Chapter 162


    Chapter 162: A Parent’s Fears


    Edrick


    When Moana brought up the idea of sending E to school all of a sudden, I felt my blood run cold. The


    thought of sending E away every day, where anything horrible could have happened to her, made me


    feel sick. Throughout the entire eight years so far of her existence, I had done such a good job of


    keeping her safe and away from the public eye. Even when I announced her existence to the news, I


    knew that I would eventually have to start bringing her to public events along with Moana, but I still


    didn’t think that I would ever send her to school. I had plenty of money to hire the best tutors for her,


    and her education so far was excellent.


    But, at the same time, I knew that Moana was right to an extent. School wasn’t just about learning; it


    was also about children being given the chance to socialize, form bonds with other children, and get


    exposed to different types of people and different environments.


    Even then, I still wasn’t sure if I could bring myself to let her go. Between my father, E’s mother, and


    the paparazzi, I was terrified about the idea of sending her to school.


    I initially tossed Moana’s pamphlet down on my desk and chose to ignore it. And I did a good job of


    ignoring it at first as I got some work done on myputer, but after a while it was almost as though


    the pamphlet was inching its way closer into my field of vision, taunting me, begging me to look at it.


    And finally, with a sigh, I decided to flip through it. What was the harm in that, right?


    As I flipped through it, it immediately became apparent that Moana had put quite a lot of work into her


    research. She had pictures of each school, their locations, the names of their principals, reviews taken


    from the inte, and a lot of other information. That alone was what kept me flipping, and soon


    enough I looked up at the clock to realize that I had spent almost half an hour thoroughly reading


    through information on fifteen different schools without even noticing how much time had passed.


    However, none of the schools piqued my interest. They were all either too far, not good enough for my


    daughter, or didn’t have the right extracurricrs. Maybe I was just being too harsh, and I was just


    looking for reasons to hate the schools. Either way, I decided not to choose any of them. Moana and


    E would be understandably upset, but I could make up for it. I could take E to a summer club with


    other children, or find her some friends who coulde over for ydates…


    But that wouldn’t be good enough. I knew that, and I only ever wanted E to be happy and healthy


    and to have plenty of opportunities in her life. I didn’t want to be the reason that she felt cooped up all


    her life, and I especially didn’t want her feeling bitter toward me about it when she grew up. So, biting


    my lip, I decided to give the pamphlet yet another look.


    As I scoured the pamphlet for a second time, it turned out that there was actually one school that


    piqued my interest after all.


    It was an all-girls private school. When I looked at the address, I realized that I recognized the street it


    was on; it was only a few blocks away, so it was within walking distance and was still in the nice part of


    town. In fact, I recalled having passed it quite a few times since living here, and I knew how nice it was.


    It was an old building with tall windows and plenty of space outside. I remembered walking past on


    multiple asions and seeing the children ying on a fenced-in yground while teachers watched


    them. Not only that, but it offered pre-kindergarten all the way through high school, which meant that


    E would never need to switch schools so long as we continued living at the penthouse.


    Honestly, it was the perfect school.


    But I still didn’t want my daughter to go.


    Suddenly, as I sat there with my head in my hands as I tried and failed toe up with an alternative to


    sending E to school, I heard a knock on the door. Before I could even answer, the door cracked open


    and Selina’s head popped in.


    “You didn’t eat your dinner.”


    I nced up at the clock; it was after nine o’clock at night. I simply shrugged. “I wasn’t hungry.”


    Selina frowned and came in, revealing a tray of food in her hands. It was a cup of tea and a slice of


    toast with jam, and as she came closer, I realized that I was actually hungry now. I thanked her when


    she set the tray down and expected her to leave after that, but, to no surprise, the old housekeeper


    looked down at my desk and made a hmph sound.


    “Schools?” she asked, picking up the pamphlet before I could snatch it away. The old housekeeper was


    always like this; she was more like a mother to me, or maybe an aunt, than an actual housekeeper. Not


    that I ever would have admitted that to her.


    “Uh, sort of,” I replied with a shrug as I took a bite of my toast, trying to act nonchnt. “I doubt I’ll pick


    one.”


    Selina’s frown deepened as she looked up at me. “Why not? E would love to go to school.”


    I froze for a moment, unsure of what to say. Selina looked back down at the pamphlet with the page


    open to the school that was down the street, and suddenly smiled.


    “I went to this school!” she eximed. “I loved it here. Oh, I wonder if the headmistress is still there.


    She’d be too old by now, I suppose.”


    I hated to admit it, but the housekeeper’s excitement made my heart beat a little faster. Hearing that


    she went to that school, and that she loved it, relieved some of my anxiety and softened me toward the


    concept of E going. I chewed and swallowed my toast, then looked up at her and watched as she set


    the pamphlet back down and made her way back toward the door.


    “Do you think she’d like it there, too?” I asked.


    Selina stopped, thinking for a moment, then turned back to look at me with a smile on her aging face.


    She nodded. “She would love it,” she said. “And I would love to see her finally going to school. Every


    child deserves to go.”


    Without another word, Selina walked out of the room after that and left me alone. I felt awful now for not


    giving E the chance earlier to go to school, and that made mee to a conclusion. Moana and


    Selina were right; E did deserve to go to school if she wanted to go. Maybe it wouldn’t hurt just to go


    and take a look, I thought to myself.


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    And so, the following morning, I found Moana and E sitting at the breakfast table.


    “Get dressed, both of you,” I said. “We’re going to look at a school today.”