Beyond Love

Reminder

Xander almost laughed and I had to pinch his arm under the table. "Ha—sorry, Marital status?"

"We do not wish to reveal the name of the student, for procedures sake and privacy purposes, of course," the deputy headmaster lowered his gaze to scan the complaint that was filed. "There has been strong claims of 'indecency' and 'corruption', although I, hm...don't quite understand what that would mean. I'd like to hear you explanation, but make it brief."

I turned to Xander, confused. Was it that time when Xander came to my class? I don't recall any other interaction...

"We would like to know if the parent specified the exact instance of...'indecency' and 'corruption'," Xander somehow read my mind and was still trying hard not to laugh at the choice of words.

"It is exactly because they have not, that we have asked for your explanation," the committee member seated directly opposite Xander responded to his question straightforwardly, and it was just at this very moment that the bell for the first period rang.

The deputy headmaster had a vague frown that crossed his face, as though suspecting the magic of it all—the power of the bell and its absolutely timeliness. I laughed inwardly, imagining that it was indeed, the certain magic words of a cupcake that timed the ringing of the bell, even the very thoughts that crossed my mind till this point. It sounded cute and amusing all at once, but highly unlikely.

"We'd like to further the investigation at a later time. Perhaps after lunch," he offered but was immediately corrected by the discipline mistress.

"Sir, I believe we have a staff meeting after lunch, and your presence will be required as well..."

"Ah. Right, how about after the staff meeting?"

"I didn't hear about a staff meeting," Xander cut in rather impolitely, but the deputy headmaster didn't seem to mind.

"Not for temporary staff, I believe. But, well. I do see that you're almost always here, given Mr. Ward's paternal leave, so," he turned to the commitee member by his side. "Is he required to attend...?"

"I...suppose there is no harm sitting in," they concluded after exchanging uncertain glances, and Xander nodded, although under the table was busy drawing a sad face with his index finger on my knee. Uwa.

The commitee members and deputy headmaster rose from their seats to leave the conference room when Xander shocked me by standing up all of a sudden.

"Sorry if we...caused any trouble," my mind blanked out and my eyes remained fixed on him. W-what? "And thanks for being reasonable. It's nice to see that we were asked for an explanation, instead of jumping to conclusions."

"H-he's right," I added quickly, not wanting to seem distant either but still recovering from the shock. "Thank you for taking the time to meet us." I glanced up at Xander for a short while and saw his eyes soften.

"No no," the deputy headmaster turned around to give me a pat on my shoulder (I think he picked me because Xander was a little too tall for a shoulder pat), "it's always been a policy of my own to make the best decisions, and one can only do so by understanding. That, and the help you have been giving for the past couple of weeks isn't going to go unacknowledged by the school, so. It is the least we should do."

"Thank you," we sort of said at the same time, unplanned of course, just a little surprised by his gratitude and change in events.

"Which also reminds me of the...strongly-worded complaint," the deputy headmaster went on as he neared the door. "It called for the teachers involved to keep their relationship private. Meaning, well. I'm sure you know what it means."