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Brian brought the car to a stop in front of Sparrow Hill Elementary and stole a quick glance at Baylee in the rear-view mirror. His son appeared almost indifferent to the fact that he would be attending his first day of school at the age of ten-going-on-eleven. Most children tottered off to school at four years old amidst a barrage of hugs, kisses, and pictures. It was a milestone event that both Brian and Baylee had missed out on and, judging by the look on his son’s face, they would not be recreating that heart-warming experience today.

“You ready?” Brian asked.

He shifted the car into park and stared at the school. It looked like every other public school that he had ever seen; grey brick exterior, blue double doors, windows covered in children’s art work, and a huge American flag planted firmly in the front yard.

“Whatever.” Baylee’s stark response emitted from the backseat.

“Perfect.” Brian faked happiness as he pushed open his door and stepped out of the car.

Baylee slid out of the backseat. He grabbed his backpack that was filled with the brand new school supplies that Brian had hastily purchased from the twenty-four hour WalMart the night before and slammed the car door.

Brian winced at the sound, but he held his tongue. There was no point in wasting his breath; Baylee would just slam the door even harder next time. The two of them approached the double entry doors in silence. Brian was still clutching his car keys in his left hand as he pulled open the door. He was clearly more nervous than Baylee.

Classes didn’t start until 8:30, so the hallways were quiet as they approached the main office. Brian stared at the framed pictures that lined the walls, taking in the smiling faces of all the children who had graduated from the school over the years. He felt a smile creep onto his own face as they walked past the overflowing lost-and-found bin. How many times had his mother berated him for losing a brand new hat or a pair of mittens?

“Here we are.” Brian announced when they reached the office. He knocked softly on the open door before stepping inside.

A middle-aged woman greeted them warmly as they walked in. Her mousy brown hair was greying slightly at the temples, and her teeth were just a little off-centre. “How can I help you?”

“We’re here for ...” Brian stared again. “I’m here to register my son.”

“Excellent.” The woman smiled. “Did you call ahead?”

“He’s the boy that I called about last night, Brenda.” Kayla sailed into the office, her auburn hair swishing in the breeze generated by her brisk pace. “I left a message.”

“Oh, right.” Recognition crossed Brenda’s face. “I have the paperwork right here.” She picked up a few sheets of paper and handed them to Brian. “I’m going to need you to fill these out.”

“Sure.” Brian accepted the papers and took a seat on one of the blue upholstered chairs facing Brenda’s desk.

Baylee flopped down in the chair beside him and let out a loud sigh. He didn’t’ even bother to remove his backpack. Kayla sat down in the only remaining chair to Brian’s left. She pulled a couple of papers out of her bag and brushed her hair out of her face. She smelled nice, Brian noted. He could detect a slight hint of perfume; Dior maybe.

“How are you doing, Baylee?” Kayla asked. She peered across Brian’s lap in order to get a better view of Baylee’s face. “Are you excited?”

“Not really.” Baylee mumbled. He didn’t even bother to take his eyes off of his shoes as he spoke, clearly signifying that he had no interest in answering any more questions.

“I’m sure he’s a little bit excited.” Brian gave Kayla an apologetic half-smile before turning his attention back to the paperwork.

Brian breezed through the first few questions concerning Baylee’s personal information, but he stalled when he reached the parental information aspect of the form. He quickly jotted down his name and phone number, but his pen hovered above the line that asked for his occupation. What was he supposed to write? ‘Backstreet Boy’? He could refer to himself as an ‘entertainer’, but he felt like that term was exclusively reserved for exotic dancers. Brian sighed softly and rubbed his hand against the back of his neck. He was pretty sure that this wasn’t supposed to be difficult. Finally, he scribbled the word ‘musician’ on the line and moved on to the next question.

He filled in Leighanne’s name in the appropriate space, but he left her contact information blank. The last thing that he wanted was for someone from the school to call her. Bypassing the rest of the questions that were related to Leighanne, Brian stopped again at the emergency contact portion of the form. Whose name was he supposed to write down? Nick? No, that didn’t make sense as Nick would more than likely be moving out of state once he got himself situated. He knew that Nick only intended to stay at Kevin’s second home in Louisville on a temporary basis; a month tops. After a few seconds hesitation, Brian printed his mother’s name on the line and added her phone number. His parents only lived a few blocks away, so it was a logical choice. The whole point of him moving back to Kentucky was to be closer to family, and he knew that his mom would be thrilled to find out that Baylee was finally going to what she referred to as a ‘real school.’

“Mr. Littrell?”

Brian looked up from the forms. A tall, dark haired man had entered the room and was smiling broadly at him. He reminded Brian of an older, more distinguished version of Kevin, minus the green eyes.

“I’m Peter Riddell. I’m the principal here at Sparrow Hill.”

“It’s nice to meet you.” Brian stood up and shook the man’s hand. “This is my son, Baylee.” He gestured in Baylee’s direction and said a silent prayer of relief as his son stood up and extended his hand.

“Hi, Baylee.” Peter boomed. “It’s great to have you. You’re going to love being a part of the Sparrows!”

“Yeah, I guess.” Baylee sounded apprehensive as he let go of Peter’s hand. He remained standing and stared at the broad-shouldered man in silence.

“Kayla, it’s nice to see you again.” Peter added as Brian handed Brenda the completed paperwork.

“You too, Peter.” Kayla smiled. “I think that Baylee is really going to enjoy his time here.”

“Everyone enjoys their time with the Sparrows.” Peter affirmed. He peered over Brenda’s shoulder and skimmed the forms that Brian had just finished filling out as he spoke. “Baylee, your dad says that you’re in the sixth grade. Is that correct?”

Baylee nodded. “Yes.”

“Great!” Peter enthused. “You’ll be in Mr. White’s class. How about I take you and your dad down to his classroom now? That way you’ll be there just in time for the bell, and I can introduce you to the class myself.”

“Does my dad ...” Baylee paused and repositioned his gaze on the floor. “Does my dad have to come with us?”

Brian felt his heart crack at Baylee’s words. Why didn’t his son want him to go with him? Didn’t he want his father there for support?

“Your dad doesn’t have to come, if you don’t want him to.” Peter chuckled. “You don’t want him to cramp your style?”

“I just don’t want everyone to see him.” Baylee mumbled. “I don’t want the other kids to meet him ... yet.”

“That’s fine.” Brian was well aware of the fact that his voiced sounded strained and overly cheerful. “I don’t need to go with you.”

Brian glanced quickly at his son who was still refusing to look at him. He was crushed. What had he done to make Baylee not want to be seen with him? When had he become a source of such embarrassment?

“Well, that’s settled then.” Peter clapped his hands together and stepped around the desk. “Are you all set, Baylee? Do you have everything? How about your lunch? Did you bring one, or will you be purchasing one from the cafeteria?”

“Uhhhhh” Baylee hesitated and finally lifted his eyes to his father. “I think I’m buying lunch.”

“Right.” Brian reached for his wallet. “I almost forgot.”

The truth was that Brian had not given one thought as to what Baylee was going to have for lunch. A responsible parent would have packed their child something to eat. No wonder he was being investigated by Child Protective Services. The bitter thought raced through Brian’s mind as he sifted through his cash. As he rifled through the bills, he realized with mortification that he didn’t have anything smaller than a fifty. There was no way that he could hand Baylee a fifty dollar bill and expect him to waltz into an elementary school cafeteria and hand it over to the lunch lady.

“Here.” Kayla reached into her purse and swiftly pulled out a five dollar bill. She handed it to Baylee and smiled. “This is more than enough for lunch.”

“Thanks.” Baylee accepted the money with a look relief. “Dad never has change.”

“Okay!” Peter exclaimed. “Let’s get going!” He motioned for Baylee to lead the way out of the office, and he gave Brian a look of encouragement as he followed Baylee into the hallway. “Don’t worry, dad. He’s going to have a great first day. You can pick him up at 3:15 at the Kiss N’ Ride.”

“Sure.” Brian plastered a smile on his face. “Have a good day, Bay.”

“Bye, dad.” Baylee waved briefly before falling into step next to Peter. He hoisted his backpack higher onto his shoulders as the Principal began telling him about the school’s extracurricular activities and upcoming fieldtrips. Baylee was so engrossed in what the older man was saying that he didn’t even bother to look back.

“Well ...” Brian struggled to keep his emotions in check as he watched Baylee’s blonde head disappear down the hallway. “... I guess I’ll be going then.”

“I’ll walk out with you.” Kayla offered. She accepted what Brian assumed was the confirmation of Baylee’s registration from Brenda and swung her purse onto her shoulder. “Thanks, Brenda. I’m sure that I’ll be seeing you again.”

“No problem, honey.” Brenda smiled. “It was nice to meet you, Mr. Littrell.”

“Yeah.” Brian agreed. “It was nice to meet you, too.”

The entry bell sliced through the air as soon as Brian and Kayla stepped out of the office, and the stillness of the hallway was immediately destroyed by the sounds of students and staff members hurrying to start the day. Children’s laughter invaded their ears from all directions, and Brian was glad that none of the classrooms were located in the same hallway as the main office.

He followed Kayla out of the double doors and into the surprisingly quiet front yard. A quick look around confirmed that the students entered through the back. He assumed that the designated pick-up and drop-off area that Peter had referred to as the ‘Kiss N’ Ride’ must also be located around the back, because there was only one other car parked next to his in the ‘Visitor Parking’ area.

“Does that usually happen?” Brian asked as the two of them strolled down the walkway that led to the parking lot.

“Does what usually happen?” Kayla stopped and turned to face Brian. She tucked a section of her hair that had come loose in the breeze behind her ear and waited.

“You know?” Brian mumbled. He stuffed his hands into the pockets of his jacket and fumbled with his car keys. “Do kids usually say that they don’t want their parents to come with them?”

“It happens occasionally.” Kayla answered slowly. “It’s certainly not uncommon for someone Baylee’s age to not want to be seen with their parents.”

Brian could feel the frown settling on his face as he studied Kayla’s expression. He didn’t think that she was lying, but he had a feeling that she was exaggerating in order to spare his feelings. “He looked embarrassed. Why would he not want anyone to see me? I’ve never done anything to embarrass him.”

“He’s almost eleven.” Kayla paused. “Kids his age can be hard to read.”

“It must be me.” Brian insisted. “Is it how I look? Am I wearing the wrong thing?”

Brian watched intently as Kayla’s eyes flickered over him. “You look nice.” She confirmed; her cheeks turning pink. “I’m sure that Baylee’s request had nothing to do with what you’re wearing.”

“At least I have something going for me this morning.” Brian grinned. “I just wish that I knew what I had done to make him hate me.”

“He doesn’t hate you.” Kayla took a deep breath. “I think that it may have more to do with who you are, rather than how you act.”

“Who I am?” Brian repeated. “You think that he’s embarrassed because I’m a Backstreet Boy?”

“I think that he may be worried about what people will say to him if they know that you’re his dad.” Kayla clarified. “I think that he wants people to know him as Baylee, as opposed to the kid who has a famous dad.”

“I guess.” Brian conceded. “So, what am I supposed to do? Am I supposed to hide from his teacher and his classmates? Should I pick him up around the corner like a creeper?”

Kayla let out a full-blown laugh at Brian’s use of the word ‘creeper’. “I think that you can pick him up at the Kiss N’ Ride. Nobody will pay you any attention if you stay in the car.”

Brian joined in Kayla’s laughter as they resumed their walk to the parking lot. “I owe you five dollars.”

“Don’t worry about it.” Kayla replied. “I’ll just expense it.”

“You shouldn’t have had to give it to him in the first place.” Brian stopped next to his car and pulled his keys out of his pocket. “I should have been more prepared. I assume that you will be making a note about the fact that I sent Baylee to his first day of school without a lunch in your next report.”

“I think that I’ll let it slide.” Kayla smiled. “But only if you promise not to pay me back the five dollars.”

“I’ll take that deal.” Brian returned her smile. “I’ll be seeing you guys soon?”

“Peggy or I will be in touch with you.” Kayla explained. She took her own car keys out of her purse and unlocked the Mazda 3 that was parked next to Brian’s Mercedes.

“Okay...” Brian trailed off; a bit unsure of how to say goodbye. “You have children?”

“What?” Kayla started. The question had seemingly come out of nowhere.

“Do you have kids?” Brian repeated. He nodded in the direction of Kayla’s car, at the car seat that was firmly locked in the backseat.

“Oh.” Kayla clued in. “Yes, I have one; a daughter.”

“That’s nice.” Brian’s statement was sincere. “She must be young, if she still needs a car seat.”

“She’s almost fourteen months.” Kayla clarified. “Anyways, I have to be getting back to the office.” She opened her door and gave Brian a small wave as she slid inside. “We’ll be in touch.”

“Sounds good.” Brian nodded. He waited until Kayla had pulled out of the parking lot before he got into his own car and started the engine. The clock on the dash read 8:49, but it sure as hell felt as though it was a lot later.