For once, I was thankful to be wearing Leo's large button-up shirt. The heaviness of my chest when I spotted the swarm of flashing lights and men dressed in black at the front of the school was enough to cause my breath to come off as short. Had I worn my classic black turtleneck, I would have suffocated.
It took a while to get in, given that Omar had to circle around a few times until a team of security guards managed to vacate the school grounds and open the parking lot for us to enter. They waved us into the pathway surrounded by orange cones and knocked on the tinted car window. Omar slowly lowers it halfway.
"Are you a parent?" The security asks Omar. From the back seat, I recognized his voice immediately. I unbuckle my seat belt and bend over the cupholder to poke my head next to Omar's for the security to see him.
He lowers his sunglasses to the bridge of his nose, wide-eyed.
"Hal, it's me. They're here to drop me off." I gesture to Leo and Omar. Leo awkwardly waved and flashed the pearls on his mouth.
"Mrs. Martinez! My! We did not think you'd appear." He gasps.
"Neither did I," I say, admittedly.
Hal chuckled, but he knew I was not kidding. He pulls out his walkie-talkie and murmurs a few things into it. He waits a few moments for a response and signals Omar in the right direction.
"Proceed straight to the staff parking lot. We'll do our best to get you inside."
I sigh in relief and thank him for his support. "You're the best, Hal."
Omar slowly passes him and follows the cones, and then is guided by another security guard, whom I also know. As soon as Omar parks the car, I immediately start to unbuckle my seat belt and saw Leo doing the same.
"What are you doing?' I stop him from opening his car door by grabbing the handle of the door. Leo turns to me, confused. His face was merely an inch away from mine.
"I'm coming with you. I started this mess, and I want to help clean it up."
"No offense, Tortuga, but I don't want your help." I scoff, defensively. My words came out sharper than I expected, but given the current circumstances, anything I would say is bound to sound uptight. Not to mention the word 'help' is not one that I am used to. I was always taught to handle things myself, and usually, when I was offered 'help', I always took it as incompetence.
Leo visibly didn't know this and took it to heart as he looked like I had punched him in the face and slashed all four wheels of his tires. It's not a reaction I had expected, given we never had the type of relationship to worry about each other unless it was over some generational trauma bond.
"I'm sorry." I sigh. "I just really need to handle this myself, okay. Promise me you won't intervene unless I tell you to." I say to Leonardo. He keeps his eyes fixed on mine and quickly breaks it when he glances over to Omar. Omar shrugs his shoulders and rolls down his window. A subtle sign he plans to stay in the car.
Leo exhales through his nose and droops his head down in defeat. "Fine. But if you need me, I'll be right here. Got that? I'll go right inside and speak with Mr. Sticks myself."
"It's Schricks. Mister Darium Schricks." I repeat to him with a smile, threatening to lift the corner of my mouth.
Leo's frown deepens as he leans back in his seat with his head tilted far into the headrest. I roll my eyes and open my door. Once I step foot outside, the familiarity of the school's parking lot sinks in, and my worries resurface anew.