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
“It smells lovely!” Angel’s stomach was growling as she gazed at the food served in front of her. With her spoon, she scooped out the largest chunk of beef in her stew to eat.Angel and Monique were carnivores; they enjoyed meat. Monique thought it was funny when she saw Angel with a mouthful of food. “Slow down, Little Angel, or you’ll choke.”“You have to call me Angel when we’re in front of the teacher or the teacher will complain.” Angel had a big chunk of meat in her mouth. She took a while to swallow it before offering her irrelevant answer.Monique was speechless. On the contrary, Simon was amused by Angel’s cuteness and intelligence. He passed a dish to Monique with a smile on his face. “Monnie, you should try this. This meat is one of the best dishes in the restaurant. The pierogi tastes good too; it’s almost similar to the one next to our school.”Monique smiled; dimples appeared faintly on her cheeks. “Thank you.”She helped herself to the feast in front of her. She tri
“I’m glad.” Simon nodded. The other dishes came after that, and Simon did not mention anything about their relationship. Most of their conversations were about food, or the teachers and classmates when they were still in school. Monique started to relax when they started to talk about the fun they had in the past; she had a bright smile on her face.They were almost full when the waiter served the last dish of boiled crawfish. The moment Angel saw the vibrant red crawfish, her mouth watered.Monique looked at her chubby belly and frowned, “Angel, you’ll be stuffed if you eat too much.”She picked a piece of crawfish and shelled it for Angel, even though she was nagging. Simon shelled one too. When Monique put the meat on Angel’s plate, Simon put his on her plate. Monique was a little surprised, feeling like a feather had drifted into her heart, creating a rippling wave. Simon raised his eyebrow. “What’s wrong? Still acting like a stranger to me?”Monique shook her head and ate the