Hazel POV:
I hold Mila to my chest as she sleeps restlessly. It's been a long night with a cranky little girl. Her throat is swollen, and she had trouble sleeping. Poor thing slept on my chest all night. Even Kai and West showed concern for her when she wouldn't stop crying. They tried to calm her, but Mila wanted her Mama. She wouldn't even bother with Theo.
Currently, Theo is getting ready to wake the boys for school. Recently, we've learned that they've been slacking in school, so he's headed in for a parent teacher conference. I was supposed to go with them, but Mila needs me right now. "Are you going to be okay with her? We can reschedule this." Theo asks with a touch of concern on his face as he slips on his pants.
"I'm sure. The boys' grades are slipping, and we need to get on that. They're good boys, so something has to be going on." I reply while patting Mila's diapered butt when she starts to fuss. Theo nods, still looking a little unsure.
"Alright. I'm one phone call away. If you guys need anything let me know." When I agree, Theo walks off to get the boys. As soon as the bedroom door is shut, Mila starts crying again. She needs more sleep and her medicine. I have no idea how I'm going to get her to swallow a pill right now.
I'm going to have to chop it up and put it in a breastmilk bottle. Hopefully, she'll take it. If not, I'm not sure what I'm going to do. With a weary sigh, I stand up and head downstairs. Luna greets me at the bottom of the stairs with a happy wag of her tail. She happily trots towards me and stands up on her hind legs to sniff Mila's foot. "She's not feeling well, Luna. Let her sleep."
My happy, fat dog trots off towards the kitchen and sits in front of her food bowl. It's empty, so I quickly fill it while trying to calm Mila. Her cries are slowing, but I can tell it's about to start up again. "Hold on, pea. Mama's getting you a baba." I coo, heading to the freezer and grab a frozen bag of breastmilk. It's dated from a few months ago, so it still should be good. While that's thawing under some hot water in the sink, I wrap Mila in her sling. The skin to skin contact with my chest keeps her calm for a while.
"There, snug as a bug in a rug." I tell her while swiping away some tears that have fallen on her cherub cheeks. I pat Mila's butt while I walk into the kitchen to get started chopping up her medicine. The process is quick and finished by the time her milk is warmed up. Pouring the bag into a bottle, I add in the chopped-up medicine, then offer it to Mila. She sucks on the bottle wile I move around the kitchen, preparing some food for myself.
A bagel with cream cheese, salmon, and everything but the bagel seasoning is what rests on my plate in front of me. Mila eyes my breakfast while slowly sipping on her bottle. She probably wants real food, but her throat is too swollen to have solids right now. Milk is dribbling down her chin and I swipe it away with a burp cloth. "You are one messy girl." I laugh while carrying my plate up to my office. Upon sitting down and booting up my computer, I see the emails waiting for me. A soft groan escapes me. So much work to do with a sick baby. Hopefully, I can get through a couple consultations before Mila decides she's had enough and starts crying again.
***
Theo POV:
The boys are both quiet on the drive to school. Kai sits beside me in the passenger seat, West sitting behind the drivers seat. Kai seems a tad bit nervous. He wont stop biting down on his lip ring and twiddling his fingers. West doesn't seem to be fairing any better. He's anxiously biting his fingernails and tapping his foot on the floorboard. Whatever they have done, I can guarantee it wasn't that serious. My boys are good. They do their chores, abide by the rules, and don't put up a fit when asked to do something. West even started picking up on some chores around the house since he started staying with us. We didn't even have to ask him. If he sees something that needs done, he does it.
"Do either of you want to tell me anything before we walk in here? I would prefer to hear about this before the teachers try and make you guys seem like villains." I comment as I pull into a parking spot at the front of the school, shutting off the engine. Kai shakes his head and turns to stare out of the window. West just sits there with his hands in his lap and a blank look on his face. "Alrighty then. Let's go."
As soon as we're in the school and sitting at a large, dark wood circular table, several teachers enter the room. They all take their seats while I check the time on my watch. I hope this gets done quickly. I really want to get back to Hazel and Mila. My baby girl needs me, and Hazel needs to work. I'm sure it's not easy to work while taking care of a sick baby. The leader of the group who I know as the principal, clears his throat and adjusts his red and black striped tie. "We're just waiting on another group. They should be here any moment."
Kai and West sit side by side in their matching school uniforms. They won't look at anybody but each other. What the hell did they get themselves into for a meeting of this size? It couldn't have been that bad because I would've gotten a call from the school instead of being called into a meeting. The door squeaking open interrupts me from my train of thought, and I turn my head towards the door. An older, wealthy couple walks in with a teenage boy in between them. He looks like the typical jock stereotype. Blonde hair, letterman jacket over his school uniform, and a buff build. They take the three empty seats at the table and the meeting begins.
The principal pulls some paperwork out of a briefcase and sits there quietly while sorting through the stack. "Can we hurry this up, please? I have a sick baby at home and a wife that needs to work." I say after enough time has passed. I mean, come on. We've been sitting here for nearly twenty minutes now. The principal's head snaps upwards towards the sound of my voice, and he adjusts the glasses that are resting on the bridge of his nose.
"Mr. Thomas, yes? If you would just let me read through these reports, then we can get to the root of why you were invited here today. Give me a few more moments." He didn't read the reports before inviting me to this god forsaken conference? I pay a hefty amount of money for Kai to attend this school, and the man didn't even prepare himself. I scoff and discreetly roll my eyes. The blonde boy snorts with repressed laughter and I see his father slap the side of his arm. "Shut it, Cody." He snaps.
My left eyebrow raises and finally, the principal speaks, "It has been brought to our attention that some bullying has been going on between Cody, West, and Malikai. Malikai claims that Cody has been bullying him for some time now and it has progressively gotten worse. Cody, on the other hand, claims that West has been bullying him. We've come together today to get to the root of the problem. Our school has a zero-tolerance policy against bullying." Is that it? Why were West and Kai so nervous about this in the car? Unless they were the ones doing the bullying. I highly doubt that, though.
"It's true, Headmaster. West has been harassing me since the middle of the school year. I don't know what I did for it to start, but he started spreading nasty rumors about me." Cody is laying it on thick and he's a good actor, but I see right through it. The principal holds up his hand, indicating that Cody needs to shut up. Once Cody stops talking, he says, "I'll let Malikai speak first. Go ahead." He gestures for Kai to tell his side of the story and what he says breaks my heart.
"Basically, Cody started harassing me when West and I came out as gay. At first, he would just bump me on the shoulder when I walked past him in the halls. Eventually, he started pulling harsh pranks. I thought I could handle it because I'm tough, always have been, but he started picking on West. Cody would call him slurs and spread rumors that he had AIDS. Mr. Roman, who's sitting right there," Kai pauses and points to a pale looking teacher, then continues, "Saw this happen several times and just ignored it. I snapped one day and said some harsh things. Cody didn't like it, so I continued. West wanted me to stop, but he just made me so angry.
"I can handle some homophobic loser picking on me, but not my boyfriend. He wouldn't stand up for himself, claiming that it would only cause more problems. It isn't fair for him to endure bullying right in front of teachers, so I did what he wouldn't. If anybody is to blame here, it's Cody and I. We both bullied each other." Kai sits back in his chair and rests his hands on his lap.
The principal nods and scribbles something down on his notepad. "Thank you for your side, Kai. Go ahead and tell your side, Cody." The boy proceeds to tell the most bullshit story I've ever heard. Mentioning, I'm a lawyer and have heard a lot of made-up sob stories. My eyes practically plant themselves in the back of my head with the force I used to roll them. Even the shits parents are defending him. I just hope the adults in this room can tell that he's lying, otherwise I'm going to cause a scene.
"Thank you for your side of the story, Cody, albeit your untrue story. Several students and camera footage confirm Malikai's side of the story. He also kept a notebook of all the dates the bullying happened, making it easy to track down the camera footage. This is a difficult situation to handle since there was bullying on both sides. Since a teacher did see something, but refused to do anything about it, he will be disciplined as well. My professional advice is a week's suspension for Cody, and a detention for Malikai. He is the victim in this situation, but did engage in bullying. Cody will also not participate in football this season. He will be benched until I decide otherwise. Malikai will not receive any disciplinary action since he refused to engage."
A smug smirk crosses my face as I watch the Cody's parents rage at the principal. "My decision is final and cannot be changed. Cody has a history with bullying. I should've listened to the other students that came forward. That is my fault and I take full responsibility. Thank you for coming today. Malikai and West, you may head to class. Malikai, you will serve you detention after school today. Cody, you can head to my office to receive your suspension papers. Theodore, you're free to go."
I stand up and push my chair in, wishing my boys a good day at school. Am I mad at Kai? Not really. Nobody helped him so he took matters into his own hands. What else was he supposed to do? Those who throw stones should not live in glass houses. Kai gave as good as he got. I'm just happy this whole situation was solved amicably. Now, it's time to return home to my wife and baby girl.