The Unlikely Daddy

• 19 •

"Logan, I know you're just trying to be a good friend, but I don't think any of us really think Alfie is totally fine at the moment" Mr Bentley kept his tone soft.

"He does way better than me at school but you aren't trying to put me in special ed" Logan continued getting more irritated.

"It's not about who's doing better than who. It's about the fact that with extra support Alfie could be achieving so much more. If we don't put that support in place we would be letting him down" Mr Bentley tried to get Logan to see reason.

"Have you spoken to my mum?" Alfie asked quietly.

"I gave her a ring this morning and she is very much on board with the idea" Mr Bentley answered.

Alfie sighed. He knew once he mum had said she was okay with it there was not much he would be able to do to argue against it.

"Should I give Mr Preston a call to see if he's free to come down for a chat?" Mr Bentley asked again.

"No" Alfie rejected the offer for the second time.

"You can't make him" Logan interjected.

"Of course I can't make him. I'm just trying to help him see how Mr Preston can help him" Mr Bentley said.

Mr Bentley could see that Logan was negatively influencing Alfie, and he wished he had never offered him to stay during the conversation.

"He'll stop peeing his pants soon" Logan said boldly.

Alfie wasn't sure that that was true, but he appreciated Logan's efforts to support him.

"Okay, and once he does we can rethink the situation then. But, for now, we all believe this would be for the best for Alfie" Mr Bentley replied.

"Well, you're all wrong" Logan began raising his voice again.

"What do you think about the idea, Alfie" Mr Bentley wanted to hear Alfie's opinions rather than Logan's.

"I don't want to" Alfie admitted.

He hadn't actually thought about it all properly, but since Logan was so against it he thought he needed to be as well. Logan had been at the school for much longer than he had, so he obviously knew better.

"See how you've had to leave Spanish this morning?" Mr Bentley asked.

Alfie nodded shyly.

"If you were with Mr Preston, your accident would have been dealt with there with him and you'd have gone back to learning. You wouldn't have missed the whole class" Mr Bentley explained.

Alfie was beginning to understand the pros of being taught by Mr Preston, but the idea still repulsed him none the less.

"Logan, would you be able to go back to Spanish so me and Alfie can chat about this properly" Mr Bentley requested.

Logan didn't want to leave Alfie on his own, but he knew he would have to go. He abruptly stood up, a look of distain on his face.

"You shouldn't be kicking him out of normal classes" was the last thing Logan said before leaving, slamming the door behind him.

"You know we aren't kicking you out of your classes, right?" Mr Bentley asked.

Alfie shrugged. It very much felt like they were.

"Look buddy, we only wants what's best for you. If we thought you were doing okay in your usual classes then we wouldn't even be having this conversation. Do you understand that we only want to help you?" Mr Bentley said.