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only five so it is her first experience with school and I am going to be blunt when I say I am extremely disappointed with the outcome.”
    Mr. Ewing raises his brow. “Please do tell me what the problem is.”
    “The little girl has had nothing but trauma and sorrow in her life. She has suffered what no child should, and due to these unfortunate circumstances she has withdrawn into herself as a way of coping. She doesn’t speak and has a hard time with new situations and people.”
    His face softens. “You are speaking of Grace Vaughn, yes?”
    I am both surprised and relieved he knows of her.
    “Yes, I am. I’m afraid I might be overstepping and her brother is going to be furious when he finds out, but I’m afraid this is more than just about her now. I am extremely upset with Miss Baxter and her method of teaching, or should I say lack thereof.”
    “Really? Is there an issue I’m unaware of?”
    “Not an issue as much as a lack of understanding on Miss Baxter’s part. It has been months since Grace started school and not only has she made no progress, she has gotten much worse. She is afraid of the kids and her teacher, and after I met the woman I understand why. To be blunt, sir, Miss Baxter has no compassion for special needs children and doesn’t have the time to put in the effort, or so she says. I refuse to stand for this in the schools. I am very passionate about how we teach our children. If we can’t accept them for where and who they are, how are we going to teach their peers to do so?”
    He nods in understanding, concern all over his face. “I completely agree with you; this isn’t good at all. I had no idea Miss Baxter had this approach.”
    “It isn’t your fault and I’m not laying the blame with you, but I want her out of this school immediately. She might be better suited working with older kids, which is fine if she is going to stay with teaching. At this point I think a new profession would suit her best. I am not going to make that choice for her. However, before she is allowed anywhere near another child I want her to take some sensitivity training and several classes about working with special needs kids. If I have to start a new program to make this happen in all schools I will. I already have an Act in place that has integrated special needs kids, and this should fall under that.”
    “Absolutely,” Mr. Ewing says.
    “Are you going to be short staffed now? Or do you have someone to fill her place?”
    “No, I have just the person. In fact, she retired a few months ago but told me she would be happy to fill in whenever she was needed. We can pull her back and have an intern with her until they can take over.”
    “That sounds great. I’m also going to get some people to come in and talk to the kids about special friends, and I’m going to make a visit myself. I really appreciate your understanding in this matter. I am going to be observing the other classes as well to make sure this is an isolated issue. Grace has a long way to go, and I truly believe with the right amount of encouragement and understanding she will bloom.”
    He smiles at me. “I fully agree. I am aware of the situation and it’s heartbreaking what that poor child has gone through. She is lucky to have you in her corner, Miss President.”
    “Thank you, but I’m the lucky one. Now please don’t hesitate if you need anything at all, and I’ll get my staff started on adding additional support for you and your teachers. Have a wonderful day, Mr. Ewing.”
    All in all, I feel it went well, minus me firing Grace’s teacher. It had to be done, though. Now for the best part of my day. I need to go home and change, message Dex, then I will track down my little mouse.

 
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
    CHAPTER THREE
     
     
    I walk in the house and go straight upstairs to change. It’s so nice to finally be in my own home. I put on some lounge clothes and head down to the kitchen to find a snack. I stop short