After Lover for Pay: ONESHOTS

Mother's Day

London was sat outside the front offices of Roslyn Elementary School. It was where Joyce and Benjamin currently went, and while it wasn't always a surprise to get a few phone calls home on behalf of Joyce's behavior, the tattooed man had been shocked to find out Benjamin was actually the one in trouble today. His little five-year-old was always the tamest of his brother and sisters, never caused problems for anyone, or really even talked much due to his solitary preference. If he wasn't playing with Joyce, Ozzy, or the twins, then he was by himself, and to just hear about his first born being disruptive and showing attitude...London wanted to know where the outburst came from.

Stood out in the hall with Ozzy and the twins, London had his muscled arms crossed before his chest, watching through the glass of the office windows when someone from the staff showed up. She was an older woman with whitish blond hair dressed in a navy blue skirt suit, and she was holding Benjamin's hand as they neared the doorway. The five-year-old was looking glumly at the floor as he walked along, not peering up for a second even though he knew his father was there.

The woman whom London knew as Mrs. Halley opened the door and stepped out. When she met London's eyes, she released Benjamin's hand and the boy immediately went to sit down in one of the chairs against the wall. When London took a step in his direction, troubled at seeing his usually happy child filled with sadness, Mrs. Halley stopped him and pulled him aside. She kept her voice down as to avoid anyone overhearing even though they were alone, "Mr. Matthews," she said, "We're going to go ahead and send Benjamin home early today given his actions towards another student. He's usually such a good student himself, and while we here at Roslyn don't want him to miss out on any of his school, we're going to step around suspending him for a couple days. After all, he is only five. On top of that, I've went ahead and had his schedule switch, so he'll be put in a different classroom starting tomorrow."

London didn't mean to sound rude, but he cut the woman off, and said, "Yeah, but what the heck happened? My son wouldn't just start throwing a fit out of nowhere, what happened back in that classroom?"

"Sir, Benjamin struck another child. The only thing I could get out of the teacher, was that he suddenly screamed for another boy to leave him alone and then hit him with a crayon box."

"So my son was being harassed in a classroom that's supposed to be supervised, and he's getting punished for sticking up for himself?"

"I mean no disrespect, Mr. Matthews, but we don't tolerate fighting here at Roslyn. However, given Benjamin is usually such a good student, I've went ahead and had the teacher question his classmates to see if she could find out why Benjamin would feel provoked enough to hit someone else. And like I said before, we're not suspending him, so he won't be missing out on any further education, and he's welcome to come back tomorrow if you feel like he's ready, and a new class will be waiting for him when he does comes back.

Releasing a sigh, London nodded and shook the woman's hand, "Thanks for not suspending him. I swear he's not a violent boy at all."

"I know, sir, I think he just needs a little space."

When London turned round, Benjamin was still sitting down, Ozzy and the twins standing near him while Ozzy showed his big brother the new sunflower pin button he'd gotten today from the store. The tattooed man knelt down before his sorrowful son as the others then stepped aside for him, "What happened today in class, Ben?" he asked, keeping his voice calm. "Can you tell me?"

Without looking up, Benjamin leaned forward and wrapped his arms around his father's neck, holding on until London picked him up from the chair and held the boy against him. He rubbed a hand at the quiet boy's back, "Come on, everyone," he looked down at Ozzy and the girls, "Let's go home."