Grounded

Chapter 18

One Month Later...

Danny had always had good grades. He'd always been a straight A student.
His mom knew it, his teachers knew it, his friends knew it.

But when his grades started to slip, it seemed that only one person noticed.

The bell rung in his Social Studies class. He immediately gathered his things, and headed to the door.

"Mr. Harp, can I see you at lunch?" His teacher asked.

Danny nodded, although confused.

__________________________

Ms. Charity sighed. She looked at Daniel's recent grades and assignments and knew something was up.

She'd gone through all of his teachers, from kindergarten to the year before, and he had straight A's.

Ms. Charity was 31, had blonde hair and green eyes. She was average in height and weight.

She hadn't mentioned anything to Daniel, but now she was getting concerned.

His grades in her class were only average, C's and B-'s. Sometimes even D's, and if she let the problem go, it could turn to F's.

She closed the folder and tucked it away.

__________________________

"Ms. Charity? You wanted to see me?" Danny asked as he walked into the room.

"Yes, sit down." She instructed.

He sat down in the chair across from her desk. She sighed and looked at him.

"Mr. Harp, I've seen your grades now, and before. Something's up and you can talk to me." She told him calmly.

Danny fidgeted. He knew his grades were dropping, and although he tried, it wasn't good enough.

He didn't blame her, but Kailee was constantly on his mind. He could never focus. Was Satan nice? What did she do there in Hell? How was she treated by the other demons? Was she in trouble? Hurt? What kind of duties as a Princess of Hell did she have?

"I'm fine, Ms. Charity. Seriously. This is just an off year." He assured her.

Ms. Charity heard his voice waver and shake. Daniel was a terrible liar.

"Danny," She used his nickname in hopes of getting him to open up. "I know that sometimes kids think that they can't talk to adults and that it won't help. But it will. I know. Maybe you don't feel comfortable about telling someone, maybe because it's embarrassing or just plain private. But I assure you, nothing you say will leave my mouth. There are times you are going to need help in life, and it's perfectly okay to ask for it."

Danny bit his lip in anticipation. "But what if it's not my place to tell? Do I really have the right to tell someone else's secret just because it's causing ME problems?"

Ms. Charity paused, not expecting that. "No, I guess it's not. But tell me, does this person care for your well being? Do they care for you?"

"Yes, she does. She cares for everybody, more than I think is possible sometimes." He answered.

"So would she really be mad at you for telling someone who won't breath a word to anyone else their secret because it's hurting you?" She countered.

Danny was floored. She was right. He could literally tell Kailee about Ms. Charity's conversation with him, and why she had it, and she would tell him that if it was hurting him in any way, she wouldn't care if he told one of the most trusting people he knew.