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Social media isn’t my strength. I only created a profile to look at Yaya’s photos. What Ihavenoticed is that, since I started following Yaya, she’s gained thousands of new followers. There’s a side of me that hopes I played a hand in her gaining popularity.
Movement outside the school door gets my attention. Talia’s walking out.
But she’s not alone.
There’s a teacher standing right beside her. The woman has pecan-colored skin and dreadlocks with brown beads at the end. She’s carrying herself stiffly and her frown deepens when I get closer.
“Mr. Sullivan?”
“Yes?” I draw to a stop in front of Talia who’s staring at her shoes.
“You’re Talia’s guardian while her mother is away, correct?”
“Yes.”
She holds out a hand and gives me a firm handshake. “I’m Miss Abbot, Talia’s homeroom teacher.”
“Nice to meet you, Miss Abbot. Is,” I give Talia another worried look, “something wrong?”
The teacher’s sigh sounds like a tire leaking air. “Mr. Sullivan, were you aware that Talia was called to the principal’s office today?”
My eyes widen. “The principal’s office?”
Talia stiffens.
“From that response, I assume Talia’s excuse that you were out of the country and couldn’t be reached was also not true.”
“She said… I was out of the country?”
My phone rings.
I ignore it. “Miss Abbot, I don’t know what this is about, but I can assure you that Talia would not intentionally lie.”
“That’s unfortunate, Mr. Sullivan, because I can assure you that she did in fact lie. Among other things.”
I shoot Talia a sharp look and then I turn on the charm, trying to cajole her teacher out of her anger. “Our family’s going through a bit of a… situation lately. Also, Talia just moved to the city and is adjusting to—”
“Mr. Sullivan, do you know what Talia did to get called to the principal’s office?”
My phone rings again. It’s piercingly loud in the awkward and uncomfortable silence.
“Excuse me,” I answer the call with a little more bite in my voice than is necessary, “Mosely, this better be good.”
“Bad news, sir.”
Dammit. “Do you understand the definition of ‘good’?”
“Footage of the car crash leaked,” Mosely hisses.
“What car crash?” I ask, feeling a tug on my jacket.
Talia looks up at me with her big blue eyes, tears gathering in them. “Uncle Dare.”
I look back and notice Miss Abbot staring with her arms folded over her chest and a scowl on her face.
Well, she must be fun to be around.
“Sir,” Mosely is saying in my ear, “the footage of Ms. Sullivan’s… incident. It’s been leaked.”