What Meets the Eye

f o u r

"Zeek?" She called in her loud squeaky voice. 

"What's up?" I wondered. Her tone didn't sound as urgent as I had thought.

"You working? I need you to go to this conference with Aaron's teacher at four, I have to go to my other job and won't make it. I forgot all about it and Steve is out of town." She said referring to her fiancé. She spoke fast as she normally did when she was trying to set something in stone.

"Damn Li, I'm doing a double, but I'll call Xora and have her go. You still have her as one of his emergency contacts right?"

My family was really close, and since Xora had been apart of our lives for almost a decade, she had become family to everyone. She and Li-Li were especially close and I enjoyed the fact that my woman and favorite sister hit it off so well.

I called Zo and begged her to go to my nephew's school, although I knew she'd do it with no issue without hesitation. She had known Aaron personally since he was eight, and I knew she'd get on his ass if he were in trouble; especially with her being an educator herself. 

"Thanks baby. I love you so much."

"Love you too." She mumbled slightly before hanging up.

Unknown. 

I heard heels clicking and huffing coming from the hallway and voices getting closer to my classroom door. I knew it must've been Aaron and his mother coming to meet with me for a conference. I pulled out his homework, class word and test papers just as I hear a quick knock on the glass window of the opened classroom door. 

"Mr. Young?" Aaron called and I stood to greet him. His mother was trailing a little behind and when she entered, her eyes bulged out of her head and her movement ceased instantly. I too, was shocked to see none other than Ms. One Night Stand herself once again in my presence.

"Ms. Greene?" I asked professionally extending my hand for her to grab. She hesitantly took it and I could feel her sweat palms against my skin. I felt a smirk grace my face as I let go of her hand. She cleared her throat and backed up a bit.

"No, I'm actually Aaron's aunt, um, Xora Hamilton." She mumbled slightly and I smiled in her direction. 

"Well, it's nice to meet you Ms. Hamilton." I told her knowing she'd catch my sarcasm. "I'm Mr. Young, Aaron's english teacher." I began as I got to the point of the meeting. "I've actually been concerned about his performance these last few weeks. He seems to be doing the bare minimum just to pass and play basketball when I know he could do much better. He doesn't complete his homework and has failed the last two tests. I want him to have the opportunity to pull his grades up, but he has to want to."

I was taken aback once Xora began to chuckle, but Aaron seemed to notice that she didn't find it funny. 

"Man, Zo, I do-"

"Shut up." She gritted and he slouched in the seat he was occupying. "I won't say too much, because you know your mom is going to kick your ass, but I will say this." she said as she shifted in her seat. "Your ass isn't that good to think you don't need a backup plan." She huffed and I could tell he needed to hear that. 

I smiled and cleared my throat to cut some of the tension. I wasn't trying to get the boy in trouble, he and I really had a bond and I just wanted to see him do as well as I knew he could. "Like I said, Aaron is a really great kid, and I just don't want to see him end up like a lot of the other children here. You understand that, right Aaron?"

"Yeah." he mumbled and slouched his five food eleven frame father into his seat. 

"Well, Mr.Greene, I take it I'll see you after school tomorrow to look over these grades so we can get you back on track?"