward and tell her anything, which was helpful. 

But she couldn't help but worry about what she would hear; not because of Libby, but because of herself. She knew she wasn't the best mother, and if there was anything negative to say about Libby, it was because she wasn't doing enough, and she would never forgive herself if she had hurt her child without even knowing.

Still, she took a deep breath and stared in the mirror as she looked at herself dressed in her nicest clothes. She was meeting with the teacher after school, while Libby was at dance, and planned on picking her up afterwards, hopefully with some new insight as to her relationship with her daughter.

Hattie was just as nervous about the conference as Flick was, making sure the younger woman promised to update her on everything she learned; it was nice to know there was something else looking out for Libby, it gave her a sense of comfort. 

After all, Flick knew better than anyone that people could leave at any moment.

Pushing that thought out of her mind, she made her way out of her apartment and out onto the sidewalk, finding that her mind began to wander into darker places as soon as she did, as walking tended to make her think.

As she drew closer and closer to the school, she couldn't help but feel a pit settle in her stomach as she realized she was going to be meeting with her daughter's teacher alone. She had been doing it for some time at the beginning of the school year with the mandatory meetings, but those were always nerve-wracking as well, having to be alone while other parents mingled or at least stuck together.

Kaiko was always better at staying calm than she was. Of course, she was a waitress, so she knew how to deal with difficult people and how to stay calm in stressful situations, but without the barrier of her being a waitress and everyone else being customers, it was hard to know how to act, especially when it came to a professional that knew more than her, at least in their area; though it wasn't hard for anyone to know more than her. 

Still, she always needed an anchor, and despite the years she'd had to adjust, it was still hard. She and Kaiko always imagined themselves being the sorts of parents that had a good rapport with the teacher, always making sure that they knew how to help Libby, supporting their daughter and helping her at school when they could.

Flick was doing a downright terrible job at it currently, though she hadn't expected to be alone when doing it. As if that made any difference.

She finally made it to the school, and was thoroughly worried, wishing for nothing more than to have someone with her, if only f0r a silent moral support, but she had no one but herself.