Sophomore Year || Parenthood Series, Book One || WATTYS 2018

Chapter Fifteen

SOUNDTRACK: "Money" by Pink Floyd

The front of Winterlake Academy loomed ahead of Jared and Kate as they walked from his car to the main building. The school was set up around a large green space with red brick pathways running the perimeter of it. Several large palm trees dotted the grass and a fountain sat in the center, water pouring down it's art-deco style sides. The buildings were all contemporary and modern.

"Jesus, even the grass looks expensive," Kate muttered, looking at the brilliant emerald green turf as they walked by.

Jared led her up into the main building and followed the receptionist's directions to the administration's office. He pulled open the large glass door and allowed Kate to walk in front of him before following her.

"Good morning and welcome to Winterlake Academy," a bubbly blonde woman greeted them. "What can I help you with today?"

"We have an appointment at eleven for a tour," he replied. "With Ms. Choi," he added.

"I will let her know you're here," she answered, flashing him a dazzling smile. If Kate hadn't been standing next to him, he probably would have flirted with her.

The office was small, but the large plate-glass windows allowed Jared to see into the other offices. He counted at least three other people working in their see-through rooms. One of them answered her desk phone and looked up from her computer before hanging up the receiver and standing. The small Asian woman walked through the little hallway and out to the reception area.

"Good morning, you must be my eleven o'clock," she said, extending her hand. "Jaclyn Choi. Pleasure to meet you."

"Jared Leto," he responded, shaking her hand. "And this is Kate."

Kate extended her hand grudgingly but didn't make eye contact.

"Your daughter?" Jaclyn asked. He nodded. "Well, why don't we head out for a tour of the campus and we can come back to my office and discuss things a bit further, alright?

Jared nodded and followed the thin woman out of the office.

"Our building is state of the art," she started, gesturing to the cream colored walls. "Each student is treated as an individual instead of a number. That's why we keep our admission numbers so low." Other than her voice, the only sound was her high heels on the tiled floors. "If you chose to have your daughter attend, she would be given a personal advisor who would help guide her through the curriculum to ensure she got the best out of Winterlake. Here at Winterlake, we pride ourselves in educating the whole student. That means providing a well-rounded education in the academic arena, the artistic arena, the physical arena, and the community. All of our students are required to complete a minimum of fifty community service hours each school year. Failure to do so results in extreme penalties. Winterlake enjoys an outstanding relationship with the community we reside in and that can only be maintained by encouraging our students to give back to it."

She led them to a set of French doors that looked out onto the quad. "This is our administration building; all of our offices are located here. In addition to the heads of year offices - we have four - we also have our advisors offices on the second floor and our health clinic on the other side."

"Clinic?" Jared asked.

Choi nodded. "We know how stressful the lives of teenagers can be. Winterlake has an incredibly grueling schedule for all of it's students and that only serves to increase the stress further. The clinic offers free psychiatric help to any students who need it. We also have a trained and licensed nurse on staff to handle any emergencies that might arise." She opened the door and led them outside. "This is our quad. Students are allowed to sit outside and enjoy lunch here. We also have several professors who will lecture outside on very nice days. We find that changing the learning environment occasionally helps students stay engaged." She led them along a brick sidewalk to the first building on their left. "This is our maths and sciences building."