Chapter 22: Confrontations I

It was a few days later. Casey and Cia were back in Ms. McWilliams classroom. In spite of everything, Casey was a good student. Familiar with the lesson, her eyes strayed to the windows.

On the street outside, a huge old station wagon pulled to the curb. It was a (1995) Buick Roadmaster Estate, painted blue, with peeling “wood” paneling around the exterior. Inside, there were three rows of seats.

The important thing was (as Casey knew immediately), it was her father’s car. She cried out and shrank back to the far corner of the classroom, crouching down to be out-of-sight from the windows.

Cia and the teacher rushed to her side.

“What is it, Casey?”

“Teacher, it’s my parents, come to take me away.”

“Not a chance. We have all been fully briefed. I’m taking you two to the teachers’ lounge. PEOPLE! I will be back soon. In the meantime, read Chapter 9, there will be a quiz. Paul? Sit at my desk and make notes of anybody who misbehaves.”

Over in the school office, there was a lot of shouting. Casey’s father and the principal were going at it; she was making an effort to keep him engaged long enough for the cops to arrive. (As soon as she heard Pike browbeating the secretary in the outer office, she had dialed 9-1-1.)

Just then, two cars from the Phoenix Police Department arrived, and three officers rushed down the hallway into the school office. There was more shouting, but when an officer pulled out her handcuffs Pike abruptly turned and left.

A few minutes later, Rei showed up, after having broken several traffic laws as she rushed uptown from the Maricopa County Courthouse.

“Is everybody all right?”

“Mrs. Dinwoodie is very shaken. Ms. McWilliams has Casey and Cia sequestered in the teachers’ lounge, I’ll bring you to them, so they can go home with you. Please give me your email, this afternoon at 5:00 I’m going to host a Zoom call with you and Terry McWilliams.”

Zoom

“Forgive me, Ms. Carneros, I’m going to be blunt with you. As far as I’m concerned, it’s not safe for Casey in our school. Unsafe for her, unsafe for us. We’re just not prepared or equipped to repel violent parents.

“It’s been my experience that restraining orders are worse than ineffective. And adding armed guards isn’t a solution either. Casey is entitled to her education, but we can arrange for off-site instruction. Therefore, please, keep Casey home with you while we try and work something out.”

It was far from ideal, but Rei could recognize the reality of the situation. For a month, at least, both girls were staying home.