'Hi, am I speaking to the mother of Jack Kelce?', the voice on the other end of the phone begins, and Taylor takes a deep breath, her heart hammering in her chest.
'Yes... Yes, I'm Taylor Swif - Mrs Kelce', she stutters, unable to think, her work name slipping out before recovering herself, the school knowing her by her married name only.
'Has something happened? Is he alright?', she asks, frantically, not appreciating the sigh that she receives in response from the woman on the other end of the phone.
'Mrs Kelce, Jack is physically fine. He has, however, been brought to the Principal's office, and we need someone to come and collect him'.
'The Principal's office? So he's in trouble? What did he do?', the words tumble out one after the other, her worry giving way to exasperation.
'Jack was in the middle of football practice when he got involved in a fight with some of his teammates. Each boy is saying different things, Mrs Kelce, but they all agree that Jack threw the first punch'.
Fuck. Taylor sighs, rubbing her eyes and running her hand through her hair, now mostly fallen from her ponytail after an hour on the treadmill.
Fighting? Jack? The whole thing seems so out of character, but she replies to say that she'll leave shortly to collect him, arriving at the school 20 minutes later, still clad in her gym gear, Poppy and Isaac in tow.
'Hi, I'm here to collect my son? Jack Kelce', she informs the school secretary, who invites her to take a seat, sneakily handing candy to the twins before answering the phone and looking over at her from behind her desk.
'Excuse me, Mrs Kelce, but Principal Harris would like to speak with you and Jack', she stands, showing Taylor the office door. 'I will look after the little ones, if you like'.
The twins seemed content enough, so Taylor left them with the kindly lady, promising to be back shortly, before knocking on the door and entering, seeing Jack sitting in front of the desk.
'Ah, Mrs Kelce. Thanks for coming in on short notice', Principal Harris begins, standing and extending his hand to shake over the desk. Taylor does so, all the while staring at Jack, his eyes resolutely glued to the floor.
'Please, you can call me Taylor. What's this all about? Jack?', she tries, her son still quiet and brooding, the floor apparently incredibly interesting.
'Okay, Taylor, well Jack here got into a fight during football practice this morning. He and a few teammates had to be separated by their coach. Now we don't condone violence in any way here, as you will know. But I also want you to know that we recognise this is very out of character for your son, so we're willing to give him the benefit of the doubt, if he tells us exactly what happened. Unfortunately, he hasn't been very forthcoming with any information', Principal Harris explains, looking between Taylor and her son.
'Jack? Come on, talk to me', she pleads, gently, reaching out an arm to him and tugging his chin around to look at her. Once he does, she gasps, the bruise already blooming under his left eye, his bottom lip cut. 'Oh Jackie, are you okay? Does it hurt?'
'I'm fine, mom, get off', he shrugs, moving her hands from his face, and Taylor bats back the sting of tears she feels in her eyes, looking back at the Principal.
'What are the consequences? If you don't get to hear what actually happened, what are you going to do?'
'Well, Jack will be removed from the football team', he begins, interrupted only by a shout of protest from Jack. 'Those are the consequences. I cannot tolerate physical fighting in school'.
'Jack, can you wait outside please? Check on the twins for me', Taylor asks him, and he nods, gathering his backpack and walking out the door, slamming it as he leaves. Taylor winces at the noise, rubbing her face, before turning back in an effort to strike a deal.
