Running on Insulin

Chapter 32

We pulled up to the school about five minutes later. Theoretically, we could have walked, but with the appointments after we dropped Sam off at school, and got her registered, we felt it would be easier to drive.

The three of us got out of the car, and headed in to find the office. There was a staff member standing near the front door, who greeted us as we walked in.

"Good morning," she said. "How can I help you?"

"We're here to register, um, our, daughter," I said. I mean, we're in the process of adopting her, why not call her our daughter.

"Oh! Wonderful. Welcome," she said, and looked at Samantha. "What's your name?"

"Samantha," Samantha said.

"And what grade are you in?"

"Seventh," she replied.

"Well, welcome to Appleton Middle School. The office is just through the front doors and to the left. Check in with Ms. Tracey, and she'll get you set up to meet with our principal, Mr. Jones."

"Great, thanks," I said.

We walked into the office, and I checked in with the secretary, Ms. Tracey. She told us to have a seat. I told her that we were registering Samantha and that she should contact Maple Middle School to get her records.

"The best thing about the internet," Ms. Tracey smiled. "Is that I can have those records sent here in no time."

She picked up the phone and I heard her place a call.

"Good morning, this is Ms. Tracey at Appleton Middle School. I need you to send over the records for," she looked over at us. "I'm sorry, what's the student's name?"

"Samantha Deitz," I said.

"Yes, sorry, for a Samantha Deitz in seventh grade?" she looked to us to confirm. I nodded.

"Yes. Thank you. It would seem that Samantha is transferring to Appleton, and we'll need those records today. Wonderful. Right. Appleton. Yep. Great. So quick? Perfect. Thank you."

She hung up the phone and smiled at us.

"They'll send those straight over, and I'll have you meet with Mr. Jones in just a few minutes," she said.

"Thanks," I said.

Samantha sat, looking nervous. Jenna spoke quietly to her.

"Mr. and Mrs. Joseph?" a tall black man came into the outer office. "And, Samantha?"

"That's us," I said, standing up.

"Come on in," he said, welcoming us into his office.

The three of us went into the office and sat down.

"So," Mr. Jones started. "To what do we owe the pleasure of Samantha coming to us from Maple?"

"Well, I'm not sure how much you know about Samantha, but we've been fostering her for the past week, and are actually in the process of adopting her," I said. "Because she's now living with us, we asked her if she wanted to return to her old school or come here, because it's close to our house. She chose to come here, and here we are."

"Well, it's not unusual to have mid-semester transfers for the reasons you stated. Alright, so," Mr. Jones said. "The question is, what name will you be registering Samantha under? You're in the process of adopting her, so her last name hasn't been legally changed, so, we would normally have to register her under her legal last name. However, I have also been watching the news, and I understand there's been some, um, issues that resulted in Samantha landing in your care."