I sent Soy home and told him not to say a word until we could come up with a plan. He was too frazzled to argue. Soy walked home along the path behind my house that crossed the woods to his, while I headed inside. When I slid the back door open, I saw my mom and the man in the bowtie sitting in our living room. She sat by the fireplace, and he sat closest to the front door. My mom and the man were mid-conversation when I walked in. He looked at me from the corner of his eye, but kept speaking.
"They're absolutely beautiful, Mrs. Caelum. I don't believe I've seen lilium bulbiferum that vibrant since my last trip overseas," said the man as he touched the lilies that were on the table between them.
"Oh, you're too nice!" said my mom with a giggle.
My mom wasn't known for giggling, but flowers were one of her most favorite things in the world. She filled the house with them whenever she could. The most that my dad would say about it was that fake flowers cost less.
"Does your son have an appreciation for flowers as well?" the man asked, turning to look at me.
His blond hair was pressed firmly against the top of his head, and his pale skin looked almost shiny. The thing that stood out the most though, was his toothy grin. I felt uneasy. I wished that I was still talking to the frog instead.
"Ah, there you are! Come have a seat and say hello to mister...," my mother said, stopping for a moment.
"Ream," he finished for her, "and it's a pleasure to meet you, young man."
"Hello," I said.
"Good job," my mom whispered happily, "that's exactly where a 'Hello' goes! Mr. Ream is from the school board," she said louder, "and he's here to..."
Once again she wasn't sure how to finish her sentence.
"I'm here to speak with you about Miss Weaver's class," he interjected, "we've begun an initiative where we, the board members, speak directly with students to learn more about their experiences in the school system. We'd like to have an open dialogue between the administration and the children."
"I think that's just wonderful," said my mom.
She was smiling ear to ear, looking for me to agree. I gave a nod, then I waited for someone else to speak.
"Mrs. Caelum, we've found that students tend to be more free and honest with their feelings when their parents can't hear. I assure you, I've been trained in creating an atmosphere where students can speak their mind without fear of unjust punishment," said Mr. Ream.
"I see," said my mom. She turned to me and spoke in her usual kind voice, "I'm going to be right here in the kitchen if you need anything, sweetie. Remember that you can be honest with Mr. Ream, and nothing bad will happen. Okay?"
I nodded and watched my mom leave for the kitchen. I looked at Mr. Ream's clothing. He wore a blue suit with a yellow bowtie. It wasn't a regular yellow, though, so I could see why my mom had mentioned it. As he moved, the light reflected off of it in every direction. It didn't move like clothes usually do. In fact, it didn't move at all. I also noticed just how tall Mr. Ream was. He was taller than my mom, even when he was sitting down.
"Has anything strange happened at school in the past couple of days?" he asked right away.
I shook my head hard and fast.
"You can tell me. I'm here to help," he said in a friendly voice. "You see, I didn't tell your mom this because I didn't want to worry her..."
Now Mr. Ream leaned in closer. His mouth looked larger by the second. I was almost positive that he could eat a whole sandwich in one bite.
