“Because we didn’t have school today. When I got dropped off, I looked around and no one was there. One of the janitors told me it was a faculty meeting day.”
“Oh,” said Jason. “That’s right. Totally forgot about that.” He shook his head, as if unable to believe it’d slipped his mind. “Sorry, Will.”
“It’s OK. So I had the driver take me here.”
“Well, good call.” He gestured to me. “Anyway, I was talking to April here about maybe working for us, hanging out with you when I’m not around. What do you think?”
She turned those big blue eyes back toward me.
“Um, I don’t know.”
Shit. It was a part of the interview I hadn’t counted on. But I knew he’d be grading me hard. I glanced over Willa’s outfit, spotting a big sticker of a cartoon otter on her backpack.
“You like otters?”
Her eyes lit up, the shyness melting away. “Yeah! They’re so cute.”
“You know what I really like about them?”
“What’s that?”
“How they like to hold hands when they’re floating in the water.”
“They do that?”
“Yep. And they also like to snuggle with each other. The baby otters get onto the mama otter’s belly and curl up. It’s really adorable.”
“That’s so sweet!” she said, beaming. “I like how they float on their backs and eat food off their bellies.”
“You like animals?” I asked.
“Yeah, and I always want to go to the natural history museum, but Dad…um, he always says he’s busy.”
“Well, I love it there. If it’s OK with your dad, I’d love to take you sometime.”
“Maybe today!” She turned back toward Jason, who’d been watching the conversation with great interest.
“Well, not today, but if Ms. April wants to take you, then maybe we could work something out another time.”
“Yeah!” said Willa.
“And you like pizza?”
“Mhmm!”
“Me too. I love the kind with pineapple. You ever had that before?”
“That sounds weird.”
“It’s weird but good. I’ll have to get you to try it.”
She thought it over before giving a big, enthusiastic nod. “OK! If it’s weird then I can at least say I tried it, right?”
“There you go.”
Jason regarded me for a moment before dropping down to Willa’s level.
“I want to talk to Ms. April a little more. But what do you think about seeing her again?”