Her face was pale and her brows frowned.Monique felt anxious as Miss Sophia made her way to her.Along the way to the kindergarten, Monique had thought of various possibilities, but Angel was a very obedient girl. She did not look like the type who would get involved in a fight.'Why would she fight another kid?'Angel heard her mother's voice and turned around excitedly. "Mommy!"Angel dashed to her mother on her tiny legs, as though her savior had appeared.Monique knelt and carried Angel as she started questioning her daughter. "Can you tell me what happened?"Angel pouted, her little finger pointing in the direction of the chubby little boy as she said, aggrieved, "He snatched my handphone!""Are you Angel's mother?" came a rough voice as soon as Angel finished. "Who snatched your phone? Kole, come here to Grandma."The little boy, who was standing inside the classroom, walked out with his big tummy. "Give me the handphone. I wanna play with it.""Never! This handphone i
"What's there to ask? Yesterday, this lady cheated some money off of Miss Sophia and today, her daughter stole our handphone." Mrs. Whitman straightened her neck as she spoke. Since she had no idea where the handphone came from, she might as well just swindle her way through by claiming that it is hers. If things went well, she might even end up able to take it home so her grandson could play with it."I did not steal that phone. Daddy gave it to me. Give it back," Angel said righteously, stretching out her fair, chubby little arm.Monique believed Angel was not lying and the handphone might have been a gift from Henry. "Hand the phone over to the teachers for now. Let them investigate this thoroughly."Mrs. Whitman sneered. 'How could this lady--who needed to borrow money from Miss Sophia yesterday--buy such an expensive handphone.' Mrs. Whitman put on a disdainful expression. "How can a poor girl like you buy such a phone? Do you even know how much it costs? A few thousand bucks.
Simon was standing along the corridor on the third floor when he suddenly heard a very loud noise. He sprinted toward the source. At the same time, vice-principal Campbell arrived.Mrs. Whitman, who fell to the ground, started shouting, "She’s hurting me! I’m an old lady! Youngsters these days are out of control! Beating up senior citizens."Kole was crying and shouting from a corner, "Grandma, my hands hurt."Kole stumbled to the ground after Angel pushed him. His hands were scratched up.Monique held Angel's hands and stood aside. Her hair was a mess after being pulled; strands of hair were all over her glowing red face. Her face tensed up as she began saying, in a very clear tone so every word she was about to say was clear, "Mrs. Whitman, I'll repeat myself once more: Apologize to my daughter right now."Monique did not mind others speaking ill about herself, but she would never tolerate anyone calling her daughter a delinquent.Her eyes glowed with fury as she fixed her cold
Miss Sophia replied immediately, "During class, Angel and Kole were fighting over a handphone. Both Angel and Kole claimed it was theirs. I didn't notice who brought out the handphone in the first place during class, so I invited both their parents over. I didn’t expect…"Mrs. Whitman knew Principal Leeds since Kole has been attending the kindergarten for some time. Mrs. Whitman started pleading when she saw both Simon and vice-principal Campbell, who was standing behind him, "This woman snatched my grandson's handphone and beat me up. Oh sir, you must do something, in the name of justice for me..."Facing the pitifully crying old lady, Simon gave his order to vice-principal Campbell, "Bring this woman back to the office to rest. I'll make some arrangements and head over in a while."Mrs. Whitman got up and obediently followed Miss Sophia to the office."Miss Christine, please make sure these parents who came to pick their kids up can return home." Then Simon turned around and face
’How many sorrows weighed on her mind?’His gaze was affectionate when he looked at Monique, and he wondered what he could do for her. Monique felt a little awkward. She knew Simon was looking at her, and pondered what was on his mind when Angel told him that she had gone back to her hometown for an arranged blind date. She had no courage to look at him. She pursed her lips and said, “Cellphones are not allowed at kindergarten. Why did you bring it?”Simon looked at Angel as Monique's attention turned to her daughter. Her face was cute, and her eyes rolled with tears, but she tried to hold them back. He remembered Monique told him that her name was Angel. She was like her mother: determined and persistent.His heart almost melted when Angel’s eyes welled in tears. With the cup of water, he walked over. “Angel probably didn’t know. Monnie. Don’t blame her. She’s still a child.”Angel raised her eyes and looked at her mother. Her mother was still looking at her, waiting for an answer
“Okay.” Kole nodded.Mrs. Whitman pulled his ear. “You’re a bad boy.”Miss Christine looked at her and said, “Children mirror the adults; we should be role models for them, so you should apologize to them too.”“Can’t I not apologize?” Mrs. Whitman gulped.Miss Christine sternly shook her head, wearing a solemn expression. Mrs. Whitman was unwilling to apologize, but when she said that woman was from a wealthy family, she nodded reluctantly. Simon gave Miss Christine and Miss Sophia a call just in time. Miss Christine brought them upstairs. Miss Sophia followed with the cellphone.Miss Christine gave Simon an ‘OK’ gesture when they came up. He smiled faintly and let Mrs. Whitman have a seat, while Miss Sophia passed the cellphone to him. Then, he returned it to Monique and said, “Angel said earlier it has your phone number in it. You can let Mrs. Whitman take a look.”Mrs. Whitman smiled awkwardly. She knew that phone did not belong to them. She looked at Monique and said, “Well,
Monique frowned as her resolve wavered. Simon helped her earlier, so she should thank him. She nodded after a moment of thought. “Yeah, sure.”Her voice was light and soft, but it made him unbelievably happy. “Let’s go.”Monique’s lips curved up with a smile when she saw the bright grin Simon had. “I’ll go downstairs and get Angel’s bag. Wait for me at the gate.”“Sure.” Simon quickly agreed.Monique took the bag and Simon brought her to a local restaurant. Simon seemed to know the owner of the restaurant well. When they went in, the owner happily welcomed them, “Mr. Leeds, you’re here.”Simon nodded. He brought Monique to the table close to the window. The scale of the restaurant was standard; the design did not look grand, but it was refined. Angel sat beside Monique as she examined the restaurant with her bright eyes. Then, she asked curiously, “What’s nice here?”Simon smiled, “They have your Mommy’s favorite beef stew and pierogi. Angel, what do you like to eat?”Angel tilt
“Angel! That’s a nice name.” Simon nodded, his eyes were filled with admiration.She nodded and replied proudly, “That’s what my Daddy says too.”Simon was surprised when Angel looked proud. It was obvious that she liked her father a lot, but why was Monique so upset that night?Besides, he heard Angel say that she went back for an arranged blind date, and passed out too. If he treated her well, why did she go back to her hometown for a blind date?Monique was a little shocked and looked at her daughter. Although she unintentionally mentioned Henry, it made her feel a little awkward. She drank a lot that night, but she was not drunk. She still vividly remembered what Simon told her: “Monnie, if he doesn’t treat you well, then let me take care of you. I’ll be good to you, okay?”However, she was already in Henry’s bed when she woke up. If that night had not happened, would there still be a chance for them?Although she felt that she was not a good match with Simon, she desperate