The Secret Life Of Alordayne Grotke and Peter Prickly

It was a pretty typical day at Third Street school as the 4th grade class was sitting a little bored out of their minds as they listened to Ms. Grotke give a lecture.

"A wise person once said you can't judge a book by it cover and never has nature prove this more pointedly then in the case of the adorable North American Horned Toad, because it has a round body that look like a frog or toad it was given the name toad um unlike frog and toad, which are amphibians the horn toad is actually a lizard and is found only in dry areas-" A loud ringing was heard from teacher's purse, so she quickly digs for her phone and her face is full of concern as she answers the call and then turns to her students.

"Excuse me class, I need to take this, please open your books to the section about the horned toad and I will be right back."

When she step out of the class her carefree expression turns to concern as she talks into the phone.

"What is it, honey?"

"I need you mom, please come home soon!" came the frantic and sobbing voice.

Grotke looked at her watch and saw that it was only 1:00 in the afternoon.

"I will be home in about an hour, do you think you can hang on until then?"

"Okay...I love you mom."

"And I love you too, Karen."

Grotke hangs up the phone and steels herself before putting her usual carefree smile on her face and heading back into her classroom.

The hour seem to drag on for Grotke as she tried to not scowl at the clock on the wall, as it slowly counted down the minutes, until finally the final bell rang and so she ends her lecture and said "2:15 alright everyone please enjoyed Page of 68 to 75 for tomorrow and I will see you in the morning." She was out the door before anyone else and was almost to her car, when a hand on her shoulder stopped in her tracks.

"Where are you off too in such a hurry, Alordayne?" The commanding voice of her ex husband Peter Prickly, made her cringe as she knew that he found out about their daughter calling her, he would have a fit.

"What I do in my free time has nothing to do with you, sir." Grotke said coldly as she turned to face the man.

"It's Karen isn't it, that girl has been nothing trouble ever since she was born!" Peter started getting angry as Alordayne slipped out of his grip and got in his face.

"She is your daughter, just as much as she is mine, when we got married we thought we would never have children of our until by some miracle, Karen was born, she is your child and yet you barely have any time for her and you have broken so many promises to her, that she barely trust you and when she does come to you, she is told to shut up and take it on the chin!" Grotke was hissing and spitting mad as her mother instincts kicked in.

Meanwhile in the classroom the gang were discussing their teacher's odd behavior

"That was strange." Mikey said as he starts to pack his bag.

Spinelli slings her bag over her shoulder, "Yeah Ms. Grotke never got a phone call in class before."

"Or run out of class without asking us if we have any questions about the assignment." Vincent pointed out.

"Yeah, she didn't even give us her usual peace signs." Gus said as he mimics the way she does it.

"Clearly Ms. Grotke mind is something else something beside our little school." Gretchen said as they walked down the hallway.

Spinelli looks up at her genius friend sharply "No way! She is a teacher and a teacher most important place is in the classroom."

"No it isn't Spinelli, I mean have you even asked yourself what Teachers actually do when school is over?" TJ said making everyone wonder the same thing.

"I always thought they just sat at there desk really still unite we come back the next day." Gus said.

Vincent shakes his head and says "Nah I always figure they work out at a faculty gym somewhere."

Gus looked puzzle at the idea "You think?"

Gretchen thinks for a moment and said "It seems possible, but I guess we will never know."

Spinelli snorts and said "Come on the sooner we get out of here, the sooner we can watch cartoon or play before dinner."

Just as the gang was leaving they barely manage to steer clear of furious Prickly as the man was mutter under his breath, thankfully he didn't spot the gang of kids standing there much their relief.

"Talk about weird." Spinelli said as they finally left the building, only to spot Ms. Grotke cursing and taking her anger out on her car, which shocked them as their teacher was not the type to get angry easily, but before they could go see what was wrong the woman took a deep breath and straighten herself up, before getting in her car and leaving the parking lot.

"What do you suppose that was about?" Spinelli said as she finally got her bearings.

"I don't know Spinelli, but I am up to here," TJ gestures with his hand above his head "with questions and I say we get some answers."

"What are you kids still doing here, go home, unless you want detention for the rest of the school year!" Prickly shouts which had them running for their bikes and peddling down the street fast.

"Woo! So glad we got away, wonder his deal is, sure Prickly is a jerk, but that was a bit much." TJ said as they all collapse at their other meeting spot, the fishing pond.

"Maybe it has something to do with Ms. Grotke's strange behavior and that phone call she received, plus didn't you notice that Prickly was coming inside the school, just as we saw Ms. Grotke sudden outburst afterwards and they looked pretty angry, even for them." Gretchen pointed out, which had them all thinking for a moment.

"Well I do know about you guys, I think it time uncover the secret life of Ms. Grotke and Principal Prickly." TJ states with a determined expression on his face.

"Yeah! Am in!" Vincent said excited

"Sure why not." Spinelli said uncaring as usual.

"Okay!" Gus said agreeing feeling both anxious and excited at the same time.

"Count me in!" Mikey said.

"This will be good for my research!" Gretchen said.

TJ smiles at the support of his friend and said "Right now we have to split up and follow both Prickly and Grotke." Just them all their stomachs rumple. "Maybe we should start tomorrow after school." TJ said, everyone mutters in agreement and gets back on their bikes and head for home.

The next started out pretty typical day at third street, the only difference was that the gang was being more attentive then usual but no one questioned it, so they left it alone, the gang sighed in relief when the final bell rang and Ms. Grotke gave out her usual homework assignment and peace signs, leaving quickly before anyone else and that when the gang put their plan into action.

TJ and the girls got on their bikes and carefully follow Ms. Grotke as she drove towards the suburbs on the out skirts of town, which had them curious, but then they watched as she got out her car and a girl about 11 years old opens the door, running for her and embracing her, when the girl pulled back they saw that she little like a mini Grotke, they talked for a moment, until the teacher turns to see them standing there.

"Oh TJ, Spinelli and Gretchen! How are you, did you have question about the assignments?" Grotke asked in her usual kind way as the girl stood behind her almost hiding, but was curious about them.

"Umm...well, Ms. Grotke, no we were just biking along, when we notice you with your...?" TJ half lied.

"Daughter." Ms. Grotke answered, which left the trio stunned in shock as the girl came out from her hiding place and stood in front of her mother, still shy.

"Guys, this is my pride and joy, Karen Alaia Prickly-Grotke."

"Karen Alaia?" Spinelli said still a bit stunned

"Prickly-Grotke?!" TJ said shocked

"Surely this is a joke, a sick joke." Gretchen said almost pleadingly.

Ms. Grotke shakes her head and said "Not a joke, I would never joke about having a child if it wasn't true."

Karen was still hiding behind her mother as she looks at the kids as they tried to process this news that her mother and father were both their teacher and principal.

"Mom? Are these the students you told me about?" Karen asked as she pokes her head out from behind her mother, curious but still nervous about their reactions.

Alordayne nods, "Yes, now are you alright? Did you take your medication?" Karen nods as she rubs her eyes as the effects of her meds started to make her feel sleepy.

The woman gently pushes the yawning girl towards the house, "Go rest, I will be inside, children please do come in, I guess I own you an explanation."
The trio still stunned and silent nodded as they followed the mother and daughter inside the small cozy house.

As they waited for Ms. Grotke to come back, they notices the pictures on the wall of Grotke with Karen at various ages, there were even a one or two of Prickly with them smiling happily.

"What do you want too know?" The trio were startle a bit they saw their teacher standing beside them a solemn expression on her face.

TJ was the first one to speak, blushing a bit in embarrassment. "I guess the question of how this all came too be and why we never saw Karen before?"

Grotke nods and gestures the the table,

"Have a seat, I guess it started about 15 years ago, when I was just starting out as teacher at Third Street and Peter was just starting out as a Principal, at first we didn't see eye to eye for the first 5 years working together, but then something changed, I am not sure why or when we started see each other, but soon we started dating and well I am sure you get the idea, so I found I was pregnant, Peter was stunned at first, but then he was happy to be a father, so we married straight afterwards in small ceremony with only my parents and Peter's brothers as witnesses, we were happy for awhile, my pregnant progressed pretty smoothly, Peter was hoping for a son, but I secretly didn't care what my child was so as long they were healthy, the day my daughter was both the happiest and saddest day of my life."

"Why do you say that?" Spinelli asked.

Grotke smiles at her bitterly, "Because when Peter found out that his child was a girl he became distant and cold, he wanted nothing to do with his daughter and for awhile I tried to make it work, but as Karen grew older, I started to see how her father's coldness was affecting her, she tried everything to get his approval only to be pushed away, but persisted until he finally snapped, he screamed at her, saying that she was a mistake, that she should haven't been born, since that day I divorced him and got full custody of Karen but the damage was done, she suffered from anxiety attack and night terrors for months, so I put her in therapy which seem to help along with medication, when it came time for her to start school I was unsure if it was a good idea, but I knew that she had to have a good education, so I enroll her into Third Street, which was the biggest mistake of my life."

Flashback

9 years earlier...

When Karen was old enough to start 1st grade, Alordayne was hesitant about it since she homeschooled Karen for kindergarten, but after her parents convince her to let the child go, she was soon bring her daughter to her first day of school at Third Street School, while the girl both excited and nervous, she was unaware that her father was the principal of the school. As the car came to a stop Karen looks unsure, but her mother is quick to reassure.

"It will be alright just have fun, learn new things and make some friends okay?"

Karen nods and gives her mother a large smile, "Yes Mommy, see after school?"

"You know it, have a good first day." Alordayne gives a kiss on her daughter's forehead, before letting the child exit the car and she drives off to the staff parking lot, as she walks into the building most of children are outside on the playground, catching with old friends or getting to know each other.

As the school day progresses Grotke was starting to worry about how her daughter was adjusting as she teaching her class how the wonders of history.

Unaware that Karen caught the attention of Randall Weems and not in a good way, the boy made her first day of school miserable and she even got in trouble for something she didn't do and got scolded by the teacher.

By the end of the school day Karen was emotional mess, but she had to toughen it out as this was only the first day, maybe over time it will be better, boy how wrong she was.

For the next 4 months Karen was constantly bullied by Randell and her peers, they took her lunch, put rotten milk in her backpack, even shoved her in a closet when she was heading to the bathroom, which made her wet herself much to her horror and laughter of her tormentors, when she tried to tell an adult, she got brushed aside, she even went to the principal, who she finds out is her father, but he didn't want anything to do with her so she back tracked on that idea quickly, but it came to a head when she was outside during recess, she was sitting by herself as usual under the jungle gym to escape her bullies, but that didn't last long as she was soon dragged out of her hiding spot by Randall and his goons towards the hidden spot behind the climb where they decided to beat her, but this time they broke her arm, which made her let out a blood curling scream of agony as they let her go and ran off just as Ms. Finster came running towards her.

When Alordayne found out about her daughter's injuries and the sever bullying that her child endured, to say she was furious was an understatement as she stormed into her husband office and scream at him threating to go to the superintendent if something wasn't about this, this had her ex husband coward a bit as he begged for her to not call his boss.

"I am going to pull her out of this school and homeschool her, you will never see her again." That day was Karen's last day of school and ever since then she has been homeschool online, but because of the trauma and abuse she suffered at the hand of her peers, she was untrusting of other children and rarely left the house without her mother or grandparents, she basically became a recluse, while her mother still worked at Third Street, she was a bit more colder towards Prickly at times and even had to stand up to him a few occasions, but for the most part they were professional with each other.

After hearing all this the kids stared at their teacher and the sleeping girl in amazement, Grotke smiled and then said "Now that you know about Karen, I trust that you will keep this between yourselves and your little gang."

They nodded as they all got up and after saying goodbye to Karen, they got on their bikes and left the house and it secrets behind, once they caught up with the others they decided to tell them what happened and afterwards they all swore a vow to take this secret with them well into adulthood to their grave even as the old saying goes.

"Some secrets are best left alone."

The End