Starry Nighy By Edgar Allen Poe (Frerard)

Open House Pt. Two

"How nice to see you again, Mr. Iero," Mr. Stump said as he shook my hand. "Was your wife not able to make it?" He asked. I shook my head.

"No, she's working quite a bit of overtime these days, so it's just me and the girls," I explained. He gave me what seemed to be a sympathetic smile.

"Sorry to hear about that. So, to get started, Cherry and Lily are amazing with their work. All the essays they've done are all very well written and, honestly, a lot of the words they use are much more advanced than they should be at their grade, but I'm very proud of them. Their recent essay on dissecting Frankenstein, was absolutely wonderful. They were able to see things the other kids weren't able to," he said proudly. I wanted to question what Mr. Stump was thinking when he decided that story should be told to young kids, but then again... I can stand behind that. Young children should be shown great literature, to help shape them and mold their minds.

"Is that so? Well, I can assure you they get those skills from their mother. She can pick up on the littlest detail and it's really very fascinating." He smiled and nodded along to my words. He reached around himself and pulled out a folder.

"Here is their work. I thought you'd appreciate reading them. Honestly, Mr. Iero, your girls are some of the best I've taught. They have a great future ahead of them," he said sincerely. I smiled, because he was right. Especially because they were girls, their future would not be ruined. Our line of work would come to an end, and we could finally rest.

"Thank you. Girls, what do you say to Mr. Stump?" I asked, looking down at them. The girls beamed up at them.

"Thank you, Mr. Stump!" They said in unison. Mr. Stump smiled sweetly.

"You're very welcome, girls. I'll see you both in class tomorrow." We bid him goodbye and went to their next teacher.

"What's next, babies?"

"Mrs. Ballato!" They said excitedly, moving me along faster. There weren't too many other parents around. I guess they couldn't be bothered. I smiled at their enthusiasm, but I couldn't help but be nervous to see her husband. I thought back to his message; I hadn't answered it. I did not know what to say. We were both married and it was obvious that he wanted something from me. As attracted as I am to him, I cannot do anything. I am faithful to my wife, even if I wasn't in love with her.

"You both seem to like her a lot," I noted. They giggled.

"Yeah, she's really pretty!" Lily said as we slowly came to a stop in front of an opened door with the older woman's name on it in big bold letters. She popped up into my face out of nowhere.

"Who's really pretty?" She asked. Once again, that was just her personality and I found it rather refreshing. I chuckled and looked down at the girls, waiting for them to respond.

"You are, Mrs. Ballato!" Lily giggled. Their teacher giggled and kneeled down to give them a big hug, causing me to let go of their hands.

"Aw, thank you, girls! That makes me the happiest person ever!" She said. She let go of them and stood back up before holding her hand out to me. I took it and shook it. "It's great seeing you again, Frank," she said. I nodded.

"Pleasure is all mine, Mrs. Ballato," I said. She led us into her room and gesture to the wall covered with a bunch of colorings. I assumed they were the kids from how sloppy some of them were.

"Call me Lindsey and here are the girls colorings right here," she said, pointing out the first two that were stapled up. "It was just a simple assignment to color the states any color you wanted to decorate the class for tonight's occasion. Well, your adorable little girls also named each state, correctly!" She said, her eyes bright, as if they were her children too and she was proud. I chuckled.