“Mrs. Renton,” Jack called softly.
Mrs. Renton didn’t react, continuing to hum the tune.
“Mrs. Renton,” another attempt to get the teacher’s attention. The reaction remained the same. Which is to say – none.
“Mom!” Jack almost shouted and couldn’t help but smile when Mrs. Renton, startled, jumped up on the stool, nearly falling off the makeshift podium, and briskly turned towards her son. The woman was genuinely scared. Her glasses were askew and slid to the tip of her nose, her green eyes sparkling brightly, betraying the poorly and clumsily concealed joy, as well as new wrinkles. She pressed her right hand to her chest, trying to calm down her racing heartbeat. Jack grinned and bit his lip.
“Sorry,” he mumbled, barely holding back laughter.
“Goodness! Child, did you decide to give me a heart attack?” the woman exclaimed with feigned horror in her voice and, adjusting the thin sweater on her slender shoulders, gracefully hopped off the small stool, revealing to Jack’s eyes a small round aquarium. The woman smiled at her son and danced her way to the teacher’s desk.
“Mom, are you experimenting on goldfish?” Jack asked curiously, observing the tiny fish swimming briskly in the transparent water. “We’re running low on frogs now. By the way, there’s a rumor going around about high mortality rates among rats. Poor things…”
“Back off, Jack,” Mrs. Renton replied, waving her hand while calmly arranging the measuring flasks on the table.
“I won’t. You called me twelve times today,” Jack persisted.
“Yeah.”
“At six in the morning, Mom!” Jack exclaimed indignantly, offended by his mother’s calmness.
“Oh, come on!” the woman murmured melodiously.
“And you didn’t even call back, by the way!” Mrs. Renton delicately adjusted her glasses and looked attentively at her son, scrutinizing him from head to toe.
“Well, I thought we haven’t seen each other in a while, so I decided to drop by.”
“That’s true,” Mrs. Renton replied thoughtfully. “Your father sent his regards,”
she added casually and turned her attention to the leaves of a fuchsia plant that happened to be nearby. “And when was the last time you got a haircut?”
“Mom, is something wrong?” Since Dad sent his regards, something must be up.
Maybe this even explains the sudden change in weather or in Beth’s behavior, who seemed much friendlier today than usual.