I knocked once to announce myself, and Principal Severson instructed I could come inside. A brief scan of the room revealed Andee was missing from this increasingly familiar scene.
Severson didn’t miss my confusion. “I thought it might be beneficial if we spoke one-on-one. Keep female teenage emotions out of the conversation this once.”
My fingers tightened around the straps of my purse. “Female teenage emotions?”
“Mrs. Wolff, I have four daughters who are, thank the great almighty, long past their teens years, but let me tell you, there was a decade and a half when I couldn’t breathe without convincing one of them it was a silent bid at making their life as miserable as possible.” He motioned at the chair across from him.
I sighed as I took a seat. “So it’s not just me?”
“You and every other parent of the fairer sex during these impressionable years, trust me.”
My phone rang before I’d finished settling into the chair. “Let me silence my phone.”
“Busy day?”
“Even busier,” I replied.
“Then I’ll get straight to the reason we called you in.” He folded his hands on top of his desk. “Andee was involved in another altercation today during lunch.”
“‘Involved’?”
The corners of his mouth sagged. “More along the lines of the instigator.”
I shifted in the seat. “Did it involve the same boys as last time?”
“One the same. One different.”
A string of curses strained across my tongue. “What happened?”
“Same sort of thing as the last time. And the times before that.” Severson sighed in the way I wanted to. “Anyone so much as says hello to Andee in the halls these days and she takes it as though they’re waving a gun at her.” He lifted his hands. “Sorry to bring up a gun in a school setting—delicate subject matter these days. Poor choice of metaphors, but you understand my meaning, right?”
My forehead wrinkled. “You’re saying people are doing nothing more than saying hey in passing and she’s throwing herself at them, fists leading?”
“And feet. And elbows. And knees.”
The boy with the ice pack clutched to his groin flickered to mind.
“Come on. My daughter might have a temper that could rival a hockey player’s, but what you’re describing is more characteristic of a rabid animal than a young adult who was, up until this year, an honor student.” Twisting in the chair, I pointed at something stationed high on the wall outside the door. “You have cameras all over this school. I want to see the video footage of these encounters with my daughter.”
Whatever softness had settled in Severson’s round face evaporated. “I’m afraid that’s impossible, Mrs. Wolff. Confidentiality matters and underage youth. You’re a lawyer, I’m sure you know all about that.”
“I am a lawyer. I do know all about that.” I sat up taller in my seat. “Along with how to go about getting a subpoena.”
His gray eyebrows disappeared into his hairline. “By all means, if you feel it is in your daughter’s best interest to procure a warrant to view the videotape footage, please do. But let me tell you—without breaking any confidentiality rules—almost every altercation has taken place beyond the scope of the handful of cameras we do have, and the one instance we have documented only shows the lower half of your daughter’s boots and the other boy’s sneakers. Not a lot to go on if you’re thinking of spinning these infractions a different way.”
Inside my purse, my phone vibrated from another call.
“Principal Severson, I’m not thinking of ‘spinning’ anything. All I’m trying to do is get to the truth. And yes, I know Andee is hot-tempered, but attacking some kid for merely saying hi even exceeds her level of ire.”
Severson inhaled slowly, much the way my dad used to when I was a kid and did something he disapproved of. “I have no interest in covering up a scandal, if that’s what you’re quietly accusing me of.” He raised his hand when I started to protest. “I have a job to protect these students, not shelter them. It’s better to learn about consequences for actions in high school than it is to learn about them as adults in the world. If these boys were harassing Andee, I would be the first one to admit it and deal out a punishment fitting. So you can see why I must do the same when it’s the opposite.”
The slant of his brows suggested he was waiting for me to offer my agreement, but I stayed quiet. I couldn’t decide whether Severson was exactly the kind of principal these modern times needed or a dying breed of yesterday whose priority was protecting wealthy families and entitled young men.
“Has Andee been through any big life changes at home recently that might be causing her to act out at school?” he asked, subtly gauging my reaction to his question. “A death? Divorce?”
I bristled, my reflex to all inquiries into the Wolff family’s home life . . . or lack thereof.
“Her nanny that had been with us since she was five decided to retire last year so she could spend time travelling. Andee and her were close, but with her being fifteen there was no need to bring on a new nanny.”
Severson nodded to himself, as though he were making a mental note. “When she’s not at school, what does Andee spend her time doing?”
I shifted my weight from one chair arm to the other. “Typical teenager things.”
“Having friends over?” he guessed.
“Andee doesn’t see her friends from her old school anymore. They sort of lost touch when she moved to Prescott Prep.” I found myself checking the time on the wall clock less than thirty seconds after I’d last consulted it. “And she hasn’t made very many friends here yet that I know of.”
The permanent wrinkles folded into his expression appeared to draw deeper with my response. “Has she gotten her driver’s license yet?”
“Um, no. She hasn’t expressed any interest,” I replied. “Noah or I occasionally drop her off and pick her up from school, but she normally catches the bus to and from.”
Severson made another mental note. “Has she expressed any interests or plans for after high school? College? Careers? Taking a gap year?”
For a moment, I felt like I was seated across from my on-again-off-again shrink, sweating bullets and squirming from her vague, yet meticulously pointed, questions.
“Not really,” I began, wetting my lips. “But it’s early. She still has plenty of time to figure out what she wants to do after high school.”
Those wrinkles set deeper still. “And what about hobbies? I know Andee isn’t involved with any extra-curriculars at Prescott, but what about outside of school?”
My brows drew together as I considered his question. As a child, Miss Evelyn had taken Andee to the library, zoo, and children’s museum almost weekly. Back then, Andee’s hobbies included pretty much anything and everything. At her previous school, she’d been in choir and the art club.
But now?
“She likes to listen to music. The more deafening the better.” My chuckle was nervous sounding. “And she likes to draw . . . sketch . . . stuff.”
“I saw her a few weeks ago at the animal shelter volunteering walking dogs and cleaning out their kennels. She must enjoy animals as well.”