Six Like The Number

Red Flags

*Six’s POV*

When my phone rings in class and I see the caller ID for Theo’s school pop up, I panic as my brain runs through a million worst case scenarios in a split second and I run out of the room as I answer the phone. “Hello?”

“Hi, is this Miss Laura Keller?”

“Is Theo okay?”

“Yes he’s fine. Who am I speaking to?” I breathe out. Thank God.

“I’m his sister.”

“Oh, okay I’m Mia Fisher, Theo’s teacher. Does your mother have a number I could reach her at? This is the only one we have on file.”

“No she doesn’t, but you can just tell me whatever it is and I can pass it on to her.”

“Well, I was hoping she might be available to come meet with me.”

“She, uh, she works a lot. But I can come instead. I mostly take care of him anyway.”

“Okay, that works. What time is good for you?”

“Anyday after 3:30pm or I could drop him off early one day.”

“How about tomorrow morning you bring him by half an hour before school starts?”

“Okay, I’ll see you then,” I say and then hang up. When I turn around to find Axle in the hallway, I’m instantly annoyed that he decided to follow me. When he asks me if I’m okay, it makes me angry for some reason. Why does he think he has any right to know about my personal life?

When I get home from school, I go to Shaunice’s to pick up Theo and she looks at me and says, “You look like you had a rough day.”

“More like a rough week,” I reply.

“Come on in, I’ll get you a beer.”

We sit down at the table after I say hi to the kiddos. She hands me a beer and says, “Alright, talk to me.”

I tell her everything about the whole Axle and Emmett situation, then about my mother’s escapades and finish off with the phone call from Theo’s teacher.

“I mean, what do you think she wants to talk about?” I ask her.

“I don’t know honey, maybe she’s doing an interview with all the students’ parents one by one and I just haven’t gotten a call yet. In any case, you’ll find out tomorrow morning so don’t stress too much. As for your boy situation, of course I’ll watch Theo Friday but the rest of it I think you’ll have to figure out on your own.”

“Yeah, you’re right. Thank you, for letting me vent and for just everything.”

“Of course. I know I say this a lot, but you don’t have to do this on your own, and you need to stop putting so much pressure on yourself. You’re doing an amazing job and you have your s**t more together than most adults I know.”

I give her a smile and say, “Alright, what do we think about pizza? I’m buying.”

Stan arrives just as the pizza gets here and we all eat together before I take Theo home and put him to bed and then make our lunches and go on cam for a couple hours.

The next morning, I wake Theo up early so he’s extra cranky and by the time we make it out the door I’m already ready for this day to be over. I buckle him into his car seat and we make our way to the school.

I park and then we walk inside and Theo leads me to his classroom. When we get there, Theo runs inside the room and immediately goes to the colouring books. The teacher, a tall lady with dark hair and glasses who I would guess is in her thirties walks up to me and smiles warmly. “Hi, I’m Mia. I’m sorry I don’t think I caught your name on the phone yesterday.”

“Hi, yeah, sorry. My name is Six.”

“Oh, I see. That makes so much sense now.” What does that mean? I give her a look of confusion and she says, “Come in, have a seat.” We walk over to her desk and I sit in a chair opposite her.

“So, Theo is your brother?” I nod. Where is she going with this? “The reason I wanted an interview is that the other day during circle time, we were talking about mothers,” My stomach drops. “And when it was Theo’s turn, he said that his mommy’s name was Six and that his favourite thing is when she reads to him at night. I thought that was strange because I felt like I would remember a name like that, so I checked his file and it said that his mother’s name was Laura.”

“If you’re trying to insinuate that he’s actually my kid, then you’re way off base. Our mother is just- she just works a lot.” I can’t tell her the truth because then CPS would be all over us and I could lose him.

“Look, I don’t know what’s going on here, but I’m not trying to threaten you or anything. I’m just trying to get a better idea of what’s going on at home because I want to help. When a kid says their mom’s name is something other than they’re actual mother, it sends up red flags.”

I hesitate for a second and search her face for any trace that she’s lying and when I find none I say, “Our mom, she’s not..doing so well. So I take care of Theo. I have ever since he was born and sometimes, he just gets confused.”

“I don’t think he’s confused at all. He talks about his mom all the time, and how she picks him up and makes him dinner and plays with him, colours with him and reads to him at night. And if I had to guess, it’s you he’s talking about. Not Laura. Your mom, is she an addict?”

I nod. “We see kids around here with parents addicted to drugs all the time, and we have a responsibility to those kids to report it.” When she says those words, pure unadulterated fear courses through me for a split second before she continues and says, “This is not one of those cases. It’s so glaringly obvious that he’s got someone at home doing a damn good job raising him. He’s well-fed, well-clothed, kind, independent, smart. He’s such a good kid. I’m not going to say anything to anyone. I just want you to know that I’m here to support you. May I ask how old you are?”

“I’ll be 18 in January.”

“So you’re in high-school? Or do you work?”

“Both. I’m at Chelsea on scholarship and I work from home in the evenings. But I have a neighbour who brings Theo to school and watches him until I get home so that he’s never alone with our mom.”

“I know, I’m not concerned about that. Do you have a plan for college?”

“Yeah, I mean, that’s the whole reason I’m at Chelsea. I’m gonna go to a nursing school in the area so I can stay at home with Theo and then once I’ve graduated I want to apply for guardianship and move him out of this place.”

“Can I make a suggestion?” I nod. “Apply for guardianship as soon as you turn 18. I’m not going to be the only teacher that notices something is up. And if anything happens, he could end up in the foster system.”

“Okay, I will.”

“In the meantime, I meant what I said about supporting you. If you need anything from after school care to letters of recommendation, I’m here. I wasn’t kidding when I said you’re doing great. It’s not often children of addicts turn out well and here you are, clearly doing very well in school while working and doing a better job raising Theo than many adults do in ideal circumstances.”

I feel tears stinging my eyes, but swallow them down and say, “Thank you, I-I don’t l know what I would do if someone took him away.”

“If I may add, the title of mommy isn’t for the person that birthed a child. It’s for the person that cares for, nurtures, comforts and loves them. So you should feel very proud that he’s given that title to you.”

I can’t help the stray tear that falls down my cheek. I wipe it away quickly and take a shaky breath before saying, “Thank you.”

I look down at my watch and say, “I’m sorry I have to get to school. Thank you, again though. Really.”

She smiles again and nods. I get off my chair and walk over to Theo, kneel down and say, “It’s time for me to go, but you have fun with Kayla and your friends and I’ll see you later, okay?”

He throws his arms around my neck and says, “Okay, Mommy, I love you!”

“I love you too buddy,” I say and squeeze him tight before I head to school.