Day 8 - Wednesday

"Do you want to go pick up a kid and bring him in?" My principal was standing at the door to my temporary office. I glanced up and quickly agreed, not even sure what the situation was. He went on to inform me that a student had refused to get ready for school this morning and as a result had missed the bus. The parent didn't have a car, so there was no way for her to get him to school.

After my morning ritual of giving the daily announcements over the PA system, I hopped in my car to track down the troubled kid. There was no way we were going to let this little guy cheat us out of the money we collect from the state each day a child is present. When I arrived at the apartment, I was thankful not to have been invited inside. The smell of the smoke so permeated the building that my eyes began to water. You have to understand that I have never met this child or his mom before. All she knew was that I was a representative of the school and that I was taking her son with me. I was actually shocked by her willingness to send her seven-year-old boy with a complete stranger. I guess there are some who blindly trust any governmental agency.

With a big smile of victory, the boy cheerfully headed out to my car. Once he was safely strapped in, he was amazed at the moonroof. Apparently he had never seen such a thing before. Not wanting to make him think this was a fun ride, I refused to open it. Instead I lectured him on the importance of school and told him that he was going to have to make up for the time he missed this morning by giving up recess.

The whole way to school he talked happily about all the things he saw as my eyes grew watery and my lungs constricted. I was not tearing up over his unfortunate situation, rather I was reacting to the overwhelming stench of cigarette smoke that permeated his clothing and thus, my car. I knew he was in awe of my moonroof, and I wanted him to hate the ride, but, doggone it, I needed to breathe!

At the halfway point I had to give in to protect the boy's safety and mine. I warned him not to have any fun, but it had to be done. As the fresh air filled the car, I inhaled deeply and felt my eyes return to their normal state.

And so goes the life of a short term AP.