My Father's Best Friend

a

hool was bigger than

de looking at it on my first day. Had it been s

I didn't feel intimidated at all that other morni

ated the swarm of students in the main hallway, none of who gave me so much as a second look. Right then

s of kids there who needed help in some way or another. Luckily, that's what I was there for. Hopefully

bered my name or not. I just wanted to have as muc

her half-hooded eyes looking bored with me already. A thread of anxiety wound its way throu

unselor." Despite my feelings, I smil

but a male voice fil

Miss Jacobs. Ho

n the other side of the office. He smiled at me, noddi

ously squeezed-then quickly dropped them at my sides. The only

oyce." He motioned at the woman behind the desk and, a

emed to be more pleasant since she

n my head, sure I would only be able to remember half th

swung his arm in excitement, and

al complied. The guy in charge of the school seemed kind of young for a principal, maybe a little more than ten years older t

e we

mall, but it was at the corner so had two windows. A filing cabinet, a desk with a computer th

as you see fit. With, uh,

rse," I

d there, signaling the s

ble to see all the kids' current schedules. We don't usually print that out unless it's needed, it changes so much. Ah,

time he talked, I forced myself

here. Yes. I'm

l Staffor

you like. All the teache

was just wondering, why di

interview, but the school replacing s

ss and all. Wanted to make a career change. But

thing considering my lack of height had always been a source of irritation for me. I wondered how he kept the kids in lin

red in the doorway, taking everything in. The last counselor had qui

as pretty frea

I bit the inside of my bottom lip. Oh god. What was I getting mysel

? They'd already replaced me, ye

pered out loud. "Yo

t it had padding. And the desk, one of those long ones that a couple of people usually work a

what could wait. In the desk's top drawer were a few files, all of them pretty sparse. Whoever had held the

harp, green eyes. It was a school portrait, and even though the teenager was posed in

acker, f

ly my firs