“Wow, you were right. Mrs. Smith is really nice. Way nicer than my old kindergarten teacher.”
“I told you. She was my first grade teacher, too.”
“And you were right about the baby stuff. No more nap time; thank gosh,” Kat continued, as if ready to be shipped off to college.
“Yep.” He laughed. “It’s all downhill from now—”
“Dominic?”
“Mrs. Smith.” He stood up straight, the seventeen-year-old who now towered above his first grade teacher.
“I should have …” Realization hitting her, Dom could tell she felt dumb when she put two and two together. “I’m sorry. I have so many students and names to remember, I must’ve not been thinking.”
“It’s only the first day,” he told her. “Give yourself a break.”
“So, Katarina is your …?”
“Sister,” he said the word along with her, confirming what she thought. “Yes.”
“Listen … um, I was hoping one of her parents would pick her up, as I would like to talk to them.”
Clearing his throat, Dom looked down at his sister. “Hey, Kat, why don’t you go sit down on that bench over there and let me talk to your teacher a minute, okay?”
“Is it all right if I go talk to some of my friends over there instead?” she asked, pointing to a group of girls who were waiting for their parents to pick them up.
“Yes, that’s fine.” Dom let her go, then waited until she was out of earshot before he turned back to Mrs. Smith.
“Kat doesn’t have a mother, and her father is the same as mine, and I know it’s been a long time since I was in your class, but I’m sure you know that getting my father down here isn’t going to happen.”
“I was afraid of that.”
He continued, “So, whatever it is that you want to say, Mrs. Smith, you might as well tell me, because I’m all she’s got.”
The teacher thought for several moments before she gave in, knowing he was right. “Katarina is … gifted.”
Dominic just stared at her blankly.
“As in, her intellectual level far exceeds her fellow students. I believe she may be a mathematical prodigy.”
“I know,” he told her simply, clearly unfazed by the news.
“I-I …” Mrs. Smith had to think about what she wanted to say next, surprised by Dominic’s quick response. “I don’t think she belongs in the first grade. Hell, I don’t think Katarina belongs in this school. There are much better schools out there for he—”
“No, thanks.” Dom shook his head before looking for his sister. He should have known Mrs. Smith wouldn’t have been like the rest of the staff, who turned a blind eye to a Luciano. “Come on, Kat!”
“Dominic.” Mrs. Smith touched his shoulder, stopping him from leaving. “She’s sitting in a class where the other students are still learning four plus four, for Christ’s sake, and she can already multiply numbers that I have to use a calculator for.”
“Like I said, I’m aware.”
“Maybe this is something I really should have talked to your father about.” Taking a step back, she tried to level with him. “I just think Katarina deserves an environment where she can perform to the best of her abilities, is all.”
“If you think my father would give two shits about her solving equations that he has never looked at a day in his life, then by all means, give him a call.” Dominic spoke to her quietly but firmly. “I wasn’t sure if you knew who my father was back then, but now I’m sure you know exactly who Lucifer is, don’t you?” Changing his quiet tone from firm to soft, he relaxed his facial features. “Mrs. Smith, I appreciate that, unlike the other teachers here, you care, I really do, but like me, she was dealt a shit hand on the shit side of the city, and this is the only environment a Luciano is going to get.”
Looking to see Kat was still talking to her friends, he was about to yell for her again.
“I tried to help you, you know? Back then. I called everyone I knew, even Social Services, but the second they heard your last name, they all hung up on me.” Mrs. Smith looked down at the pavement, her voice sounding as broken as an old record. “I’m sorry I couldn’t help you.”
“You did,” he said, taking a step forward to place a hand on her shoulder. “You gave me a safe haven for eight hours, five days a week … and now that’s what I need you to do for Kat.”
Mrs. Smith looked up from the ground and managed a smile. “I can do that.”
“Wait here,” Dom said, when he got to the front door of their house. Walking in and not seeing his father anywhere, he let Kat in. When she booked it to the basement door and flew down the steps, he went after her.