The Unlikely Daddy

• 1 •

"Yes, mum" Alfie said to pacify her, closing the car door behind him and walking somewhat confidently to the entrance of the school.

He knew the school was bigger than his last one, but he hadn't imagined the building would be his huge. He knew almost immediately that he was bound to get lost, and that wasn't a thought he wanted to be thinking at that moment.

"Would you be able to help me?" Alfie asked the woman at the front desk.

"Yes?" She answered coldly, barely even looking up from her computer screen.

"Umm, I'm new here and I wasn't sure where to go" Alfie explained, hoping she would be slightly more receptive.

"The guidance councillor is the third door on the right" the lady bluntly continued, her finger pointing down the corridor.

"Oh, okay, thanks" Alfie said, walking down the corridor, counting the doors as he went.

He found himself standing outside of an office labelled 'Mr Bentley'.

"Are you alright out there?" the man inside the room shouted out.

"Hi" Alfie said softly, taking a couple of steps into the office.

"You must be Alfie. I'm Mr Bentley" Mr Bentley spoke warmly, gesturing for Alfie to sit down in the chair in front of his desk.

Alfie couldn't help but mimic Mr Bentley's contagious smile. As he sat down he placed both of his backpacks down on the floor by his feet, glancing at the door to make sure it was closed before he began talking to Mr Bentley.

"So, I'm the guidance councillor here at Greenfield's. If you ever have any problems or questions you can always come and see me and I will see what I can do to help. I have just got finished reading your file that was sent over to me from your last school. Would you be okay with having a little chat about that before I show you to your first class?" Mr Bentley asked.

Alfie nodded. He knew what was coming, but there was nothing he could do to prepare himself for such an awkward conversation with a stranger. 

"It says here that the reason you have transferred schools is because of a situation with a couple of bullies, is that right?" Mr Bentley questioned.

Again, Alfie nodded, not sure what to add verbally to the conversation.

"Well, I'm sorry to hear about that. Bullying is something we don't tolerate here, and if anything like that was to happen again we would be quick to address it" Mr Bentley explained, feeling sympathy for the new student sat in front of him.

"Now I can also see that your attendance was very sporadic. I understand that that was due to your medical condition and after having a brief conversation with your mum I believe we have come to an arrangement that would help you stay at school" Mr Bentley continued. It was clear that he had these kinds of conversations all day with other students, as he didn't even flinch when mentioning Alfie's bladder problem.

"Yeah" Alfie replied, glaring down at his backpacks down on the floor.

"Did you remember to bring those spare clothes with you today?" Mr Bentley asked.

"Here" Alfie said, picking one of the backpacks up off the floor and handing it over to Mr Bentley.

"Okay, brilliant. So, I will keep that in here with me and if you ever need it you just come and ask and I will give you some dry clothes" Mr Bentley outlined for Alfie.

"Upon your mum's request, we are going to keep track of days that you stay dry and days that you have an accident. This is purely to monitor your progress and to see if there is anything else we need to be doing to help you" Mr Bentley went on as it was clear that Alfie wasn't going to speak.