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“As I already stated, we have a zero-tolerance policy for violence. Three days home might be the wake-up call everyone needs.”

“Fine. Hopefully she will talk to her kid before somebody else has to put hands on him,” I quipped.

“You know what? I’m done with this conversation. Teach your son to keep his hands to himself before he meets his match,” she spat as she sprang from her seat.

Damn, I had a rebuttal on the tip of my tongue, but seeing that ass in those jeans wiped my whole damn memory. What was I doing in the principal’s office again? Oh, yeah. Apparently, my son had beat her son up.

If it weren’t for her bully son and her big mouth, I would have considered following her and that ass out to the lobby. Instead, I got my bearings and prepared to go talk to my son about keeping his hands to himself, sticks and stones, and all that good stuff. Sighing heavily, I shook my head as I stood from my seat.

“Mr. Woods, Victor is a good kid. I would hate for him to go down the wrong path due to anger issues. Maybe you should consider finding some kind of outlet for him.”

“Thank you for the advice,” I mumbled as I headed out of the office.

“I’ll see the boys in three days.”

I made it to the lobby in time to see the other kid and his mom storming out of the building. Victor met me before I could go into the assistant principal’s office to get him.

“Come on,” I said, motioning with my head.

“Am I in trouble, Dad?”

“You have to stay home for three days.”

“Aww, man. We were supposed to watch a movie tomorrow.” He pouted.

I didn’t get him being sad about missing a movie day in school when we literally had access to thousands of movies at home. I hated school, so any chance to stay home without having to worry about my dad beating my ass about it was a good one.

“Did you have lunch yet?” I asked once we were inside my truck.

“No. I forgot my lunch on the counter this morning, and they were having fish sticks in the cafeteria.”

“I thought you liked fish sticks.”

“Not the school kind. I like the ones you buy in the yellow box.”

“Well, since you have to go to work with me, we will have to grab something on the way.”

“Can we go to Divine Smoothies? I want a chocolate strawberry drink.”

“Kid, you do understand that you just got suspended from school, right? I don’t think it’s the time to be asking for a treat,” I reminded him.

“But he started with me! That Theo kid is a jerk.”

“What happened, Vick?” I asked.

He shifted in his seat and looked out of the window before he finally responded.

“He said that I didn’t have a mom. He keeps saying that. I’m tired of him messing with me.”

“What did I tell you about using your words or talking to a teacher?”

“I tried. I even told them that my mom was sick like you said, but every day, he has something to say. I told my teacher one day, and she said to ignore him. Today, he got in my face and asked if I was going to snitch on him again like last time. I hit him in the nose. I rather be in trouble than be a tattletale. He said I was a snitch, Dad.”

I had to stop myself from laughing because I knew this was a serious matter. I remember how I felt about snitching back in the day. No matter if I was raising suburban kids, the streets were still in me.

In fact, I was slightly embarrassed about how I’d handled the other kid’s mom in the principal’s office. If it were his dad instead, I probably would have done the same thing my son did. Even though I was irrationally proud of my son for standing up for himself, his little ass was not getting a treat. He was about to go to work once we got to the shop.

“When is my mom coming to visit?” Victor asked.