Desperate

Chapter 17

Vlad's POV:

Now that he was finally there, he wasn't sure about letting her go. Perhaps Elizabeth wasn't ready for school. Sure, she was the right age but that wasn't what determined she was ready.

What if she was right? What if the other kids didn't like her? What if something awful happened, and he wasn't there to protect her? What if-

"Excuse me?" a soft-spoken voice asked, interrupting his thoughts and forcing him back into reality.

He glanced over to his right, noticing a professionally dressed woman with short light brown hair and black-rimmed glasses covering her light blue eyes. "Yes?" he questioned.

She pushed her glasses up then smiled gently. "Are you two new?"

He glanced down at Elizabeth, cocking an eyebrow when he noticed her saddened expression. He squeezed the hand he was holding, making her snap out of her thoughts and look up at him then smile, but he noticed something seemed fake about it. "Yes, we are." He glanced back at the stranger. "I'm Vlad Masters and this is my daughter Elizabeth."

She smiled wider and held out a hand, which he took and shook. "Well, it's nice to meet you. I'm Rosie Lewis but please call me Mrs. Lewis. I work in the front office." She took her hand back then knelt down in front of Elizabeth, who stepped back a bit and to the side to hide behind her father's leg. The woman smiled gently at the girl. "It's nice to meet you too, Elizabeth. What grade are you going to be starting today?"

The toddler glanced up at him, as if asking for permission to talk with Mrs. Lewis. He nodded at her, giving her his permission. "K-Kindergarten," she answered timidly then stepped even further behind him, hiding herself more.

He pursed his lips; why was she so shy? Whenever he'd taken her to the store or his office, she wasn't afraid to talk to the cashier or one of his employees so why was she all of the sudden shy?

"Is she shy?" Mrs. Lewis asked him, standing back up.

He took one more glance at his daughter before looking back up at Mrs. Lewis. "It appears that she is."

The woman nodded then gestured to the front doors to the school. "Why don't I show you two to the Office? We can get Elizabeth all signed in."

He smiled. "That would be wonderful, thank you."

Elizabeth's POV:

Going to school shouldn't be scary. In fact, it should be thrilling for the young toddler. Her daddy said it was going to be fun going there and all the kids were going to like her. But, Elizabeth still had that fear that maybe they wouldn't like her resting in the back of her mind. They could choose anything to not like about her; her braid, her Hello Kitty backpack, her smile, or her voice. She would have counted her clothes, but it was a school uniform so all the kids were supposed to be wearing them.

"Thank you for your help, Mrs. Lewis," her father thanked, bringing her out of her thoughts, "I appreciate your assistance."

"Anytime," Mrs. Lewis replied then bade them farewell as she went off to continue working.

Once she was out of sight, Vlad led her daughter out of the Office and into the hallway in search of her classroom. As he was reading over her schedule, she took the opportunity to sulk; she really wished he would have just had her home-schooled. She didn't want to be in a classroom all day with other kids; she would much rather stay home with her daddy.

Vlad's POV:

"Well, it seems your teacher is going to be Mrs. Glenn. She is going to teach you Language Arts first," Vlad informed, smiling slightly, "after that, you'll learn Mathematics, then Social Studies, have Lunch and Recess, Art, and lastly Science, which is by far my most favorite subject."